We take a closer look at how technology has changed the Northern Irish music industry. Are local musicians ignoring record labels in favour of Spotify and iTunes? We talked to local artists and industry insiders to find out.
The video for Chris Keys song ‘You’ opens with a shot of a spinning vinyl record. Featuring an old Beetle convertible, flowery shirts and men with long hair, it’s a flashback to a bygone age, when fans still shopped in record stores and everyone knew what a 7-inch was.
Like other industries, however, music has been completely disrupted by the rise of the Internet. Whilst many artists complain about Spotify royalties and piracy, others, like Amanda Palmer, see opportunity. Palmer – whose music, a mixture of punk rock and cabaret, would be deemed “not commercial enough” by most record labels – has managed to create a niche for herself as the Internet’s musician. Using Twitter, Facebook and her blog to talk constantly with fans, her Kickstarter campaign raised over $1 million. She uses digital platforms like iTunes, Spotify and her website to promote her music and sell merchandise – all without the help of a label.
Are artists starting to bypass record labels in favour of ‘going it alone’ with the help of the web? Closer to home, it seems to be an emerging trend. Musicians like Keys, a singer-songwriter from Portrush, says he wouldn’t pass up the right deal if it came along but enjoys the creative freedom of producing his own material. Plus, he says, there’s no point in waiting for a record label to notice you. “There’s just no point in sitting around waiting for things to fall in your lap so a lot of artists including myself are releasing – they can go about it independently and the chances are if you make things happen for yourself record labels will be looking to sign you up eventually anyway.”
Some industry insiders disagree, however, that artists are ignoring record labels altogether. Chris Hughes, who manages upcoming acts like Michael Sutthakorn and Jordan O’Keeffe, said a demo tape is no longer enough for labels “The music business is sadly like an airplane trying to change its engine mid-flight at the moment. An appropriate metaphor might be that selling music is now as tricky as people selling water. Its available for free in most places, although there’s still a demand to buy, but no longer a need to buy, although people will always need to consume. This shift has changed the revenue models of record labels dramatically. Thus I don’t think it’s as easy as artists ‘giving up’ on record deals, in fact often it’s the other way around. Record labels live and die by their ROI on the products they release and market, and often a ‘proof of concept’ is essential before they will invest. People like Ed Sheeran were established chart artists and selling out 500 capacity halls across the UK before they scored record deals. Although there’s always the ‘manufactured route’ [competitions like the X-Factor] but that doesn’t suit a lot of artists and competition for places is fierce.”
It seems like the web has made it both harder and easier to produce music. For those wedded to the old way of doing things, it’s become infinitely harder.
Find out more at NISP TechWatch.
