It's all in the music
Though sheer coincidence, both today's column and iHerald are focused on the world of music. But really, the bigger theme seems to be the future of music and the industry that has built itself around it.
I wish I could say it was completely planned that way, but I don't have that kind of foresight.
Monday Magazine
This is the third year the Portland Conservatory of Music has held it's Rock 'n' Roll Summer Camp, which has become a big hit for them.
We had done stories in the past about Rock Camp, but I had never gotten the chance to write one. In taking another look at the camp, what stands out is the many return campers who are dead set for some sort of career in the music business.
Take Cerulean for example. The band is a direct product of rock camp, and has had the opportunity to play shows around town with other local bands as a result.
When I went to camp last week they were just a few of the people who had returned to camp. The biggest selling points were obvious – you get a nice space to play in (space that may make some local bands jealous) and can play as long and loud as you want.
If you think about it, summer camp experiences are something everybody remembers from their childhood. Soccer camp, Bible study camp, asthma camp, YMCA, the list goes on. Having the chance to cut loose and potentially gain experience that you'll rely on for the rest of your life?
Not a bad alternative to band camp.
iHerald
Over in Le iHerald this morning, we look at what exactly some of these young musicians will be inheriting if they make it.
It's no secret that the music Industry (big "I" for emphasis and importance, obviously.) has been taking a hit because of digital downloads. First it was music piracy, which the Recording Industry Association of America has responded to with lawsuits against anyone who ever touched a computer and thought about music.
But the bigger issue now is the legitimate stuff, the downloads from iTunes, CD Baby and so many others.
According to Nielsen Soundscan, sales of complete albums, digital or on CD, are down 14 percent this year. At the same time singles made up 64 percent of paid music downloads this year.
Downloading is not going anywhere and as record companies try to find a way to get paid, things seem to be favoring fans right now.
How does it not benefit fans when you can find, listen to and buy music relatively quickly, and often through one source?
Music blogs such as My Old Kentucky Blog or services like Pandora (which I am listening to as I type this) are leading the new wave of ways people can find and buy music.
For local bands, such as
Hiss and Chambers, they know their fans expect digital music, said drummer Ryan Dolan.
The band's EP, "Making Eyes," is available on CD, but also through their MySpace site, CD Baby and iTunes.
Dolan said digital music is just part of the bigger online experience that helps local bands make a connection with their fans.
Dolan said CD's have never made bands too much money and that they just have to find other ways to make enough money to keep going.
"You can't download a T-shirt," Dolan said.
One thing that I found interesting in talking with Dolan and Todd "The Rocket" Richard, is the idea that digital music could change the way artists approach making music.
For instance, will filler tracks disappear? Obviously not every track on an album is going to be a single or get major radio play. But often deep tracks can be fan favorites or adopt a special place in musicians hearts.
Richard is one of the people behind
wepushbuttons.com, which earlier this year released a mixtape online, for free.
Richard, a self-proclaimed pop-music-radio junkie, said singles may take on a different significance in our culture.
"The idea of just releasing singles I feel like underscores the transient nature of artist through the music business," he said. "An album has permanence in spirit, a single is almost conceding you're not going to be around tomorrow."
Here's a few discussion questions to get the comments going:
- Could you have used rock camp when you were younger?
- Did summer camp (in any form) have lasting significance in your life?
- How do you get most of your music, any favorite sites and blogs?
- Do you think CDs are going to die off?
- Is the RIAA doing the right thing by suing people for illegal downloads?
Make sure to get in your say for the Commenter of the Week contest.
Posted by at 11:14 AM
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In the summer of 1989, me and my brother Geoff attended an inexpensive 4 night summer camp on Newcastle Island; a rocky, raccoon-ridden, blot of sandstone in between Vancouver Island and the Mainland, pocked with mines, made famous by supplying the sandstone that built the San Francisco Mint.
The camp got off to a good start with a cookout and a few rounds of that parachute game that has no real purpose other than to keep idiot kids busy and laughing.
Towards nightfall, our 3 camp leaders (an assortment of late-teens, early-20's BC potheads with little-to-no experience managing 30 Canadian kids) decided to let us kids in on the problems with "Ghost Miners" on the island, and how they had been responsible for several recent child murders.
By midnight or so, my nerves were a little rattled by the highs and lows of marshmallow sugar, several potential Ghost Miner sightings, mild dehydration, and general exhaustion. A nature walk in the dark was just what I needed.
Our fearless leaders took us into 3 staggered groups down the single dirt road that winded through the campsites and towards the "mining museum"/shack. I was apart of the last wave, a full 10 minutes behind the first group, and 5 minutes behind the second (which my brother was in).
About 5 minutes into the walk, further away from the luminance of the city of Nanaimo across the water and deeper into the dark, we came to a clearing full of a bunch of dead kids scattered around a blazing fire, their necks broken, their faces bloodied and bruised. My brother hung by his broken neck from a tree, and fresh blood dripped from his mouth. I wondered how I'd tell my parents of his death, I wondered if I would escape the murderous Ghost Miners.
It was all too much for my 9 year old mind to process, and I decided jumping into the fire was my only option. Shock has a strange effect on the human body, and it slowed me down just enough for the grand finale when the dead kids jumped up and started chasing us back to our campsite.
Did summer camp have a lasting significance in my life? Not really, but I know to stay away from Ghost Miners.
Posted by
JonathanAugust 20, 2007 03:33 PM
Unfortanately the RIAA uses illegal downloading as a scape goat -- and punished their consumer base which is a stupid business move on their part. If the problem was that simple. The sole reason the record industry has lost money isn't illegal downloading, but rather a shaky economy and an inferiour product. Downloading could've been an effective marketing tool had the major labels understood it better -- but they were scared of losing control. As a result, they have lost control. Blogs have shown that mp3s can be an effective marketing tool... and the major labels are slowly, for better or worse, coming around.
Unfortantely, the major labels are too big to adjust to the times and they will continue to struggle. They need to learn to adapt to make it --- smaller labels are the ones surving. Musicians don't NEED labels anymore -- they do need savvy management and a savvy booking agent. Everything else can be done from their laptop.
While major labels have shrunk, the tailend has grown. This is what is exciting. With the Internet, every niche genre is at the consumer's fingertips. Local bands have become international over night. It's exciting.
The Industry (capital I) isn't hurting. It's changing. The Industry is becoming more about the little guy and less about the corporation --- and if you ask me, there's nothing wrong with that.
There's never been a better time to be a music fan.
Posted by
TravisAugust 21, 2007 10:47 AM
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