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| From | "kerry_kompost" <kerry_kompost@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: The Great Debate (No Answers Here) |
| Date | Wed, 16 May 2007 17:20:43 -0000 |
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Michael Carpenter wrote:
>And then, your comment above, about how you make music.. man..i've
spoken publicly about my struggles to keep alive my career and my
studio enough, and then you come here and talk about how 'easy' it
is.<
But it IS easy enough to make music! All it takes is time and
inspiration and some imagination, you know that. Just 'cause I'm
doing it in my bedroom doesn't mean it's any less musical than
someone doing it in a studio with a budget. The ENGINEERING and
execution will be different, but the MUSIC is what it is. MOST
EVERYONE is recording music in their bedrooms these days, that's an
irrefutable fact.
What's hard is MAKING A LIVING from the music. You know this
firsthand.
To Michael and every other artist here who is hanging their hopes
and dreams and putting the lives of their families in financial
danger because they feel they're "not meant" to work a 40-hour week
day job, all I can say is you've gotta live with the choices you've
made. No gun was placed to your collective heads forcing you to take
such -- to me, anyway -- outrageous, and, frankly, dangerous risks.
You've made a business decision and you'll live or die by it.
Thousands of businesses fail every day, it's a fact of life.
Michael, you've mainly expressed dismay with the way your CAREER in
the 'biz is going (or not, as the case may sadly be), not your
actual musical growth. You're 100% right, I have no idea what it
takes to make a living as a full-time musician/studio
owner/producer. What I'm talking about here is not the business side
of things, I'm talking about the creation side of things. I abhor
the business, and I could never allow myself to be in the precarious
position you now find yourself in. The fact that it's driven you --
and others -- to think of giving up the artistic side of things
drives home my point. Why let anything kill the thing you love so
much?
I am NOT making light of your dreams and aspirations -- I respect
you for making a tremendous effort to make them come true. That
takes a lot of (rolling) balls, my friend.
However, struggling with a career in the music business has ALWAYS
been difficult; I've read enough interviews with artists over the
decades (and know a few personally) to know this: you WILL be ripped
off. Your vision WILL be compromised. You WILL lose money. And with
the climate these days? Forget it. I'm astounded you've done as well
as you have, and you should be extremely proud of yourself that
you've proven your mettle as a songwriter/performer/producer/studio
owner. Ditto Jaimie, Bruce, Owsley...et al.
But look at the cost, man. It seems like you're hating life (based
on the posts I've read here). It sounds like you're going to be
forced into making musical choices based on a business model. Talk
about taking the fun out of music! I could never, ever do that. You
can. Viva la difference.
But will the lack of business success really cause you to lose the
inspiration to make new music? You have said you work very hard to
better your songwriting, your voice, your productions -- and you
HAVE. I've heard the progression. Won't you ALWAYS be writing new
music, no matter how you're making a living?
>you're like an armchair critic<
In a sense, yes, I am, because my music is not bound by commerce. I
know nothing about the business side of things, and I don't WANT to.
History has proven that, for artists, music and business rarely see
eye to eye -- somewhere, a compromise has to be made. I don't wanna
find myself in that predicament.
On the other hand, I've been on my fair share of recordings and have
been exceptionally privileged to have been asked to play with some
incredible artists, so I know there is value in what I have to offer
musically. All I ever wanted was respect from those artists I
admire, and I've been lucky enough to have earned a share of that.
That, alone, is enough for me.
> But please don't compare what you're doing to Will Owsley, or me,
or Bruce Brodeen, or David Grahame among others. <
I never made this claim, and it'd be absurd if I did. All I said was
that when Will Owsley said he was "giving up music", I wondered, did
he ever truly have it? Because, as I've said before, the concept
of "giving up music" doesn't exist in my mind. I can't stop, and I
can't understand how any person who claims to be a songwriter could
stop, unless, of course, the well runs totally dry (which usually
means you've exhausted the parameters of the genre you're working
in).
As for David Grahame, all I can say is the dude most likely made
some decent money (ie. Song = House) from the Mr. Big tune and he
got really, really lucky. For every DG, there's a 10,000 Michael
Carpenters. I know this isn't news to you. Staking out a living
based on luck isn't a real solid plan, IMHO. It's definitely not for
me.
I admire your passion and talent, Michael, but I can't say the same
about your business decisions. Two different things.
>So please don't compare your music making situation to those who
are trying to find an audience.<
I think you mean don't compare my music making situation to those
who are trying to make a living via a paying audience.
I'd like to find an audience too (even one person would be nice),
but they have to be MY audience; I do what I do and if someone likes
it, all good, but I'm not going to change the way I perceive and
write music to try to earn an audience, or earn a label's support.
They'll either like me or not, it's not my call. The fact that I
recorded something on my own, at home, after work, without a bar
code or a 4-color CD sleeve is irrevelant to me. It's about the
music, not the amount of money that goes into the production. I know
I'm in the minority here, but that's the way I feel. Please allow me
that.
Thank you, Michael, for your insight, I truly wish you well, I meant
no slight to your situation and I feel for you. I'm just saying: you
made the choice to hang it all on the business side of music, and I
choose not to. If that somehow invalidates my music in your ears, if
I'm not "really" a musician or songwriter because I choose to keep
my financial freedom in exchange for the ability to create music
when and where I please, so be it.
kErrY
www.myspace.com/kompost
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