As a matter of full disclosure, aside from being a music journalist, Marcus Dowling is also an artist manager, brand development consultant, and label A&R for Washington, DC's management/PR & marketing/music label the CUFF Group.
This past week, OWSLA-affiliated DJ/producer Nick Thayer took to his Tumblr to discuss the personal matter of the sad state of affairs regarding his finances in conjunction with the overall earning potential of DJs and producers at-present in EDM. Of late, between the infamous white paper that valued the industry as potentially being worth $20 billion dollars by 2018, and Robert Sillerman's SFX investing in the industry of dance music in a major (and all encompassing) way, one could be led to believe that in plugging in with a brand like Skrillex's OWSLA would mean certain and impressive wealth. However, after breaking down numbers and showing that in his unique situation that a three-week touring run could net him $800 total, and that releasing a "top selling" EP could actually end up at a net financial loss to Thayer himself, it's obvious that, well, it's not 2018 yet, and that there's some tough times ahead. At no point will this editorial state that "Nick Thayer is a Debbie Downer" or ask "gosh, why do any of the musicians we write about here even make any music at all?" Instead, this is an opportune time to discuss thoughts about the future of the music industry, the new rules that govern said industry, and how stories like these can be the exception (and not the rule) moving forward.
Foremost, since the inception of Napster, the music industry has been in a race against time regarding accepting that the commercial worth of most music to a potential buyer is zero. Every few weeks Billboard posts a story about how few copies of recorded music are selling globally overall. In the wake of these facts and figured there are indie labels like Main Course putting out an abundance of great music (that once would come at a deserved price) for (basically) free, and quickly rising to fame artists like Mr. Carmack opting out of the label structure altogether, and releasing a full project on his own Bandcamp page. To be quick and nasty about it, when it's hard out here for a pimp, it's twice as bad for the hoes. In both sides accepting that nobody has to pay for sex anymore (but like LaTour said in 1991, "People Are Still Having Sex"), how does an industry create a new space for transactions to take place?
Key to what the music (and in this case, specifically dance) industry must do is quickly accept that we're in an era controlled by the notion of “free-market socialism.” Free-market socialism is what happens when a once-capitalist society is faced with market values being driven to zero, but systems must still exist by which to create modes of commerce. For the purposes of this conversation, instead of money as a determining factor, artists with connective personal brands who are able to amass a surplus of social “wealth” (defined through SoundCloud plays, Facebook page likes, and Twitter followers) are the artists who win. While yes, you may think Dillon Francis tweeting about Taco Bell or Diplo posting crazy memes is a terrible statement on music (and the "cheapening" of music-as-art, too), the current digital/social-controlled atmosphere was an inevitability to which we must adapt. Artists like those being early adapters shouldn't be pilloried, the should be (begrudgingly) respected. Again, it's hard out here for a pimp. As well, to borrow another tired trope, tough times don't last, but tough (and smart) people do.
As well, the music industry as governed by these new rules should be learning to become a fully transparent ecosystem instead of being a closed shop with clandestine meetings, closed doors, and secret handshakes. In an era where Nick Thayer can pretty much tell the world that he's broke, but happy, artists persisting in gaming SoundCloud and Facebook and trying to do anything other than be themselves are, frankly, stupid. Not existing in synergy with each other run the risk of being unable to exist in the industry given the likely reality of where it is headed that is being discussed here.
Music's new ecosystem could possibly be split into three classes:
- The ruling class has (or is attached to the highest (and most aware/interactive) social outreach across all platforms. Thus, their voices define what pop culture is, and everyone listens.
- The political class is comprised of radical and free-thinking artists who agitate the tastemakers. The points of highest connectivity between the free-thinkers and tastemakers create the sounds that are leveraged by the "ruling class" to push the machine forward. The most consistently successful artists in the political class eventually ascend to the ruling class, and the system perpetuates itself.
- At the bottom is the consumer class, those who neither adopt nor adapt, and like the classic capitalists they are, will eventually buy the most powerfully connective art from the ruling class (that already has the political class' cosign). When presented with the right message by the right person, they're certain to buy (i.e. the case of Beyonce from the pop realm).
If an artist is, say, at the lower rungs of the political class (like Nick Thayer), sustainability is of the essence. In all honesty, artists in the political class (who do not ascend to the levels of eventually ruling) are the easiest-to-replace in the ecosystem. Thus, having a management and support team surrounding you that pushes for cost-effective strategies and discovers alternative income sources (that are still connected to your brand as a musician) are important. While yes, I respect Thayer's insistence that he "spend money on things [he thinks] are important to [his] art," we're sadly not in an era where, unless you're in that "ruling class," it's just not a strategy that is necessarily in synergy with remaining solvent as an artist. As well, the Australian-born Thayer being in the United States poses a series of incredible financial pitfalls that, more than anything, call into question why Thayer would even relocate to the country as a part of his strategy for artistic success. I wasn't present in the room for that conversation, but it seems an unwieldy strategy for certain. Yes, while making music is truly an amazing experience, earning money from making music - if wanting to be a professional at the craft - is of ultimate importance. Adopting the idea of being "safe, yet spectacular" may ultimately be the most important thing that Thayer (and oh so many other artists like him) can do.
Note at no point in this article did I throw Nick Thayer's manager, agent, label, or even Thayer himself under the proverbial bus. These are strange, new times that call for (seemingly) strange new ideas. Not knowing how to succeed at music in 2014 is not a crime, it is a concern - a concern that can be solved with a wholesale change of approach.
