Article from the Dungarvan Observer, Wed 2 June 2010.
The music industry has been going through some serious changes in the last decade or so. The simple availability of so much music online has caused a huge shift in consumer perception of the nature of it, and the album seems to no longer be King. People may now pick and choose their favourite songs from various albums and artists, and they may even choose not to pay for any of it. ‘Music piracy’ online has become so commonplace in the last few years that the big record companies have been struggling to keep up. Having such a huge catalogue at our fingertips is nothing short of amazing. Recording technology has also advanced with massive strides in recent years, and just about anybody can record an album these days (although that doesn’t necessarily mean that they should)… When viewed in a positive light, this is a great unshackling, offering the freedom to create whatever, wherever and whenever the artist chooses.
The music business was never exactly a stable entity. Over the centuries, musicians’ major income sources have shifted several times. Money came at various stages from the church, from rich private patrons and from the public in various ways. In the time of JS Bach, composers were considered tradesmen, and by the time of Beethoven they were considered artists to be revered.
We have only had recording technology for about a century. In a mere hundred years we have come a long way from fragile wax cylinders and 78s through the later vinyl, tapes and CDs. We came through a time when everything hinged on the say-so of a few record company executives who could pump money and marketing into your rocket to stardom, or sink your ship in an instant. Now we have Grooveshark and Spotify, Myspace and Facebook, Youtube and iTunes; now we have personal podcasts and blogs and ipods; now musicians have the freedom to steer their own ships of fortune through treacherous waters and hope to make it to the other side without getting tangled in nets and webs on the way. We’re striding, technology-wise, with leaps and bounds at an unbelievable pace. Where will we end up?
In the murky waters of the music world, the major record companies might be seen by some as sharks looking for prey, but they can also be seen as the ones with the connections and money for serious global marketing to make someone a ‘star’. It was companies like these who created ‘pop’ music in the first place, through all sorts of marketing strategies and manipulations where the performers are sometimes just pretty pawns. But what would happen to the music industry without them? We may soon find out…
Congratulations to Mary Kelleher in Lismore, who has won a pair of tickets for the First of the Summer Wine festival at Tramore Racecourse this coming Saturday, featuring Imelda May, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, Scullion and more.
Also this Saturday and Sunday, Opera lovers will be coming in droves to the beautiful surroundings of Lismore Castle for an exquisite production of Bizet’s Carmen, featuring Irish mezzo Fiona Murphy, American tenor Richard Crawley and orchestration by Redmond O’Toole in a production by Dieter Kaegi (of Opera Ireland).
For trad lovers the Fleadh hits Ballyduff again this weekend, featuring some of the finest players around. Contact Tom Hyland for more info (086 820 8242).
Let’s hope for good weather. I’ll be playing swing jazz with the Darktown Strutters for the weekend at the Murphys Cork Oyster Festival at the Rising Tide in Glounthaune.
If you have an event which you would like to have mentioned or reviewed for this column, please contact Ormy on 086 3634005 or info@sounds.ie.
Ormy is a musician who plays regularly all around the country, both as a solo performer and as part of the popular Cork-based band “The Darktown Strutters”. By day he teaches guitar, runs a busy guitar repair business in Lismore, and actively promotes live music all around the South East. See www.sounds.ie for more information.
