The Many Faces Of The Creative Artists

If there is any single truth in the world, it's that things change. Some things quicker than others, but nothing stays the same. The creative arts are on the express train of change and if we don't accept it, we will either miss the train altogether or get off at the wrong stop and miss the announcement to get back on.

This train is fueled by changes in technology, the consolidation of big business and the glut of information and forms of entertainment available today.

In the music business, I first noticed it in the early 1980s when midi, drum machines, programmable synthesizers and smpte time code first became common. A non-drummer could sound ALMOST like a real drummer. Mistakes could be corrected quickly and easily and you could purchase interesting sounds instead of having to create them from scratch. The world was speeding up and dumbing down.

Then came DAT, CDs, ADATs, DATs, Sound Designer software and samplers. Next came computers with sequencing software, Digital audio workstations and the music marketing game changer....Napster. In true major label fear factor tradition, just as they had done with cassette recorders and CDs, the power players tried to intimidate people who used digital distribution of music instead of embracing the new technology and finding a way to use it as a new tool. They played the tough guy one time too many and the new generation of music listeners had finally had enough. The digital distribution revolution was on.

Trading music with friends was easy, fast and convenient. Simply stealing it and giving it to the masses became a new game led by both outlaw computer wizards and just new thinkers. Once the high school and college crowd,  got wind of a massive library of music available 24/7 for the price of a medium speed internet connection, they got used to getting creative content for free very quickly.

The record companies were at a loss as to how to deal with this new technology and the trends of the consuming public, so they used lawyers to intimidate and tried to develop copy proof CDs. As fast as the majors could come up with a new idea or a technology, the hackers cracked them. The downward spiral of brick and mortar music retailers, CDs and big budget records had begun in earnest and the major labels were falling into digital depression.



It would be a number of years before the iPod and iTunes came on the market and slowed the death spiral of the music business, but by that time, video games and DVDs were in wide distribution and were eating away at the home entertainment market share. Live concerts had become prohibitively expensive and even the artists were getting their own ideas on how to make their own way.

Recording, marketing, tour support, A&R and signing budgets were slashed for even the biggest artists and the majors over a 15 year period have become catalog and licensing businesses more than innovative creative idea farms.

Today, the same thing has happened to print publishing, journalism, copy writing and is rapidly devouring  content creation in the film and television worlds,  post-production, commercials and even education.

If you want to be creative today, you best learn a few skills other than your art. You have to learn how to market yourself, your talents and your persona. You have to switch from being an artist, to being a marketing wizard, a publicist, an intellectual property and licensing guru and feel comfortable in all of these areas.

You have to network, don't burn bridges and learn something new every day. It's not easy and often not fun, but without at least a general working knowledge of all of these things in addition to your skills as a creative artist, you will be lost in today's world..and most likely broke.

On the positive side, you don't have to be an expert in all of these areas. Don't let the prospect of it all overwhelm you. If you can't or won't learn the business side of things, then you'll need to find someone who can. Look for a mentor or a partner who is passionate about your work and who you trust and going beyond trust, write out an equity sharing agreement and have it checked out by an attorney.

Next week, I'll talk about some of the new companies and individuals who are paving the way for the future generations of content creators. It's the wild west out there and it's not an easy task, but keep an open mind about it and there just may be a light at the end of the tunnel.