I had an insightful talk with my friend Aaron Byrd last night on the phone. He’s a well-known DJ here in Los Angeles and works at KCRW which is probably one of the most influential radio stations in the world. He was on my podcast about a year ago where we chatted about our culture, racism, sports and music.
Aaron was talking about the hours it takes for him to put a DJ set together for IG Live. Instagram has complicated algorithms and rules that prevent DJ’s from playing popular music or recognizable tracks. DJs often have to try and “trick” the algorithms by searching for deep cuts, quickly mix in and out of songs, play “house” music or unrecognizable remixes so they don’t get kicked off the IG feed. DJs can spend hours upon hours preparing for just a one hour set and we started to wonder if the listener ever thinks about how much work it takes, in this case, for a DJ to put a set together? Does our culture appreciate the artist’s craft anymore?
We seemingly have more content than ever before yet despite the vast quantity of shows and movies available at our fingertips, why does it seem like the quality has been trending downwards? Is there too much space to fill? Are creators getting discouraged by the arduous process that is often taken for granted? Are studio executives more concerned with filling space than creating quality content and do consumers even recognize this pendulum shift towards mediocrity? Would it help if the average viewer or listener understood the huge task it often takes to write, direct and edit a movie, to write a book or record an album? Does perspective matter anymore? Not that artists are looking for sympathy but I always felt it was important for people to serve at a restaurant if only for just a few months to fully understand the challenges faced by servers. There does seem to be a cultural naiveté towards the creative process and in this complex way, I often wonder if the “convenience” of Netflix, Spotify and the various subscription services coupled with the never-ending influx of content is perpetuating this blasé attitude towards the arts.
As more subscription services become available, are people content to simply allow computerized algorithms feed them new content? When’s the last time you asked a friend for a movie recommendation? Do people read “reviews” anymore? Not consumer reviews on Amazon but from highly respected film “critics” or have you opted for Rotten Tomatoes where art has been reduced to a numerical rating? What’s your cut off point? 80? 85?
While subscription services are certainly convenient and financially make a lot of sense for many of us, what have they done to human being’s curiosity and the desire to search and explore? What have they done to the “value” of an artist’s work? While billion dollar corporations like Netflix and Amazon continue to thrive, more and more stories of artists fleeing big cities with dreams unfulfilled are becoming a more common reality. I’m not suggesting you don’t subscribe to Spotify but if you’re streaming a band like Tame Impala on a daily basis, why not just go to iTunes and buy their record for $9.99? Do you know the pay-out system Spotify has in place with artists? For one stream, it typically comes to about .003 of a cent (laughable) and for around a million streams, an artist receives approximately $2,000. Imagine if each of those one million streamers instead paid the measly 99 cents directly to the artist and bypassed Spotify altogether? What if we chose the less “convenient” option and went to the artist’s website and purchased their music? While pop artists like Taylor Swift and Drake may still reap minimal rewards from a platform like Spotify, the vast majority of musicians don’t and would benefit if we chose the less “convenient” option and supported the artist directly. (I still can’t fathom there are people, mostly under the age of 25, who have never paid for a single album or song.)
Have you noticed when you watch a show on Netflix, how quickly they nudge you to the next episode? No more than a few seconds go by and before you know it, they’ve already cued up what’s next. Do the credits matter? Does anyone care about who did what to bring a movie or TV show to life? Do you think about the hundreds of people from the cast and the crew who spent hundreds of hours creating your new “binge-worthy” TV show? When does the convenience of a subscription service reach the tipping point and create a numb and lazy version of ourselves where we think less and take art for granted? Are people content with allowing Netflix and Spotify feed them something based on an algorithm that will momentarily satisfy a craving? Kind of like high fructose corn syrup feeding a lab rat.
Sure, our time is limited. We love the convenience of a smartphone, the convenience of Netflix and Amazon but what is Amazon’s convenience doing to the small business owner? What is Netflix doing to the indy filmmaker and what is Spotify doing to the millions of independent artists who are trying to make a living as a musician? If paying artist’s directly for their work would benefit the artist more substantially than the meager payouts from a streaming service, would you be open to paying the artist directly? Would you be willing to give up some of the convenience of Spotify to benefit the actual creator? It’s complicated, of course, and there may be no easy solution but maybe it’s time for us to be a little more thoughtful towards the creators we love. As I reach the two year anniversary of my podcast, put the finishing touches on two new records and consider self-publishing my first book, I’m certainly exploring new ways to share my art with the world beyond the convenience of a streaming service.
One last point I can’t help but think about. Thanks to the pandemic and people’s reliance on Netflix, will movie theaters become a thing of the past? Will our culture be satisfied watching a movie like The Bourne Identity or The Matrix on a 50 inch TV screen at home? Will the movie-going experience no longer be able to compete with Netflix’s convenience and grasp on our culture? Will the desire to go OUT to see a movie ultimately be a thing of the past? While that very well may be Netflix’s goal, I certainly hope not.
I had a truly wonderful month of podcasts with a trio of musicians and artists I respect immensely. I spoke to Mike Deni, the lead singer and creator of one of my favorite bands, Geographer. You can listen to our talk by clicking HERE. It’s a heartfelt conversation about the impact of tech and social media on artistry and the value of pursuing your dreams.
I also spoke with Dwayne Seagraves, the lead singer and creator of the band The Stevenson Ranch Davidians. We talk about music, social media and the power of the media and hidden agendas potentially surrounding Covid-19.
The band Everest has been one of my favorite bands for quite some time and I was lucky enough to also speak with Elijah Thomson, bass player from the band as well as the well known band, Father John Misty. It’s a great talk about music, Spotify’s dominance and how much Elijah misses the energy of live shows.
What I’m Reading? Two wonderful books…
Joan Didion - A Year of Magical Thinking
Augusten Burroughs - Toil and Trouble
My friend Darin Campbell, who has been on my podcast, sent me a fantastic article about tech and the news media called, Why We Should Stop Watching The News (And Leave Social Media.) You can click HERE to read it.
Last but not least, I am excited to say I just launched my very own Patreon page this past week. You can visit www.patreon.com/eddiecohn or click HERE to check it out. I realized over the past couple weeks it was time to create exclusive content or a community of sorts for my listeners and fans who have been hugely supportive to my process over the years. I want to take my creative endeavors to the next level and bring them to an even bigger audience and I get the sense a platform like Patreon could help make my goals become a reality. I also think we need to collectively place a higher value on the art we love to consume. My love for the arts and my passion for creation is immensely rewarding especially when people connect with what I have to say and I hope you to continue to follow me wherever my creative journey may go. Please reach out with questions or if you just want to say hello, I would love to hear from you…
Much love and hopefully speak to you soon,
Eddie