A New Model for Independent Musicians

Indie artists are on the knife’s edge of change in the music industry — the first to benefit and the first to get cut. Over the last decade, musicians have struggled to get paid fairly (if at all) and seen great venues close down. And of course the  recording industry continues to decline, with annual revenues dropping 4.5 billion from 1999 to 2008.

On the other hand, bands now have the means to develop an audience or release a record without corporate control. A blizzard of promotion, distribution and communication tools are available to them, many of which were unimaginable 15 years ago. Last, musicians and fans alike enjoy at-your-fingertips access to practically every recording that exists on the planet.

Putting musicians aside for a moment, clearly certain corporations have benefited in the last decade. Tech companies and ISPs make serious money off music players like the iPod. Relaxed media consolidation rules allowed Clear Channel to strengthen its hold on commercial radio, while LiveNation and Ticketmaster together dominate the live music business. Even major record companies are recovering somewhat, by pushing 360 deals, buying up or distributing for indie labels and slowly adopting online strategies that have already proved successful for indie musicians.

However, as the dust settles, it isn’t clear whether musicians themselves will be able to improve on their previous, already precarious, position. Many talented, hard-working indie artists are finding it harder than ever to make a living. All the time and financial costs of band development, booking, promotion, fan outreach and recording are taken on by the musicians. If making significant money from recording is difficult and revenue from touring is down, where does that leave working musicians?

As distasteful as it may sound, the fact is that so many of our heroes: Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, The Beatles, whoever you care to name; generated much of their best art in return for financial compensation. If you take away the compensation, guess what…the art stops.
-DJ Shadow

AFM Indie, a pilot program of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), aims to build a community of inspired indie musicians who need and want a better way. Together, we’ll develop and reinforce the advantages of new mediums, while recognizing that working musicians still need to make money, still need gigs, still need health insurance, or in other words still need some measure of security.

The DIY aesthetic just might translate well into DIO — Do-It-Ourselves. No one else is going to help us — not tech companies, not the media, not record companies. If we want to improve our position in the music industry, we need to stand up and do it ourselves.

AFM Indie‘s first step is to gather feedback from indie musicians — whether from indie rock, hip-hop, alt-classical, avant-garde, folk, country, latin music or jazz. Tell us:

• What do you consider to be the unique challenges faced by indie artists?
• What non-musical, but career-related tasks do you feel are most difficult to deal with as an independent musician?
• Does a DIY approach have anything in common with a cooperative mentality espoused by artist collectives and labor unions?