In the words of the great philosopher Anthony Kiedis...

I've been thinking a lot about what direction the music industry might go in. Honestly, I don't know. Things aren't great when you look at the big picture. CD sales continue to drop quicker than a Rod Blagojevich f-bomb. Digital sales aren't as big (yet at least) as the majors hoped they would be. And very few people are making that much money in the business.

That's the business end of things, which only matter so much. We have established, though, that an artist needs to make a living. "How?" remains the big question.

Here's what you do first and foremost with your music: (picture first of all a drunken frat guy who thinks he's one bad-ass m-f-er, standing up on a table with a beer in one hand, sloshing profusely, trying desperately to emulate the trilling of Anthony Kiedis--it just makes it more fun to think about it this way...trust me) Give it away, give it away, give it away now.

Yep. All free. Or at least quite a lot of it free. People don't want to pay for music and really don't have to pay for music. Piracy is always an option. Yes, it's a crime, but I think to many people it's the type of crime that is equal to say-jaywalking. You know it's illegal (most do at least) but you do it anyway because it's far more convenient and self-serving to cross the street outside of the crosswalk's given perameters. And more and more, the industry is beginning to do what most cops do when they see jaywalking, turn away and kind of shrug their shoulders. The RIAA is backing off to some extent. But my point is this, if people want lots and lots of free music, give them lots and lots of free music.

So you are still not making money. Ok that's a problem. What to do then? Well if you get big enough or maybe even not so big, but write catchy songs, you could hand your music out to a corportation--a la Wilco to Volkswagon and Santogold to Budweiser. This does have it's drawbacks, but you get a paycheck and your music gets out there. I would argue, though, that sometimes it backfires. I can't hear Santogold (who is extrememly talented) and not think about those god-awful Bud Light Lime commercials. Maybe it annoys me too because the beers crappy as well.

Some say the money is now in ringtones and video games. I'll agree on this to a point. Video games have replaced music in the realm of "obsessions of youth". But you have games like Guitar Hero III which recently became the first game to hit the $1 billion dollar mark in sales, but also serve the duel purpose of exposing a new generation to classic rock anthems. So artists are catching on and going after deals with video game companies. This is not the be-all, end-all solution, though.

And everybody wants a cool ringtone, yes it's true. As much as I hate being on the bus and hearing a bad quality version of some Beyonce song that the phone owner decides to let play for awhile under the assumption that maybe we all want to hear this for some reason, there's money in this. But how much? And for whom exactly?

To me these are just quick fix gimmicks. You want to sell music and make a living off of it? Then you have to live it to be able to sell it!

If you are reading this via my Facebook page, may I direct your attention to a video I recently posted featuring author Malcolm Gladwell. Mr. Gladwell just published a book called "Outliers" whose main thesis is that most who are creatively successful are not so just because they are geniuses (although there are a few of those), but because they put in the time. It's the 10,000 hour rule. One must work on their craft for 10,000 hours before one truly becomes proficient at it. He uses Fleetwood Mac as an example. They produced 15 albums before they put out their classic masterwork, "Rumors". He also talks about The Beatles, who were really just an ordinary Liverpool pub band until they went to Hamburg and were the house band at a red light district bar--playing basically for 8 hours a night, every night. They honed their craft. They learned to eat, sleep (well maybe not much of this), and breath music.

This is what bands need to do as well. Of course the majors aren't going to wait around for 10,000 hours. That's not going to sell many ringtones. I think this becomes the job of the indie labels. Imagine this if you will...A label website dedicated to tracking the progress of their bands as they learn their craft. The bands could constantly give away what would amount to rough drafts and maybe even keep an online journal of their progression. A fan could watch as it all comes together (or not) for those dedicated enough to live the music to these almost fanatical ends. What Beatles fan wouldn't love to have every rough cut, misstep, and hidden gem from those early years in Hamburg? This would be in essence what they would be getting! I'm not saying that these bands who chose to do this would become the next Beatles, but maybe they would.

My point is that the industry is grasping at straws. If you are a true musician, a true artist who feels his/her craft in your bones, then you should learn it and do it and find others who will support you. Quality will always outdo gimmicks. But quality takes time and energy and committment. Of all those who have become chess grandmasters, it has taken them at least 10 years to do so, except for one (the anti-Semitic, creepy Bobby Fisher, who just recently died) and it took him 9. 10,000 hours is roughly 4 hours a day for 10 years. Maybe then you'll have a killer track ready for Guitar Hero 27. Give it away until you do. Oh and find a day job you can stand because you may need it for awhile.

I think people are smart and discerning. And I also think people will always love music. If you give them quality, they will reward you. If you give them crap, they will abandon you. That's what you've got going on for you there, music industry geniuses. You dug your own grave. You want to see proof of quality outdoing mass produced drivel--vinyl sales are up for the first time in nearly 20 years! People crave things that sound good, whether it be a format that sounds good (and nothing sounds better than music on vinyl) or music itself that is well-crafted and that inspires and/or touches some nerve within them.

Calling for patience in the era of sound bites and short attention spans is practically revolutionary in its tone. But I think Malcolm Gladwell's on to something.

www.aiga.org/content.cfm/video-gain-2008-gladwell