Jon Pinon

5/3/14

Mr. White

Journalism I 788 words

D.I.Y. Music: A New World of Possibilities

In recent years, many artists in the field of music have taken their craft into their

own hands with methods such as setting up their own studios and taking advantage of the

Internet to market their work in order to circumvent the industry. This developing trend

has helped give way to a revolutionary new approach for creating, promoting, and

distributing music without the need for establishing contracts with major labels.

“I think the D.I.Y. ethic has become popular,” said West Caldwell student and

aspiring musician Dylan Hertzberg, “because it’s harder to find a recording studio and

it’s easier to record on a computer.” Even if one does manage to find a recording studio,

there is a good chance they may not be able to afford it, especially given the current state

of the economy. As a result, musicians are instead pooling their savings together to

purchase equipment for a home studio that they will always have convenient access to

without having to regularly pay a large sum of money.

Additionally, the Internet has greatly simplified the act of artists promoting their

work. Hertzberg explained that a wide variety of music from independent musicians is

available on a multitude of websites such as Youtube, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp.

This growing ease of music promotion has become attractive to eager musicians,

as it means that they can put themselves “out there” more efficiently than ever before. As

Verona High School 11th grader and indie music fan stated, everyone now has the chance

to become a successful artist without the approval of a record company.

Along with the newfound ability of people to promote their work, the act of

producing the work itself has been greatly affected. Without the stipulations of recording

contracts, musicians are now given much more creative freedom and are allowed to do as

they please with their music. Therefore, they are better able to cultivate themselves as

artists. “The benefits include the freedom to learn as much as you want when you want

because of what is available through the Internet,” said VHS alumnus and recording artist

Matt Hartke. “You can also learn self-discipline and discover your own exploration

process.”

Despite all of this, the D.I.Y. ethic is certainly not without its drawbacks.

Generally, one must be very resourceful in order to attain success. Firstly, not everyone

has the skill set in areas such as mixing and mastering required for creating music. These

services are typically provided as part of a recording contract with a major label; with

major labels being taken out of the equation, however, the artist is left to fend for

him/herself by learning these skills on his/her own, which can lead to work of notably

low quality. Also, with ease of promotion comes an exponentially larger amount of artists

putting themselves “out there”, which means much more competition for the aspiring

artist to deal with. Therefore, it is far more difficult for a musician to be widely

recognized by the public.

“Since I’ve made over 100 electronic pieces,” stated VHS 11th grader and

ambitious electronic producer Alex Fiedler, “I’d say [the effectiveness of the D.I.Y.

method] is pretty self-explanatory.” As previously mentioned, the creative process of an

artist becomes much more permissive without the restriction of the industry. This equates

to a much broader variety of music in the world, as people are much more willing to

experiment and develop their own unique sound. As long as one has the proper

equipment, Hertzberg said, this ethic is effective.

The impact of the D.I.Y. ethic on the music industry can already be felt in this

decade. It has become popular to the point where several independent artists have

actually had hit singles at the top of the Billboard charts and have even attained radio

play, including but not limited to Macklemore, fun., Gotye, Bastille, Imagine Dragons,

and Kendrick Lamar.

Thanks to the popularity of this methodology, the major labels may be forced to

take some form of action during this time where more and more artists are casting their

services aside. “[The D.I.Y. ethic] will become more widespread, but there won’t be a

middle ground in the future,” said Schecter. “Music is becoming more independent, but at

the same time it’s becoming more corporate as well.”

“As technology advances,” Hartke said in regards to the future of the D.I.Y. ethic,

“it will continue to get more and more like this.” With the world becoming increasingly

centralized by the Internet, it is believed that this ethic can only evolve. As the tension

between the D.I.Y. and corporate paradigms continues, it is becoming probable that we

will one day see a world where the music industry is run primarily by artists rather than

major labels.