Creating and Understanding

The New Market is just like the Old Market

Earlier this week, Olivia Ellen Lloyd posted an Instagram update noting she was screwed by a “music monetizing service” called Too Lost.

One is left to assume the enterprising folks promised something to Lloyd to which she agreed, and there was some sort of problem, and thus her first album, Loose Cannon, is no longer streaming.

This is a bummer, as that album is very good and should be heard by people.

These kinds of stories — where there are legitimate misunderstandings, all the way to bad actors with malicious intent — leave artists like Lloyd screaming in the abyss.

The infrastructure that appears to make music production much easier really doesn’t.

In the past, to create a real physical record, you needed some sort of record deal. Today, there are so many ways to Uber-DoorDash-Waymo yourself into record that there are even more ways to get screwed.

“It has never been more difficult for indie artists to keep their intellectual property safe from bad actors and incompetent grifters,” Lloyd wrote in her post. This is true. But there weren’t really ways for independent artists to create a meaningful living outside of local markets without a label (even a small, local one) in the past.

This is a product of more than just incompetent grifters. While some will point to technological advancements, a reduction in costs associated with recording, and the removal of gatekeepers from distribution as positive developments, these are just as much to blame as those bad actors.

Let’s take those one at a time.

Technological Advancement

Digital recording makes it possible to create pretty good recordings of music in almost any corner of the world. We don’t need another Bristol Sessions or even access to Studio B to make the next great recording. Artists need to invest a few hundred dollars in equipment and have access to a computer with the necessary software and apps.

This process removes many of the technological barriers that were in place 30 years ago.

However, it also removed any potential support (marketing, management, etc.) and expertise (mixers, session players, etc.) that could be part of a traditional recording setup.

This means that while it’s easier to make the music, it’s harder to get it right.

Reduction in Costs

The aforementioned tech advancements in recording also lower the costs of production. And while it might cost less to make it, it doesn’t mean it will sell.

The lack of tech or financial barriers doesn’t mean the music created within this new infrastructure receives an easily accessible market. In fact, because it’s so easy to make, it could be said that there’s too much for the market to handle.

Additionally, the rest of the work to get it sold, heard and played is really hard. Marketing is a 24/7 gig. Websites and content development is a 24/7 gig. Management is a 24/7 gig. Social media engagement is really 24/7. And there are many other gigs that go into selling music.

In short, it cost just as much as it always did to make music, just in different ways.

Removal of Gatekeepers to Distribution

Because anyone can record music and upload it to a streaming provider, the system is more open — or so the story goes.

However, regardless of the quality of the music, there is just too much noise.

We’ve heard a thousand stories about how Spotify is removing bad performers (again, no judgement on quality), and there are services like Too Lost that are screwing artists like Lloyd.

So even while anyone can submit, it doesn’t mean that anyone will win.

So, yeah, I knew that.

It’s true, none of this is new.

However, the idea that technology has leveled the playing field is not entirely accurate. Yes, the physical act of producing music is cheaper than ever before, but that doesn’t mean it is profitable, equitable or accessible. And the ancillary costs of promotion, management and distribution are more complicated due to the unbundling of the record and criminally low payouts on streaming services.

The cost of this business remains high, and as long as there is value in the intellectual property of artists — and consumers aren’t willing to pay for it — companies like Too Lost or Spotify will be able to take advantage of the situation.

These firms will do so while saying that it is easier than ever before to produce music.

But we don’t have to accept that illusion.

Oh, yeah. Go buy Lloyd’s album on Bandcamp.