STUDIO
Is the constant flow of new music creating a generation of apathetic consumers? Tin Robert Records boss Pete Briley investigates…
THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING…
development of new talent and the emergence of new artists is getting smaller and smaller.
Some of you may remember that I wrote a series of articles in Playmusic Pickup discussing the various elements, both positive and a few less so, of establishing a new record label. Two years, six singles, an EP, and three albums later – we can honestly say that we have worked very hard. We have secured a distribution deal for our entire catalogue, which has helped us boost sales and get our releases more comprehensively to market. Our signings, THE DiSCiPLiNES (fronted by one Ken Stringfellow, whom many of you will recognize as the front-man of The Posies and long-time member of REM), have introduced us to working with artists based outside of the UK. Our homegrown acts, including White Bone Rattle and Kaleidophone, have appeared on the covers of national music magazines and had their music and views aired on national radio. And yet, despite the
achievements listed above, every day in music is challenging. Of the three albums we have
released (THE DiSCiPLiNES’ Virgins Of Menace, Kaleidophone’s What’s
Your Tonic? and The Zoo Community Jazz Band’s Monsieur Chevalier), there is not one that has been a bad record – in fact; they are all seriously good albums by seriously good artists.
Although we have had some
great sales fi gures, there seems to be an overriding apathy in the consumers of music. When we hear of yet another old act reuniting for records, festivals and tours, or the prostituting of the art form in a new series of X-Factor – you can’t help but feel a collective pinch of sadness. Consumers seem very willing to spend money on artists who have already had successful careers, or who are simply a marketing tool for the Christmas Number 1, usually a cynical re-hashing of the same songs we’ve already heard, but consumers seem oddly reluctant to invest in new talent.
The music industry is changing dramatically. Not only has it signifi cantly shrunk but it is also hugely over-saturated with artists. With reunion acts and the domination of manufactured pop acts with huge TV syndication, the slice of the pie left for the
Every decade has its defi ning artists. Pretty much everyone can name the prolifi c acts of the ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. But from the Noughties onwards we have a problem. When our children look back with what should be the envious eyes of people who missed defi nitive musical and cultural moments – what will they see? A string of one-hit wonders churned out by terrestrial TV marketing? The large-scale reforming of bands from other eras that have decided to cash in their nostalgia credits? Pete Townshend recently spoke very eloquently about how he would like to see iTunes supporting artists in more of a label capacity. Townshend is a visionary and we love that he values the work of new artists as much as we do, but his words haven’t considered the grass-roots musicians and the labels already supporting their roster and struggling to make a mark and build on talent. The fundamental changes that need to be made are in the attitudes of the consumers. The world already has what Pete Townshend is asking for. It is just
Kaleidophone
gets ignored in place of recognizable brands and acts. I urge you as consumers, and as musicians who have a vested interest in the health of the music industry, to invest in talent. Seek out indie labels and bands, go to their gigs; buy their albums. It is their livelihood, and more importantly its time to re-ignite music into the expressive and all-important life affi rming force for good it has always been. PM
www.tinrobotrecords.co.uk
White Bone Rattle 42
www.playmusicpickup.co.uk
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