Okey usually I just write my blogg in Swedish, but a make an exception today.

I stumbled on this article, on facebook, yes a site on the dreadful internet. It’s a article about that Rock’n roll is dead by Kristy Loye. It’s kind of old, it was given out 5 of January, but that is the beauty of the internet you find this after a while. Everything takes a bit more time nowadays.
You can read the article here:
http://www.houstonpress.com/music/rock-and-roll-is-dead-and-even-axl-and-slash-cant-save-it-8044236

You can tell that she is not that in-sighted in the new music industry. Still her story is very usual. I hear these things all the time from people that are looking to everything black and white and longing back to the world they knew. Making them a part of the music apartheid.

Yes I wrote apartheid, because that was it was. The old system that Kristy talks about was controlled by a bunch of labels that controlled the stores, the radio and TV. In a bigger record store in a midsized town could hold around 1 000 different artists. That was your world. The rest of musicians was closed out, the whole thing went down to be a part of these 1 0000. I remember that I had to be on special record fairs just to get bootlegs of the band Misfits.  So these companies very much controlled what you should listen to. Still people like Kristy sees it like the golden age complaining that today musicians are closed from being superstars. Or as Kristy says: This is the failing of the digital age: we are no longer creating any new rock heroes.

I wonder witch rock Kristy has been under the last years. Well the problem here is that she likes music that is old. All that she talks about is rock bands from the 80:s and that we should still make that in that way. Spandex, long hair and a lot of drugs and decadence. Sorry Kristy people laugh at you. This is in the past there is new stars now. You call them soulless, bad music, not real. Well that sounds like my parents in the 80:s complaining about the music in the 80:s like Misfits. It was moral panic over W.A.S.P. That was not music to my parents. Because they liked The Beatles, but my parents older siblings thought Beatles sucks because Elvis was the their Rock’n’roll. Well the truth is they are all wrong. They are just old and ignorant and have lost their coolness.

Witch are the superstar of today, well seems like Kristy never heard about Avicii or Swedish House Mafia, Taylor Swift. Too her they are not superstars because they don’t sound like Guns ‘n Roses? Well to tell you the truth Kristy, Avicii is bigger the highest song on Spotify for Guns ‘n Roses. Guns ‘n roses has 124 million on Sweet child. Avicii has 425 Million for Wake me up. So Avicii has much more listeners then your old stars. Well that makes him a bigger superstar. This was the problem with the old days you could fool people that the artist was bigger than they were.  Today you got numbers. So if Guns ‘n Roses was the best band ever well the figures should show it. Back in the days the numbers was not reliable though the labels tampered with sales figures all the time. I have been there done that.

In the old days you just told people this band is big and good even though it was shit. And then you bribed MTV to play it, bought your own records. The thing that was good in the old days that it was much easier to bribe your music for the labels. Today you have to be good as well. And you have to know marketing. So there is no room for being a drug addict in the new system. You can’t be a spoiled brat, you have to work hard.

Because of this you tell that musicians don’t get paid. Well Avicii seems to do things okey. He just retired 30 years old and will probably never be forced to work another day. I guess it’s the same with Taylor Swift or even Swedish House Mafia. You mention that Aeon, Carnifex had to quit. Well it’s easy they were not good enough. Yes I know in the old days, you as a bad journalist could fool people that they were big even though you never hear about the band. The new world journalist doesn’t count, I will come back to that. But I can prove that Aeon sucks, at least sucks on marketing. They Just barley have 100 000 streams on Spotify. Carniflex has close to a million on one song. This is numbers for a demo band. I signed Jack Moy & Glöden couple of weeks ago. They have have 1,7 million on one song as a demo band. Yes the numbers are higher without having a German superlabel behind them. Today anyone can get things out and show that they have an audience. People that like them. If you went for the old system apartheid system you were in the hands of bribed radio, TV and journalist. Guess what that has changed!

Yes the world is changing. We tossed all bad media out. We don’t buy news in paper form today, not me at least. The media empires was broken down. For new media empires to emerge. But a good thing was that we got rid of all bad “tastemakers” that took off good music because of bribes. We cleaned the system in some ways they are still faults but it’s much better today than before. Well not for you Kristy, you lost your bribes. So journalists doesn’t count, it’s the listener that counts. You need many of them. Before you didn’t give a shit about them, as long as they bought your plastic vinyl or cd and some T-shirt you didn’t give a fuck if they even listened to the music on there. Today you need to care what people are listening to and how to do the PR. Not just force someone to buy 11 crappy songs to listen to one good. For that yes there is better music for the masses. If you think everything is crappy well then you have crappy taste.

Bands doesn’t get off the ground. No they won’t if they are lazy, or bad. And why should a label put in money on developing something if they can choose from those that already have an audience. Well that is the new stuff. They develop new artists just that it is in another way that suites the new market. So older bands that was in the old system doesn’t understand a shit what’s needed today. On the other side those bands often ask the label that they want to play a gig on CBGB:s not releasing it’s no longer exists. Old bands or the ones who doesn’t have what it takes go back to your Mc Donalds job this is tough, tougher than ever but a bigger reward as well.

Music is not free you have to pay for it. But we have a new system where you can’t overcharge the price. A CD was overpriced simple as that.

So how do we get to know new music? Thinking that the algorithms will do it. Hell no it is still people to people. Persons you trust. That is why we don’t buy Rolling Stone magazine in paper form or even visit their site. The new audience knows that we bribe journalists so they don’t trust them. In the new world Kristy we actually trust our cool uncle or friends then you. And it shows on the charts.
So why is metal and rock so after. Its old styles. Sure there are rockabilly bands forming today but they are copying the old style. And yes we have protesting bands all over the place. There are many political artists on their way getting a lot of attention. No they don’t sound like Rage against the machine. The new ones are much more sophisticated and do it in a much better way.

But one thing I agree on with Kristy. Live scene will get bigger now. No we won’t look on things online. We will experience it live. That’s a movement that is going on right now. More clubs opens and people are paying entrance. Still they need to be good. And no they can’t think that they should copy the 80:s hardrock era. That is gone, forever gone. And yes hardrock/ metal is the last genre to change to the new system. And that has left us with a bunch of grumpy, bald, old farts that whines.  But to state that the music will die with internet, that is just plain stupid.

Here is the “proof” that it was so much better artists and songs in the past. So rebel! Pouring beer on you on stage. No i’m really glad we are over this era.