Why Can't We Support The MUSIC?

I was asked a few weeks ago what I felt was causing a certain genre of music to not gain a fan base or to not gain the recognition it once had. Although I don't claim to be an expert or to have the solution to fix this particular genre, I do have my thoughts on why there is no movement.

Every genre of music goes through phases and with these phases there is a brand new twist on the foundation of what the music was created on. Many genres adapt, even if its pulling at the very core of their integrity. I believe they do this because they feel if they cannot accept the new style of music they will hinder growth among their peers. At one point in everyone's music career there has been the rejection and doubt of each ones style of music, but they continued to follow their dream and set a different standard that most follow.

Being critical to the point of monopolizing one style to keep "the tradition" alive will and has always caused strife among musicians. If you do not support the change in musical style, can you truly say you support this musical genre as a whole? Do you find yourself skipping a show because an artist that is playing this new style is performing?  If these bands do not fall within your taste of music do you minimize their talents because they do not play the music you like? Do you only support the music because its from your home state? These questions if answered YES are a big reason why certain indie musicians are forced to hang up their dreams.

Truly supporting music is believing in the project and although its not something we add to our personal playlist, its respecting that someone is willing to share their ideas with the world. We should respect the older generations and learn from their talents to help us add more to our own unique style, but we should also embrace the new journey young musicians are following. Most people think they are positively influencing a genre by not buying the music, by not attending shows and by not embracing change but all this does is allow for the genre of music to die. Support every show that fits in your genre of music no matter who the opening act is. 

As music lovers we should always support new artist. In this day in age you no longer have to buy a CD to get your favorite song, but most of us don't even buy the single track. We wait for our friends to share it with us so this takes out of the artist pockets. We expect for artist to have free downloads, but yet do not go see their show so that they can pay their bills. Would you like for your company to ask you to complete a job then take the time it took you to complete that project out of your check? That is exactly what we do when we download a track but yet do not donate money to the artist or their projects. Let's become better fans and turn this thinking around. If the artist offers a free download find a way to donate .99 to them. Most artist have merchandise and also have donation pages, so lets come together and be better to help the indie musician survive! Let's support MUSIC and STOP the POLITICS that is hurting it! Peace and Much Love!