We have seen in the recent advancement of technology the rise of DIY artists. Being able to produce, record and mix a full song from the comfort of your house had made it become easier than ever to be an artist. Due to this phenomenon professional music studios and professional engineers have become less and less used by the new crop of artists, who have taken it upon themselves to create and release their own music. Is this era of music better or worse, well that is a matter of opinion. With music being subjective it is almost impossible to say whether the music being created today is better or worse than it was a decade ago when you had to use professional studios. However, it is clear to hear by anyone that critically listens to music that the production of music has dropped in recent years due to the advancement in technology and the rise of the DIY artist and era of music. So, where did this DIY craze come from? Why is it so popular?
There have been DIY music since the early days of the recording industry with the jazz and blues booms of the 1910s and 1920s. By the 1920s there were hundreds of independent labels, as every major city had some connection with record manufacturers. The cost of making your own records was relatively cheap through the 1960s. Once recordings entered the era of multitrack stereo, it became much more expensive to craft hit songs or even demos. The age of sounding like a finished product happened during the seventies, when producers began to shape the sound of pop music. DIY music of the seventies through the nineties could be summarized as the tale end of the old era of homegrown music. It was the last era that required manufacturing units of music in order to make a mark in the market. Since that time there have been an explosion of DIY music projects thanks to easy to use software and cloud-based platforms.
Commercial DIY music has its origins in the mid 1970s punk rock scene. It developed as a way to circumnavigate the mainstream music industry. By controlling the entire production and distribution chain, DIY music bands can develop a closer relationship between artists and fans. The DIY ethic gives total control over the final product without need to compromise with record labels. Adherents of the DIY punk ethic also work collectively. For example, punk impresario David Ferguson’s CD Presents was a DIY concert production, recording studio, and record label network.
Starting in the late nineties DIY music has had a strong advantage of being found online due to its relation to a certain niche. Getting indexed by Google helps create an internet presence that becomes the audience for the DIY musician. Now there are several platforms that any musician can turn to, such as ReverbNation, SoundCloud and BandCamp, allowing music to be made available to the public for free.
Studying the timeline of how DIY musicians have been empowered helps put the new world of music marketing in perspective. Prior to 2004 indie artists lacked essential marketing tools, but could still earn a living by connecting with people on simple websites and forums. Broadband was a huge breakthrough in 2004 as most people began shifting to high speed internet rather than dial-up. After Google bought YouTube in 2006, home videos became part of mainstream entertainment. By 2010 Facebook had become the number one social network in the world. Google, YouTube and Facebook have been key drivers in the DIY world.
A brief history of DIY Music is as follows:
1997 – Online music retailed CDBaby is founded by Derek Sivers in Portland, Oregon.
1998 – PayPal is founded in California.
2001 – Apple launches iTunes Music Player.
2003 – Apple launches iTunes Music Store. WordPress launches.
2004 – Broadband becomes a mainstream technology.
2006 – Google buys YouTube. ReverbNation launches.
2007 – Apple launches iPhone and App Store. SoundCloud is founded in Berlin.
2010 – Facebook has replaced MySpace as the leading social network.
The future of DIY musicianship can only get brighter. Some of the DIY artists who have developed loyal following did so because they were experts in other fields besides music. This century’s DIY musician is a multi-task artist who wears many hats. As a DIY artist you have to be more than just the artist, you have to be able to and have knowledge of music production, audio recording and editing, and post production which includes mixing and mastering. Just being an artist is no longer a thing in todays era of music. Anyone who is just an artist is already a step behind. More and more artist today, both independent and signed, are taking on the responsibility of multiple people in the studio. Artists are now the artist, the producer, the engineer and in some cases the mixing engineer. Artist want to know what is going on and how to work everything that is in the studio. They want to know why a plugin is being used and how it works, they want to know what each knob and button does on the board, they want to know the proper way to record themselves, and they want to know certain parts of production, because as a creative if they hear something that should be added or subtracted they want to be able to articulate that in the proper manner, so they don’t have to completely rely on the studio personnel to do it for them and hope they produce what the artist wants.
Is the DIY style that has emerged hurting the music industry? I can’t say for sure. I think it is incredible that artists are taking the initiative to be more than just an artist nowadays, however, when an artist feels as though they can do everything themselves, especially the ones that are doing everything from their bedrooms, it is clear to hear that the quality of music has decreased as time has gone on. With that being said, you can hear from a certain group of major artists that they are taking the time to use real instruments, taking the time to produce the best quality records and sound they possibly can, but again these are the major artists signed to major labels that have the time and budget to do these types of major records. Because it is so cheap and easy to do everything yourself I think we are going to continue to see this DIY era continue and grow especially as technology advances and the music industry continues to change, geared more towards digital numbers rather than talent. It is not necessarily a bad thing, because as the artists learn and grow by doing things themselves we can, and have, seen an incredibly talented crop of artists come out of this DIY style and era. I don’t know if will ever see the type of music of the previous few decades be made again and I don’t know if the music being made today will last more than the run of the artist making it. What I do know is that DIY is here to stay, and whether you think it is hurting or helping the artists and the music industry, as a music industry person, you, me included, will have to adjust to this style of music.
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