Patrons of the Arts, Revived
Posted on | September 8, 2011 | No Comments
We all know that the music industry has changed substantially over the last decade or so, but today a realization brought the new landscape into focus for me a bit more:
The so-called “long tail” phenomenon that flooded the internet with scores of new artists and bands harnessing never before seen capabilities to record, distribute and promote/market worldwide did more than just signal the beginning of the end for “major labels” and their business model; it has forced a change in the responsibility of our culture.
It seems that every day or two I see someone promoting a Kickstarter fundraising campaign to finish an EP or album, a request to “like” their project on Facebook, a contest that prompts fans to promote them for a chance to win something, or some other attempt at interaction between artist and audience. In other words, the new opportunities made available to artists brought along with them an increased reliance on support from fans.
Before all of this happened, most were used to buying a CD at a store and seeing the occasional concert, and the artist/band kept making albums regardless (for the most part) of how intensely you loved them or how often you bought their products. Now, in this new digital environment, most projects need loyal, money-spending fans (and friends) in order to continue. Most are releasing 4 to 7-song EP’s instead of 9 to 14-track albums because it costs less, and many often pre-sale their EP/album before it’s done in order to help pay for it.
That’s why I’m dubbing this era a return of “Patrons of the Arts.”
The concept is an old one, and it used to be the only way music (and most other art) was funded and cultivated. Whereas back then it was usually a noble or some other rich philanthroper footing the entire bill, modern artists need numerous fans to be loyal supporters in smaller, regular amounts.
So then haven’t fans always been patrons of the arts? Not really. The major labels worked like banks, funding most everything for the artist/band in the form of a loan that was recouped along with interest, aka ownership of content. So most of the time we were paying the labels, and depending on each band’s deal, the labels gave them a certain (often small) percentage. Bands failed business-wise while being incredible popular and “successful” (anybody remember TLC going bankrupt from a bad deal?).
For better or for worse, without the financial support that was once provided by major labels, today’s artist needs an elevated level of support from their fans. It revives a mostly dormant responsibility in humanity to actively patronize art or risk it dwindling or disappearing. It prompts the question: how important is it to you that [art you like] continues being created?
*My good friend Cameron Mizell wrote a great post along similar lines. The last paragraph in particular is partly responsible for what I’ve written here.
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