Gibson Files Bankruptcy

[waxman]

Well, well. Who EVER could have predicted such a thing?... And the decline of guitarists may be balanced by a rise in keyboardists. It's too soon to tell. But I think the discipline and facility gained from each person's "10,000 hours" of practice will be rare...

Shoosh

Ok I'm gonna ramble here a bit... It's all changed but still the same... The focus has changed... Content is King. Content Creators (what the OG like me calls musicians) provide the content for consumers who put out product. Be it VI's or loops the way music is made marches on. It was obvious starting in the 80s with Smooth Jazz and hip hop. Now most genre's are doing the same thing. The pool of music being made organically with everyone playing live is much smaller. Groups of interacting musicians being produced by a Producer (Phil Spector) and doing songs with singers have mostly been replaced by producers with computers full of virtual musicians doing songs with singers. Still, the talented producer is leading the way. Same with soundtracks, same with individual artists. The consumer has been transformed to prefer music by computers. Like when 50s-60s pop replaced Big Band Jazz (bands being led by the arranger-composer band leader. It's still the same but different. When 24 track studios became inexpensive guys like Todd Rundgren dropped the label and went direct. When movie cameras became inexpensive products like the Blair Witch Project showed up. It's no different than the Straight Out of Compton Crew. The analogies are many. The point is music is being consumed. Money is different. Distribution is different.

Confusing? Follow the money! Lots can be gained by reading the IFPI info. For instance, global recorded music revenue is up 19.8% in 2017 at $17.3 Billion but is still only 68% of what it was in 1999 (the last year) before the •••• the fan... The focus has changed. Content is King. Content Creators provide for the content consumers who put out the product and sell direct by streaming or YouTube. It was obvious with Smooth Jazz and hip hop. It's less obvious with Taylor Swift but it's still happening. There are holdouts like Foo Fighter's and alt bands and of course Nashville.

Follow the money here...
http://www.ifpi.org/global-statistics.php

http://www.ifpi.org/facts-and-stats.php

[Shooshie]

Well, well. Who EVER could have predicted such a thing?... And the decline of guitarists may be balanced by a rise in keyboardists. It's too soon to tell. But I think the discipline and facility gained from each person's "10,000 hours" of practice will be rare...

Shoosh

Ok I'm gonna ramble here a bit... It's all changed but still the same... The focus has changed... Content is King. ...

... Content Creators provide for the content consumers who put out the product and sell direct by streaming or YouTube. It was obvious with Smooth Jazz and hip hop. It's less obvious with Taylor Swift but it's still happening. There are holdouts like Foo Fighter's and alt bands and of course Nashville.

No argument with what you've said, but we were opining about the loss of musicianship itself: the fact that fewer people are picking up guitars, saxophones, and violins, and learning to read and/or play anything on Earth at the highest proficiency levels. I don't know if it's demonstrable fact yet, but given the vibe of young musicians I've met online and offline, technical perfection and musical sublimity are not a great concern, since they can fake it with loops and editing.

I believe that will only lead to true concert and studio professionals once again commanding a decent wage, because there IS a difference, and people will eventually crave that difference once they hear it against he backdrop of all that mediocrity. The real players are still with us. But once they are few, the difference will start becoming apparent. I mean, how many Glen Campbells are out there to replace him? Jerry Reed? Chet Atkins? Keith Emerson? How long before we lose Todd Rundgren, Brian May, Billy Joel, Elton John? Pat Metheny? Keith Jarrett? Not to mention the countless great instrumentalists out there in the trenches who provide perfectly recorded tracks on demand? Yeah, there's still a lot of greatness out there, but are their numbers being maintained?

33 years ago, I stopped teaching private lessons. It got in the way of my professional work. Up to that point, I always had students who wanted to be the best players on earth. They absorbed everything I taught them. Many years later, I meet young saxophonists who just don't care about getting better. The line I hear most often is that they want to switch to computer and just do THAT.

Who knows where it will all lead? I don't know, but it seems to be hinting toward widespread mediocrity when it comes to actual command of an instrument, with the rarified talents of real pros becoming a premium asset.

Just my opinions,
Shoosh

[mikehalloran]

Guitar Center is one of those companies that Bain capital didn't bankrupt immediately—doean't mean it still can't happen.

I expect that, if it happens, Fender will be hurt to a far greater degree.

[bayswater]

I always had students who wanted to be the best players on earth. They absorbed everything I taught them. Many years later, I meet young saxophonists who just don't care about getting better. The line I hear most often is that they want to switch to computer and just do THAT.

Who knows where it will all lead? I don't know, but it seems to be hinting toward widespread mediocrity

Some of those who have to work hard to be really good might settle for loops. But now and then you come across kids with the magic touch. Maybe there aren't that many of them, but there are enough. The question might be whether there will be whether there are enough of us around that appreciate what they do so they can make a living at it.