Digital dilemma

The Internet has dramatically changed things regarding music in every way imaginable. One of these is certainly related to "getting out there". Not only that you have the means to showcase your work - you also have an opportunity to put it on the market without many restrictions. The time in which everyone has an equal chance has finally arrived. Or has it?

Traditional record labels seem to be dying. Many would say: good riddance! Once upon a time, going through a record label was the only possible way. And it was hard to get in. Looking at my primary interest, instrumental music, I must mention legendary Mike Oldfield here. His debut album, "Tubular Bells", became one of the most selling pieces of modern music. Back in the day, Oldfield has struggled an awful lot trying to find a record label willing to publish his work at all. Many of these didn't see the commercial interest in music without lyrics. However, thanks to the vision of people behind Virgin Records (then in the making) and featuring of "Tubular Bells" in a blockbuster film "The Excorcist" by director Willam Friedkin, hugely talented but socially awkward Oldfield was launched into stardom back in 1973.

These days, you don't seem to need going through all that red tape and closed doors anymore. Thanks to the revolution brought by the Internet and various digital music platforms, you can simply skip over these obstacles. You can sell your music all over the world and keep most of the resulting income to yourself. But there has to be a catch somewhere. You must be noticed enough for all this to happen. And this is actually a tall order to accomplish, especially if you're on your own and producing music that is generally not very popular or intended for the masses. Also, the market is enormous and overly saturated, especially supply-wise.

Promotion is something often taken for granted today. Everyone is considered online and having hundreds of contacts on social media. Great! Problem solved. But what if you (like me) don't fit that bill? Personally, I dread social media, especially from an artist's standpoint. I don't want to sound arrogant and self-righteous, but there are no boundaries anymore. The question of who is an author and who is an audience has become blurred and hazy. Apart from putting immense effort into developing your talent and skills and producing quality work, you now also need to be constantly reaching out to the potential fans out there, in person. Not everyone's cup of tea, certainly not mine.

This is one area where traditional record labels could potentially help, or at least I assume so. Sadly, working with a label still seems to be an exclusive zone and closed club, which is the very reason behind the explosion of digital publishing. Not to mention the fact that most record labels look at their own interests first before even giving you a chance. So most arguments seem to be on the side of digital distribution. But reaping what you sow while using these modern means available, remains a daunting and uncertain task as it was long before their inception. In other words: it's (still) all about luck and personal circumstances.