Kermit the Frog sang “it’s not easy being green”, which was undoubtedly true for him, but for a dedicated musician in 2023, it’s not easy making green. While there has never been more music so readily available through so many sources, the non-superstars are struggling mightily in this digital age.
In the “old” days, artists could depend on music sales (CDs, LPs, EPs, 45s, greatest hits, catalog sales, et al.) along with concert dates to (possibly) make a decent living. Talk to just about any well-known, local artist in 2023, and they’ll tell you about the side jobs required to make ends meet. I recently dined with an extremely well-known local singer/songwriter and heard the sad saga- gigs in Japan have dried up, ticket prices have plummeted, the costs to travel have gone up, and no one is buying CDs or even resurgent vinyl albums in numbers large enough to sustain a music career.
How bad is it? This artist has over 15,000 monthly listeners on one major streaming service, has won numerous Na Hoku Hanohano Awards, and gets quarterly royalty checks from an agent for the songs streamed via multiple services… the quarterly checks total about $100, or just $400 per year. Yikes! Streaming pay rates have caused outrage for years, and there are now lawsuits and new pressure being applied to change the formula. To top it off, this performer, first because of COVID quarantining and now due to a lack of quality sites to play at on the West Coast and in Japan, expressed that the inability to see and experience new things and meet new people is stifling the all-important creative bug. So… no new songs. Frustrating.
This is not about massively popular heritage acts or crème de la crème, current pop flavors du jour, but rather about the other 95%- those hard-working, well-liked
musicians who simply cannot figure out that formula (because there isn’t one) combining music unit royalties and concert fees to make it work in 2023. Are the glory days of music winding down for far too many local tunesmiths, our favorite Storytellers and up ‘n’ comers who simply can’t up and come? Playing at aunty’s cousin’s baby luau as a “favor” for $300 simply won’t pay the rent. Music labels and some streaming services may prosper, but the vast majority of musical artists don’t, which makes one feel a bit mu-sick.
Think about it…