State of the Nation

So yeah, it's been a long while. I am clearly not really on it with the blogging.

In somewhat-out-of-date CD release news, "Burning Down The Guest House" (featuring my good self) is out and Certified Banger has shown some love. There's a link to a free download on there as well.

Otherwise though, the reason I've dipped back on to Blogspot is related to a conversation I just had with Leeds producer Krimewave (with whom I may be collaborating soonish).

Basically, we were talking about the diminishing returns on CD sales and all that. You know, theme of the new millennium for all music makers and lovers. The conclusion I came to was that music is going to lose a lot of the false mystique that comes from combining large amounts of money with creative talent. The beauty of a really well-put-together tune will remain, but as a profession it's going to be a lot more workmanlike. With less big-bang cash-flow over short periods of time and live music being a better earner than CD sales, there'll also need to be more of a focus on longevity.

I don't know if that's all a good thing - in some ways I actually think it will be - but either way, it's an inevitable change and will be an interesting one to observe.

At base, I think we need to remember as the music business evolves that it really is just music. It's important enough that we will continue to expend effort making it, and will pay for it in some form or other. However, the fact that it's not something many people can make a lavish full-time living off doesn't strike me as that big a deal.