Music Industry

Garbage is the latest band to warn about doom with the live music industry

You’d think that with a band with a track record like Garbage would have no trouble putting together a profitable tour. Apparently not, though. Why? This Instagram post outlines the problems and how Garbage believes that the live music industry is broken.

Garbage writes:

“Live music is under enormous strain. The average musician can no longer survive let alone thrive under the current conditions. We are seeing so many precious talents buckle under the economic injustice of a system that does not pay the creative for their artistic output. Everyone is vying for a handful of venues in order to make a small amount of money to tide them over until the next show, most sailing without a dollar of insurance. A large percentage of musicians that you know and love are likely living hand to mouth.

“Corporations are making billions of dollars off of their work and sharing none of the profits. This can not stand. We will lose a whole generation of young artists if it does.

“Let me put it to you another way: So many of the artists that we revere and hold dear throughout history would have been utterly destroyed by this system entirely. Musicians cannot survive without being paid fairly for their music.

“And if the live scene fails, the whole ship goes down entirely. All you will be left with is the main stream. No alternative perspectives. Nothing loud. Nothing dangerous. Nothing weird. Little that lasts more than one album cycle.

“That strikes me as a great sorrow for our culture as a whole.

“Please support the move to support legislation that is attempting to reverse this situation once and for all. Please support @weareumaw

More on the subject here.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 39050 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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