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Meet The New Boss, Worse Than The Old Boss?
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Longreads
Longreads The Internet was supposed to liberate artists and replace the traditional businesses that had been disrupted by digital distribution. Musician David Lowery (Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker) says the math still isn’t working:
I was like all of you. I believed in the promise of the Internet to liberate, empower and even enrich artists. I still do but I’m less sure of it than I once was. I come here because I want to start a dialogue. I feel that what we artists were promised has not really panned out. Yes in many ways we have more freedom. Artistically this is certainly true. But the music business never transformed into the vibrant marketplace where small stakeholders could compete with multinational conglomerates on an even playing field.
In the last few years it’s become apparent the music business, which was once dominated by six large and powerful music conglomerates, MTV, Clear Channel and a handful of other companies, is now dominated by a smaller set of larger even more powerful tech conglomerates. And their hold on the business seems to be getting stronger.
“Meet The New Boss, Worse Than The Old Boss?” — David Lowery, The Trichordist
My Top 5 #Longreads on the Business of Film, Music and Books
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Longreads 
Mark Armstrong (that’s not him above) is the founder of Longreads, and editorial director for Pocket.
This past week’s Steven Soderbergh speech on “The State of the Cinema” isn’t as big a downer for film lovers as these choice quotes might have you believe:
“Shouldn’t we be spending the time and resources alleviating suffering and helping other people instead of going to the movies and plays and art installations? When we did Ocean’s Thirteen the casino set used $60,000 of electricity every week. How do you justify that? Do you justify that by saying, the people who could’ve had that electricity are going to watch the movie for two hours and be entertained—except they probably can’t, because they don’t have any electricity, because we used it.”
Or:
“When people are more outraged by the ambiguous ending of The Sopranos than some young girl being stoned to death, then there’s something wrong.”
Soderbergh does offer some encouraging news about the amount of independent films being distributed:
“In 2003, 455 films were released. 275 of those were independent, 180 were studio films. Last year 677 films were released. So you’re not imagining things, there are a lot of movies that open every weekend. 549 of those were independent, 128 were studio films. So, a 100% increase in independent films, and a 28% drop in studio films…”
The downside, of course, is that it’s harder to get them seen:
“…and yet, 10 years ago: Studio market share 69%, last year 76%. You’ve got fewer studio movies now taking up a bigger piece of the pie and you’ve got twice as many independent films scrambling for a smaller piece of the pie. That’s hard. That’s really hard.”
For further reading, the Soderbergh speech reminded me of a few other excellent #longreads about the business of art:
1. “Letter to Emily White at All Songs Considered” (David Lowery, June 2012)
Lowery, the founder of bands including Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker, paints a bleak picture of the state of the music industry, particularly when it comes to professional studio musicians.
2. “The Business of Literature” (Richard Nash, VQR, Spring 2013)
Nash offers historical context for those worried about the future of books: “Book culture is in far less peril than many choose to assume, for the notion of an imperiled book culture assumes that book culture is a beast far more refined, rarified, and fragile than it actually is.”
3. “Some Thoughts on Our Business” (Jeffrey Katzenberg, Letters of Note, 1991)
Katzenberg’s memo to colleagues at Disney, which in addition to having allegedly inspired the memo in Jerry Maguire, also addresses the blockbuster mentality.
4. “I’m for Sale” (Genevieve Smith, Elle, April 2013)
Smith searches for a balance between creative fulfillment and financial security.
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(Photo by Thore Siebrands, via Wikimedia Commons)
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Longreads A professional musician calls for a rethinking of how we value (and pay) artists in the digital era:
Rather, fairness for musicians is a problem that requires each of us to individually look at our own actions, values and choices and try to anticipate the consequences of our choices. I would suggest to you that, like so many other policies in our society, it is up to us individually to put pressure on our governments and private corporations to act ethically and fairly when it comes to artists rights. Not the other way around. We cannot wait for these entities to act in the myriad little transactions that make up an ethical life. I’d suggest to you that, as a 21-year old adult who wants to work in the music business, it is especially important for you to come to grips with these very personal ethical issues.
“Letter to Emily White at NPR All Songs Considered.” — David Lowery, The Trichoridist
Photo: Flickr/Shankar, Shiv
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