In a recent interview Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramar said he doesn't see any point in the band making another album. Citing the dismal state of the music industry as the reason, Kramar said "Records don't sell, and they don't do anything."
Kramer Interview
The same logic was also stated by REM when they gave their farewell speech in 2011. The band held a press conference to announce their departure, probably because without a press conference nobody would have noticed.
A clear case could be made that these acts don't sell because these acts are no longer relevant. I would point out that the Miley Cyrus album Bangerz (one of the most hyped releases in years) was out for 7 months and only just reached platinum status last month. Lady Ga Ga's album Artpop had a very strong release, but has now been out over half a year and is still not platinum.
If you are in your twenties, or younger, then this doesn't mean much to you, but once upon a time popular albums shipped platinum. Stores bought enough copies that before any single fan had a CD in their hand, the artist had already earned 10% of 15 million dollars (approximately).
There was a day and a time and a moment in history when a small band or artist could pay for his own album, and sell enough at shows to earn some serious money. Hootie and the Blowfish did it. They were so successful at doing it that before signing with a label they were able to sell 50K copies of a demo EP in 1993. Let's assume they charged a modest $5 a piece (although it is more likely they charged $10). At five per unit, that's $250,000 in the bands pocket (minus expenses).
As things are, I doubt it is possible for a band to do the same today. How often do you buy music? I virtually never pay for it.
When I have this discussion with my grandmother she always tries to claim the higher ground by saying that she always pays for her music. That is true, but used albums and cassettes acquired at garage sales do not earn the performer any revenue.
This is why you no longer hear stories about how a band met, at least not true stories. The industry is changing and 99.9% of acts on major labels are created by the label. It's a story older than Motown: "If you set here, don't talk back, and look pretty, we will let you have the crumbs that fall from the table." An example of this would be Lorde who was 13 when she signed to Universal and was under their tutelage for four years, working with singing instructors, and songwriters, before the label could convince the public that she was worth a shit.
Why then would you want to be a musician in a time when your chances at widespread success are so slim? I mean there are always ditches that need to be dug, and truthfully you would earn more money (and certainly spend less) making holes in the ground. I guess you could be an artist because you derive satisfaction from the process. I guess you could do it because you're not just another attention hungry whore.
On a different subject, earlier this year Imagine Dragons won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance proving that Rock is dead. More recently, Lorde won the Billboard award for Best Rock Song proving that God is dead.
Things are not what they once were. You can go with the flow, or get out of the way, but the progression is not going backwards. I once loved Rock music, but any more I seldom recognize it.
I think about this often. Occasionally it causes me to become depressed. Having reached my lowest point, unaware of how much I needed salvation, a single, suspended light shined upon me. Nurturing my otherwise starved desire for sincere creativity in music the band
Colourmusic blessed me with the album
May You Marry Rich.
Not familiar with
Colourmusic? That's a shame. You need to rectify that. This band's got balls. After taking two albums to their label and having the suits tell them that the records weren't commercial enough, rather than scrapping their vision, the band chose to pay to release the albums themselves.
May You Marry Rich, released on the Memphis Industries label, is the follow up to that nearly noumenon hiatus.
Check out their previous work. All of it is gold. This new album, however, is a staggering leap forward from the bands back catalog, while still maintaining the group's eccentric existentialism. Teetering between profound and profane, May You Marry Rich is a beautiful portrayal of the thinking man's lowest common denominator: it's all about sex baby. It's all about you and me. Or in this case, more often about submission.
After you've listened to it and fell in love with it, then do yourself a favor and go out of your way to go see them live. I once saw Nick Cave perform with a 7 piece band, and I would argue that
Colourmusic's three piece can compete with Cave's wall of sound any day of the week. It is all encompassing, completely awe inspiring, and always entertaining.
Things will never be as they once were, but now I believe there's a chance (although slight) that they can be even better. I once was lost, but now I am found. Was blind but now I see.
May You Marry Rich has given me hope that the record industry may once again be able to sustain intelligent life.
You can learn more about the band's background from their Bio:
http://www.memphis-industries.com/artist/colourmusic/
and enjoy their back catalog for free here (but you really should pay them for their effort):
http://colourmusic.bandcamp.com/
And don't go away without watching their awesome video for the song You
For Leaving Me. It's not from the new album. I just love the video.
