Does music and musicians have a future in our world?

It is everywhere. Music in every place, from stores to coffee places to cars, to, of course, our own home. It has been like this for a few decades. What has been new, though, is the fact that music can be free. And programs like Spotify qualifies, in my view, as free music, since it is so cheap.

Musicians despair of this abundance of music and this lack of funds. Bruno Mars said, not too long ago (I’m quoting loosely), that he was born at the wrong time, that he worked his butt off for his new album which he will be forced to give out for free. Of course, he will have to tour to make a good living. And this is one of the biggest star on earth talking.

I agree with him. But! And there is a big but!

But the musician ways are not necessarily set in stone. For the longest time, their music would give them royalties. Now it doesn’t. Ok. So they tour. Which, by the way is just like their great grand fathers did when there was no recording industries. Did a superstar of the 19th centuries like Liszt, for example, made as much money as Sting in the 90’s? No! Of course not! But he wasn’t miserable either. He toured and collected the percentage of the money from the tickets of the crowd who came to hear him play. And, at the time, building a reputation had to be done without the help of national radios and TVs. What a freaking chore it must have been!

Plus, in our modern time, music is everywhere, and everything needs some music, from the silliest commercial to the inauguration of a new president, from people getting married to the filmmakers of our world. Musicians and their crafts are in demand because people want music tailored to their needs and moments.

In my opinion, it is useless to look at our corporation with pessimistic eyes. It will just lead us to depression and inaction. But being adaptable and try to understand our world and its components will help us create a new reality for musician, one that we can live comfortably with.