The Record Industry Sells Records

As a student of classical music in a distinguished and hyper competitive conservatory, I often find myself wondering, where the hell are these kids going to get the 100,000$ to pay off their graduate school loans.  I recently read that there are over 40,000 bachelors of music graduates a year.  Wikipedia currently has listed 178 functioning orchestras in the United States, many of whom do not have their own website let alone a separate wiki page.  In Canada, Wikipedia lists 28.  The most prominent and well known of those the CBC Radio Orchestra, which was just last year privately restructured as the “National Broadcast Orchestra.”  Out of those two hundred some odd orchestra’s maybe ten are hiring and even worse maybe three are in the black. 

What am I trying to say?

You may think to yourself, “yes, I get it nobody like classical music except for myself and my friends.  I have chosen a life-long career of disappointment, isolation, and poverty.  Thank you.”

It is exactly that perspective that most classical musicians are fixated upon which does nothing but further isolate classical music from the mainstream and create a toxic industry.  Yes, we are in an “R” word and music sales have plummeted due to the decline of product sales.  It is in times like these that musicians must fight for the ability to pursue their passion.  It is all too safe to settle in the comfort of a gated conservatory.  Classical music lazily hides behind the security of academia to preserve itself.  And although you, dear reader, may be responding, “I don’t care.  I like conservatory.  I want to teach.”  Ask yourself, was it really in an academic setting that first ignited your creative passion for music?  The real answer to the preservation of classical music then lies not within the sheltered walls of conservatory.  It is in the world where normal people are able to hear and enjoy the beauty of a Beethoven trio, or the solemnity of a Chopin Nocturne.  It is up to us as the newest generation of musicians to break free from the constraints imparted upon us.  We as musicians are naturally warriors, we rebel against social norms, we vie for gigs, and our strength and intensity in our battle for the preservation of classical music should be no different.

De Profundis

I was rereading the book The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual by a collaboration of the authors Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger (available in its entirety for free).  This is a really fascinating book that I keep around the house.  It is an insightful perspective on our cyber marketplace, and is especially usefull for us musicians. If these first two sentances from the introduction by Christopher Locke  don't peak your interest, than you should probably start thinking about composing and performing for Mr.Crusoe on the Juan Fernández Islands.... (I hear he doesn't have an iPhone yet).  

"What if the real attraction of the Internet is not its cutting-edge bells and whistles, its jazzy interface or any of the advanced technology that underlies its pipes and wires? What if, instead, the attraction is an atavistic throwback to the prehistoric human fascination with telling tales? "

Music's Pychosophy

A study of 26,000 people from Professor Adrian North at Hyatt-Watt University showed a strong connection between music and personality...

Jazz: High self esteem, creative and at ease

Rock/Metal: Low self esteem, not hardworking, creative, introvert

Classical: High selfesteem, introvert and at ease

Dance: Creative and outgoing

Country: Hardworking, outgoing

Opera Rock God...in a totally non Webber way

I have been training to become an opera singer since the age of 9.  I have always been determined and focused on becoming an opera rock god.  After more than half of my life spent around professional musicians all at different stages of their careers, I now realize that performance is not where I can do the most good for music.  It is up to my generation to consume and enjoy the music in a totally new way.  The experience of opera and classical music, both to the fault of administration and the musicians themselves, becomes more outdated every day.  I would think that dating this music, which in itself proves to be the most powerful and expressive of all art forms, would be a pretty difficult task.  It was classical musicians who panicked with the advent of recorded music, but still survived. In an environment where all forms of music production seem to be struggling to find the next distribution structure, Opera needs to assert itself, “lop off” its association with the old forms, and ensure its place in tomorrow’s landscape.
Opera is dramatic.  Opera is sexy.  Opera is sex.  Opera doesn’t die....the “blue hairs” do.