Reports of the death of the music industry have been exaggerated in the past, but that the industry is changing cannot be denied. Sales reports from 2007 show overall music sales up by 14%, but CD sales down by 9.5% – meaning people are buying more music, but they are buying it online. As labels scramble to find their feet in this new market, a few industry insiders recently shared their thoughts with the Associated Press on how the industry can heal itself.

The general consensus seems to be that the industry needs to embrace digital downloads as the way forward. My two cents? Delivering music to the people who want to buy it in the format in which they want to buy it is important. But there is another part to the story. According to the same AP article, sales across all major genres were down in 2007. Rap sales fell a staggering 30%, rock sales fell 12.5% and country sales were down around 16%. That suggests that something is fundamentally wrong with the music itself. Labels invest very little time in developing artists these days (a point touched on by John Platt in the article). Instead, labels go for the big bang, mega selling single, and then rush out an album of fillers around that song. If it sticks, great, and if it doesn’t, that artist is done. Take a look at classic rock radio. Love it or hate it, the reason people are still listening to those songs is that those artists were nurtured by labels who took a long term view towards their careers. Before labels work out the business of selling their music more effectively online, they need to get back into the business of releasing good music. Quit selling lifestyles and images and start selling good music again. The often repeated notions that music sales are falling because people are trading music online illegally or that people have so many entertainment options these days that they don’t care to spend their money on music are nonsense. People want to buy music – you just have to give them something worth buying.

Written by Heather McDonald

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: www.Music-Career-Guide.com

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One of the biggest obstacles for most guitar players comes from their own belief that, in order to be a great player, one must possess natural ability. I’ve taught many guitar students privately over the years and I often hear things like:

I’ll never be as good as (student names some great or famous guitarist), or,

Players like Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai must have been born with incredible natural musical talent.

I usually respond by telling the student that he (or she) will never be a great player as long as one believes those things. Great players like Yngwie and Vai didn’t just pick up the guitar one day, practice for a little while and then become virtuosos. Both of them had worked extremely hard developing their awesome skills. Yngwie has been quoted (many times) as saying that he practiced 8 hours a day between the ages of 13 and 18! If he (and others) were born with all of this talent then why did they all have to work so hard to get where they are today?

A great non-musical example of perseverance would be the great basketball star, Michael Jordan. Jordan wasn’t even good enough to make it on his local high school basketball team! Most people would have given up after such a disappointment and most would have believed that there would be no point in trying again next year, since they obviously would assume that they don’t possess the talent. We all know that this was not how Jordan thought about his situation. He worked extremely hard everyday, practicing and asking the coach to teach him, even though he was not a member of the team. The next year, Michael made the team and went on to eventually become one of the world’s greatest athletes of all-time.

I’ve known a few students to believe that they did have natural musical ability. Unfortunately, I have watched them waste their time waiting for their ‘natural ability’ to turn them into great musicians. They showed some initial progress when they practiced, but depended too much on their talent to do the rest of the work for them. Usually at this point, they begin to become lazy and practice less, thinking that they will be great anyway. It is always hard for a teacher to see students fail because they didn’t persevere when the potential was there.

What does all of this mean for you? It means that you can achieve great things if you have the passion in your heart for music and if you have the perseverance to learn and practice each day. It will take a long time, but it is well worth it. Each of you has basically the same potential as everyone else to accomplish great things. Don’t wait for some natural abilities to take you where you want to be though. You must believe that you can do it only if you work hard and long. If you believe in this concept and believe in yourself… dreams can come true.

Thanks for listening.

Written by Tom Hess

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: http://www.music-career-guide.com

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