TheCapitalClinic

An increasing number of Artists are coming to Fuzz everyday. They range from seasoned professionals to untested start-ups. Over-all, the, so-called, "median Profile" [just a convenient statistical framing exercise put forward by me] seems to be as follows:

(i) intrinsic/Inside: the quality of work being uploaded by Artists at digital music sites is good-to-excellent, sometimes "undisciplined" but with promise; and dedication to their artistic calling is high;

(ii)extrinsic/Outside: willingness of Artists to find new solutions in the web-based environment is self-evident [their Fuzz and other online presence speaks for itself]; but, for the most part, their knowledge of digital solutions in a technological environment is rudimentary [not a surprising conclusion since most Artists are focussed on pushing out the envelope of their "Art" from the Inside but not the Outside - particularly in such a rapidly changing technological world].

I lay out the Inside/Outside framing exercise above because I would like to get back to the question alluded to in past blogs: what is the good of Art created if is not also Art seen and heard?

To advance our thinking about this conceptual but, to me, vital question about the future of music, I would like to consider some more specific questions as follows:

1. What percentage of their personal time are Artists ready, willing, or able to devote to expanding their extrinsic persona [i.e. their brand equity] as contrasted with their intrinsic creativity? None?, 10%, 25%, 1/3?, 50%, More?

2. If it is less than 50% [as I speculate below], do they expect the world to find them because of the "uncompromised" quality of their "Art"? A related question: if so, do they have the staying power until that process of random selection happens?

3. If individual Artists neither have the time, inclination, or ability to focus on the "externality" of their artistic endeavors, are they willing to have dedicated agents to do this on their behalf? If so, who/when/what/how much? In this connection, see Maureen's excellent 6 part series on Band Management.

In the "good ol" or "bad ol" days [depending on whether you were "discovered" by them and/or not screwed over], most musicians looked to the "major labels" to do the heavy lifting regarding the "externalities" for them, even if it meant compromising on some of the "internalities". [Others looked to the "indie labels" who had a "sliding scale" of support, but were perceived not to offer the "Big Bang."]

The "Big Bang" days are largely over in the modern digital era [although, as noted, the "Phenoms will still be with us"]. Problem is: Artists are still not ready, willing, or able to devote at least half of their effort to build up their "brand equity" [for whatever reason - artistic integrity, lack of knowledge, disdain].

I put forward the proposition that (1) the Inside and Outside of Art are important in equal proportion [at least from the point of view of our work at thecapitalclinic], (2) but most Artists do not see it that way [maybe to the evolutionary benefit of art, qua Art - an interesting speculation].

If one accepts the proposition that Artists "do not" or, indeed, that they "should not" multi-task in a complex, rapidly-changing environment to focus on "externalities" which are as important as the intrinsic aspects of their work, it follows that someone still has to do the "heavy lifting" so that music created becomes music discovered. Who? How? Will this be the new era of the Indie Label? Is another business model evolving with Artists and a new breed of "Indie Business Managers"? Is the DIY Artist a contradiction in terms?

It will be a worthwhile undertaking for us to develop some practical answers to these questions at our Nightschool For Entrepreneurs.