Stefan Goldmann goes deep

[Themis]

@Ingemar

i dont understand what you try to say.
of course everyone wants to make his hobby their job, all Goldmann is saying is - this was possible for music some time ago, now its not.
and thats sad. point.
a profession (music) lost to rationalization.

i hope my children will live in a world where the question "how do i earn money" doesnt exist any more.
so for me its not about, how we can change the music buisness so that every producer can make a living of it again - thats not possible anymore in my opinion. (for the majority)
its more about, how can we change the world that we dont have to work that much in a job which is not self-fulfillment.

[Ingemar]

@Themis

I guess my post was a bit of a rant, with the major line of thought being that music should be kept separate from money.

I think that we both have pretty much the same opinions but we are coming to them from different directions. I agree that there is no chance - and no point I want to add - in changing the music industry into something that people can make a living from.

The thing with self-fulfillment is that I think people place too much weight on it. You can always find it somewhere, be it a hobby, be it raising children, be it work. With the risk of sounding slightly self-righteous and buddhist-chic I think that self-fulfillment is a bit of an illusion, and personally I'd rather direct my energy towards contentness.

But I'm spiralling off topic here..

On a final note, I don't agree that the musical profession has been lost due to rationalisation. Rationalisation infers that a rational choice has been made (by someone, or some entity), instead I see it as a natural development in line with how technology and society has grown into what it is today.

[patrick bateman]

why should music be kept away from money?
these 2 things has always been together.

[Themis]

there were a lot of rational choices

from the labels who didnt want the high vinyl distribution costs, to the artists who wanted cheap instruments (VSTs).
even the DJ didnt want to carry around vinyls and so on and so on

there are every day rational choices which are made for you by companies who search cost reduction. in the music example under the disguise of music production progression and improvment for music.

in reality everyone (artists, DJs, Labels, Distributors) have the same things like a decade ago but for much less costs.

so thats classic rationalisation.
its also development, but i wouldnt call it natural, its manmade its called capitalism - its whole purpose is to relief us from every work out there in the end. only that without earning money we cant live - but that doesnt stop capitalism

[jessejames]

That was a great read.

This is the main problem im facing.

Usually people argue there will have to be some sort of day job then. As aforementioned, that would be perfectly fine if being occupied all day with something not relevant to music didn’t actively hinder you from devoting yourself to developing your artistic edge. Your mind will be occupied with other stuff instead of exploring the areas of sound where it gets deep. To be able to create stuff that outlasts two weeks, you’ll need to go full time at some point.

It's almost impossible for me to concentrate right now on making music. I only have some free hours during the night (I have to play music a low volumes) and the weekend, but I can't force creativity. It just happens, and sometimes you need to recreate some kind of atmosphere or being in the right modd in order to accomplish something decent. And it also doesnt help being tired from the day job and counting the hours left before going to bed.

My solution to this problem was to get out of bed early and work on music before going to work. I did this for almost 6 months. I would create in the mornings with my headphones and coffee and sort out arrangement and mixing on the weekends when I had more time.

I found that my brain (and I assume everyone's brain) is more active and creative in the morning before going to work.

I don't do it now because it's hard to keep up.

[jessejames]

I'm not programming synths and basslines because I want money, but because it sounds good to me and it's fun, and I am sure that 99% of the people on this board feels exactly the same way. It's the love for the music. I mean, I wasn't very old when I first realised that "hey, playing with Lego all day isn't really a realistic scenario...", so therefor I'm not really nursing any unrealistic dreams of ever supporting a family solely by my exaggerated love for bleeps and blops.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/31/l ... index.html

[::BLM::]

But I can't understand why there is such a struggle amongst producers to earn a living on their music (their Hobby!) Everyone wants to make a living on their hobby these days, and that's a major problem that few people even acknowledge.

Why is it a major problem? Someone wanting to do what their passion is for a living should not be a major problem! Other then my family I have pretty much no other interest in any other fields so why would I not want to make a living out of one of the only things I enjoy? If you wanted to make a living in pretty much any other field you could do so a lot easier than being a musician. Life is short, why would I waste it doing something I have zero interest in?

[Ingemar]

@BLM

I don't think that there is anything wrong with making money on music, and I don't think that there is anything wrong doing what you like doing for money - but if you do make profit on music and make a lifestyle of it, where would you end up? Would you expose to the world your personal workflow, your personal tricks and what makes your music special?

Seeing as I'm not a rich person, it's easy for me to say that I don't want to be in that position, where I am dependent (and in extent, anyone else) on my music.

I'm not sure how to explain my point of view without writing half a novel in this editing window, examining every moral aspect of being a musician. But I'm young, I'm idealistic. I'm content with a few appreciative comments on soundcloud and maybe some pocket money from releases here and there.

Each and everyone to their own, I don't expect the whole world to agree with me