I sound like a bitchy old fart, but seriously, when I was growing up--the music industry was still a shit hole but--no artist had to promote themselves, market themselves, produce themselves, book themselves, network themselves ... technology/social networking has taken the music industry into a whole new level of crap. I wonder how long before it can no longer sustain itself. I mean because, seriously, there is only so much one band or one artist can do. And most musicians who aren't supporting themselves financially off their music yet can't afford the time to do all the shit being increasingly demanded that musicians do. Have professional photos, make a website, create a logo, merch, have an up to date EPK (or whatever it is), grow your fan base, interact with fans on 10 different platforms, upload your stuff to those platforms and update daily, make videos (you figure out how of course), you promote yourself, you make your music, you write your lyrics, you find kindred musicians, you don't be late for practice, you afford the good equipment you need, you get the experience playing live gigs, you make the calls, you do the networking, you make the right connections, you find a way to advertise, you get on playlists, you manage every aspect of your upcoming "release", you ask your flaky bassist to beg his mom for the cost of said album release, you partake in contests, you design your album art, fliers, and on...and on. ...seriously, it's a matter of time. Mark my words.
