The Music Industry

I figured out how hard some of the real talented musicians have to struggle to keep their music alive. I'm quite sure there's a million other genres and sub genres that suffer, but look at people like Jeff Loomis, Mike Portnoy, Chris Adler, Rustey Cooley, and people like that. They are genuinely happy with the type of fans they have and don't ask for anything else. Mike Portnoy even sells bootlegs and pirated copies of his own band and side projects even though he's been hailed as the greatest progressive metal drummer. I mean, he's got like 20 awards for drumming and he's still so down to earth(in a way, he still makes fun of other drummers). Chris Adler didn't have enough money during production of his latest album with Lamb of God. He couldn't afford to repair his car or buy a new one, so he quit smoking and started using his bike to get to the studio. Now that's dedication. Jeff Loomis and Rustey Cooley are just guitarist that I think have a lot of skill but aren't getting what they deserve. I don't blame anyone (i just blame MTV). I don't really like guitarists that much, but I know these guys deserve a lot more than just hardcore fans and a few million dollars.

While all this is happening, people like ... well lets not point fingers, but a lot of 'artists' nowadays just play very recycled stuff. I don't mind simple music, or music that you don't need to think to listen to. But a lot of them get other people to write music, lyrics and produce their albums. They end up singing about unimportant and insignificant things. Most of the time its ok, because we need balance in the world between shallow and deep music. But MTV is force feeding often really freaking lousy music that soon becomes a hit because everyone is playing it. All in all, MTV is a poison Godmachine. Why? Lets break that down. (remember I'm not crazy, just extremely bored).

Ok, Poison, MTV, obviously poisons. They aren't evil(good and evil is relative to individuals), they just want to exploit music for money. Who can blame them? We all need money. And people do weird things to get money. But what I mean by poison, is that it falsifies what music should and can be. Music shouldn't be limited to verse, chorus, break. It can be anything. Jazz has its own style of writing, but how many Jazz bands do you see on MTV? Off course MTV would say, "Thats not what people want to hear". But it is MTV themselves who is choosing the most marketable, profitable music to be made mainstream, packaged and sold.

2nd Keyword, God. God meaning they have absolute power. In many peoples eyes MTV never goes wrong. Whatever music is on, thats whats 'cool'. The moment MTV releases a single or something, every radio station and other music television station plays it. How god like is that??

3rd keyword, Machine. MTV, isn't a one man band. It is kept in motion by an industry. An industry that started off as an artistic one, but now has been made into a commercial one. Never before in the history of mankind have 'artists' been this famous or rich. There is very little drive for real music anymore. Many artists release, or are asked to release music for nothing but money. That is why there is a constant stream of new artists, new music, new videos. To keep the gears of the industry in constant motion.

I do not think anyone should stop watching MTV though. I still watch it because I think that the evolution of the clown is complete. They are called rappers now. And thats my source of entertainment.