Can Music Survive the Music Industry?
Working musicians have a determined ally in Gary Powell. He talks about the hard realities of making a living in music, and what needs to change, from fan behavior to royalties.
Gary Powell, a composer and producer for Walt Disney Records and a former senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, has some tough words for a music industry that doesn’t adequately support musicians. He isn’t excusing fans who illegally download songs, either. “If you’re using a BitTorrent software and you’re not paying for it, you are upsetting the general principles of what made this country great,” Powell says.
“It’s not that I’m stuck in my old ways — I’m stuck in the old American ways,” he says.
Speaking to musicians, music industry reps, and educators in Austin on Sept. 5, 2013, the Grammy-nominated and multiplatinum Powell explained that his successful 20-year career at Disney makes him an exception among those in his profession. Powell identified the challenges currently facing musicians and outlined what needs to change.
What’s wrong with the music business? Album pricing — with retailers selling CDs for $15 and iTunes offering downloads for $10 — is one area of concern. Powell noted that when albums of vastly different quality are sold for the same price, it discourages producers from making the time and financial effort necessary to hire top-tier professionals, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, for their recordings.
On a more local level, Powell was also critical of music venues that expect performers to play for low wages and no benefits in venues where they must struggle to even be heard.
“When [musicians are] playing in venues and making $50 a head for four hours of work, I think the strategy for changing that is to say, ‘No, I won’t’” play that venue, he says.
Instead, musicians need sustainable wages, healthcare and dental coverage, and retirement plans. “I think that’s not too much to ask,” Powell says.
Musicians need to have the basics covered, because the dream of stardom will never become a reality for most artists. By Powell’s estimates, only one in 10 million musicians who have an account on Facebook will ever have a song go viral, leading to a record contract. “I want you, as the audience, to quit thinking that that’s the norm,” Powell says. “It’s not real.”
But the entertainment industry continues to promote stardom as a career path.
“Celebrity is the only thing we’ve got to offer these young people,” Powell says, dismissing American Idol and similar television talent shows. “Why is it that the best opportunity for a young performer to have a sustainable career is to go on some lame, corporate controlled, silly, ridiculously aggressive legal constructs on a talent show on television? Why is that the answer?”
To watch Powell’s talk in its entirety, and hear the passionate audience discussion that followed, a video of the event can be found below.
