By Imogen Abbott
It is no surprise that the music industry is experiencing a drastic power struggle.
The big artists of the world are dominating the scene, leaving smaller artists to battle with complex social media algorithms just to get some engagement on posts that promote their music.
This inequitable hierarchal structure, combined with numerous other factors, is leaving a lot of Australia’s musicians struggling to sustain careers in the industry.
So, how can we fix it?
Although as an individual you can’t flip the workings of the music industry, there are some small gestures you can make that for the battlers hold a lot of weight.
Go to gigs
Because of the divide between smaller artists and their chart-topping competitors, a lot of artists can’t afford to have their music career as their sole source of income. With streaming services paying artists essentially nothing, musicians won’t earn enough from these platforms to keep the lights on unless they have skyrocketing numbers of streams.
This is where ticket sales come into play. Sometimes most of the money a musician makes is from their shows.
Concerts are a great way for an artist to gain exposure and grow their following, so invite some friends to tag along with you!
Most of the time artists also get to keep 100 per cent of the merch profits sold at their shows, but more on that later. We also know that the cost of living impacts how often people go to concerts. Despite seeing our stadiums sold out, our smaller band rooms are rarely full. Going to a local band can also help local businesses as well as bands. Keep checking your local gig guides and go support the smaller artists playing around your area.
It is also so important with regard to the other two points …
Share their music
Whether it be a link on your story or putting in a CD in your mate’s car, sharing music is incredibly fundamental to growing a following of an artist.
Sharing a link to their music boosts your favourite band’s streams, and even tagging social media pages is helpful. Social media is a really great tool that musicians use to connect with their audience and share their new music and show details.
So, no more gate keeping music and spread the love around.
Buy merch
This point isn’t too dissimilar to the last.
Again, with streaming services not paying musicians well, merchandise is another avenue for artists to get a bit of extra cash.
After the pandemic hitting live music hard, for some artists income from touring isn’t an option. Although if an artist is playing a live gig, it is nearly guaranteed that 100 per cent of the profits goes to the artist, whereas not all money made from touring will. Buying merch also means you’ll have a pretty cool collection when Ausmusic T-Shirt Day rolls around.
Featured image: Do your bit for the local music scene. Artwork: Imogen Abbott
