Let's Be Honest Here (Covers vs Original & The Music "Biz")

[LeftyLoungeLizard]

Regarding playing covers vs. original material & the music "biz"...

Now, I'm not trying to Debbie Downer shit here, and I'm not saying don't write your own shit, but let's get real here (and correct me if I'm wrong; although I do have some experience here):

1. The vast majority of guitarists are not getting a major recording contract anymore; those days are long gone.

2. For the vast majority of guitarists, there is no real money to be made in the music business anymore; those days are long gone (anybody here who is paying all of their bills and living expenses by playing guitar, chime in)

3. Bust your ass all you want with your original material and polish to perfection; most people won't give a shit anyways and will never click on your track, no matter how good it actually is. Best case scenario is they'll listen to it once, then forget it even existed. Why? Because (4.), (5.), (6.), (7.), (8.) and (9.).

4. Most people want to hear the music of their youth, because "sentimentality" and "nostalgia".

5. Music is incredibly cheap and easy to come by these days; with the tap of a smartphone. Gone are the days of waiting patiently for "so-and-so's" new album to come out in the record store. Instant gratification.

6. People will never forget "Stairway To Heaven" or "Sweet Child O' Mine". They will forget your originals, however. Because they weren't listening to your originals when they had their first kiss, blazed up their first joint, had their first kegger, felt up Mary Jane Rottencrotch, went to the Prom, attended / graduated college, got married, took that trip, etc...

7. How much more new and innovative (yet catchy) pop music can possibly be made - haven't we "heard it all already"?

8. The guitar has been pretty much mastered. There will be no new Clapton, Hendrix, Page, EVH, Yngwie, Gilbert, Satch, Vai, EJ, Morse, Petrucci, Abasi, Emannuel, Govan. You are not going blow away people's minds and melt their faces with any technical prowess, because it's all been done before.

9. I strongly believe that if you weren't a major player when the big music biz wave happened 1950's to 1990's, you were too late for the "show"; you missed the boat. And that boat is never coming back.

 

[la szum]

Playing Music/Guitar = No external justification needed. Ever!







#noargumentneeded

 

[la szum]

I pretty much agree with everything you shared.

 

[laxu]

Most career musicians I know didn’t start writing music because they wanted it to be a career. They just wanted to make music, and happened to make good enough songs that people wanted to buy their records, go to their gigs etc. They didn't start in the "good old days" either.

We also shouldn't think about it in terms of "if you are not <famous artist> by the time you are 27, you are nothing". If you can make a living playing music - yours or someone else's - you have already succeeded. You probably won't get rich, but that's OK too.

Me, I don't have the drive for playing music as anything but a hobby. I'm not a songwriter, and I'm happy doing something totally different for a living. Leaves me with more gear money!

 

[FuzzyAce]

Well, you sure are a ball of fun.

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Creating music and being musical is something I seek joy
from, not fortune or notoriety.. and I'm okay with that.

 

[unix-guy]

If your premise of "the biz" means purely "getting paid to play music"...

But there's much more to the business such as:

• Songwriting
• Film scoring
• Music for television and advertisement
• Session work

None of those things are going away.

All of those things are limited availability and take work, talent and luck to be able to do, but the same can be said about many professions.

There are new songs written, recorded and released all the time that will be the song playing during someone's first kiss.

Who is writing those songs?

And only playing covers will never produce anything other than a performance at that moment in time.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Comments in red:

1. The vast majority of guitarists are not getting a major recording contract anymore; those days are long gone. Most got screwed in deals anyways based on a lot of stories over the years. Most bands never made it back then either. At least now you can build your own product however you see fit because aspects are more accessible. Still takes a lot of luck and hard work either way.

2. For the vast majority of guitarists, there is no real money to be made in the music business anymore; those days are long gone (anybody here who is paying all of their bills and living expenses by playing guitar, chime in) There are more diverse opportunities now with guitar related ventures than in the past. Social media has created a lot of visibility for those options - which have audiences. The landscape has changed from the past, but it doesn't mean there aren't other doors to go through.

3. Bust your ass all you want with your original material and polish to perfection; most people won't give a shit anyways and will never click on your track, no matter how good it actually is. Best case scenario is they'll listen to it once, then forget it even existed. Why? Because (4.), (5.), (6.), (7.), (8.) and (9.). At some point you can't worry about what others will think, you create to create. Hopefully people dig it, but it's never a guarantee. All of those hit songs and bands from old did their own thing, in their own way. Your statement suggests they probably shouldn't have done it.

4. Most people want to hear the music of their youth, because "sentimentality" and "nostalgia". Not continuously. Speaking as a listener myself, majority of the music I listen to now is within 10 yrs old.

5. Music is incredibly cheap and easy to come by these days; with the tap of a smartphone. Gone are the days of waiting patiently for "so-and-so's" new album to come out in the record store. Instant gratification. There are many young people buying vinyls. Believe it or not, there's a desire to listen to albums. I still download and purchase albums myself.

6. People will never forget "Stairway To Heaven" or "Sweet Child O' Mine". They will forget your originals, however. Because they weren't listening to your originals when they had their first kiss, blazed up their first joint, had their first kegger, felt up Mary Jane Rottencrotch, went to the Prom, attended / graduated college, got married, took that trip, etc... Of course I will never forget songs of my youth, how they impacted me, where I was etc. Those songs are imprinted in my brain, which is why I'd rather hear it performed by them than somebody covering it. Also see point 3b. And never forget... new memories are being made everyday, young and old people alike.

7. How much more new and innovative (yet catchy) pop music can possibly be made - haven't we "heard it all already"? There are plenty other genres to satisfy a listener's desires. Also see point 3a.

8. The guitar has been pretty much mastered. There will be no new Clapton, Hendrix, Page, EVH, Yngwie, Gilbert, Satch, Vai, EJ, Morse, Petrucci, Abasi, Emannuel, Govan. You are not going blow away people's minds and melt their faces with any technical prowess, because it's all been done before. Playing guitar to impress will only get you so far, that's where writing comes in.

9. I strongly believe that if you weren't a major player when the big music biz wave happened 1950's to 1990's, you were too late for the "show"; you missed the boat. And that boat is never coming back. Depends on what boat you want to ride on. Each boat has a set of requirements for entry but no guarantee of destination.

 

[PLX]

I heavily employ "interpolation" in all of my posted/published musics on the Internets.

 

[FracKing]

8. To be sure I would wait what some of the 6-year-olds who play Petrucci now are gonna do later
I also see people like Matteo Mancuso as interesting (except when he's playing Govan style licks), and I've seen lesser known wonders. While we may all be kinda used to any talent that may still appear, give them some time.

9. You never know. Although so much has probably changed for good, history repeats itself in ways... The more AI music may become mainstream, the more (even dumb) people may get interested in a few hundred musicians that still know the craft.

While the rant seems mostly correct, I don't see the people who need it anymore. I think this was all mostly known 10-20 years ago?

BTW, a friend (in Europe) had an awesome 80ies style band in the 90ies with their own Journey/Toto style songs, but, like Giant, they came too late... They could only get gigs if they made half of it covers... Makes it seem that today's younger crowd prefer 5-chord songs in one key and that's where it all went...