An op-ed opinion article written by Taylor Swift and published by the Wall Street Journal this week proclaims that the music industry is in fact not dying. Instead she believes that the business of selling music is actually thriving, which pretty much goes against what has become common knowledge to the rest of the planet. Now I'm not saying Taylor Swift is completely wrong here, but I'm betting she's a much better songwriter and artist then she is a predictor of our musical future.
One of the main points of the article is that she believes music has value, and that artists should recognize that value and "ask" for it in the marketplace instead of giving (or almost giving) the music away. Unfortunatly this is like expecting something to be a certain way just because you want it to be. I'm a firm believer of positive affirmation but it will only get you so far in the real world. The reality is and always has been that the marketplace, the consumers (ie. you and I) will always be the deciding factor as to how goods are purchased and consumed. People want convenience and cheap so they have already voted wholeheartedly that music streaming is what they want.
Now Ms. Swift makes many valid points in her article, one where she talks about how artists need to be more inventive both when recording and creating live shows in order to hold the attention of their audience. She also makes the comment that she is almost never ever asked for an autograph any more. Can you imagine meeting Taylor Swift and not asking for an autograph?? Well since the "selfie" picture has taken over consumers have jumped to this as their preferred way of remembering their personal encounter with an artist. Besides, who wants a scribbled signature when you can have an everlasting image of you with the star :)
Despite not agreeing with some of her points, her article is definitely an interesting read and I'd recommend you check it out here: Wall Street Journal: Taylor Swift and the Future of Music.
What actually caught my eye first was this very good response to Taylor's Op-Ed piece by Nilay Patel at www.vox.com VOX: Taylor Swift doesn't understand supply and demand . He makes some excellent points and backs up with data that really drives the points home.
One of Taylor's early hits and one of my favorites "You Belong To Me" in 2009. Listening back to again now and I still think its a great pop song which will always win me over as a fan. Note this video has been viewed over 321 million times since its release - pretty amazing for a 3 minute pop song.
That's all for today kiddies - be back tomorrow with some more musical nuggets for you!
Music, Love & Laughter,
Vincent James @ LoveSongs.com
p.s. KEEP MUSIC ALIVE Day #8 - Please visit our first post from Tuesday July 1st for more information about our mission
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