For more than a year, two of my best friends, Will Gray and Jon Kofahl, have been hard at work on a documentary about the state of the music industry and the uncertain future of independent musicians. The film is gorgeous and the story is compelling. Please support these guys, and support this conversation!
Is it possible for an artist to break?
Record labels continue to strive for reinvention in the brave new worlds of digital music, Internet marketing, and social media. The star-making radio deejays of yesteryear have taken a backseat to trendsetting celebrity bloggers and the purveyors of the latest ringtones. Rapidly evolving technologies provide revolutionary benefits to new and undiscovered musicians, but the ever-changing landscape of the Internet remains uncertain terrain. More music is being produced than ever before, but in light of the current climate, can the makers, marketers, and promoters of that music find a way to capture mainstream attention?
Following on-the-verge artist Will Gray through the recording and release of his debut album (featuring production by Grammy Award-winning producer, T Bone Burnett), Broke* chronicles the stories of artists and executives searching for ways to thrive in the face of today’s music industry challenges. Featuring candid interviews with industry insiders and intimate profiles of some of the brightest emerging musical talent in the country, the film digs beneath the clichés and standard storylines to reveal an industry struggling to find a new identity and an artist who’s simply trying to establish one. Can a new act be “broken”?
Release date for the film is still TBD, but you can stay connected to Broke* on Facebook or Twitter. If you’d like to contribute to the cause, and get a great looking t-shirt at the same time, please visit their website!
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Just a couple weeks ago — on December 14, 2009, to be exact — one of my favorite thinkers and bloggers, Seth Godin, released a new FREE eBook called What Matters Now. It’s a PDF collection of short, topical blurbs from some of the best writers and idea people around.
Check out the thoughts from Chris Meyer (Re-capitalism, p. 14), Mark Hurst (Speaking, p. 18), Marti Barletta (Strengths, p. 22), Megan Casey (Celebrate, p. 40), Dave Balter (Dumb, p. 43), Chip & Dan Heath (Change, p. 50), and Derek Sivers (Passion, p. 51) for some of my favorites.
P.S. The always progressive Godin insisted on this being an open source project and encouraged additions, so I included my thoughts on Imagination — scroll all the way to the end (p. 82) to see it.
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I saw Michael Moore’s latest film, Capitalism: A Love Story, on opening day. This was my first viewing of one of his documentaries (I know, I know, the rest are on my list, OK?).
Love him, hate him, or otherwise, I think this is an important film for most everyone to see. The stories are heart-wrenching, in a really good way, and his points are good.
I have two thoughts about it.
First, I’m not sure he’s using the word “capitalism” correctly. Leaving this film I got the impression that Michael equates “capitalism” with “greed, tyranny, and abuse of power.” These can clearly be effects of capitalism (God knows we’ve seen enough of that in the last year), but they are no more defining to the concept than “healthy competition,” or “innovation” — effects of capitalism which allow people to, say, make movies. I don’t have a suggestion for a better title — Ingloriously Greedy Wall Street Basterds has kind of already been taken, and just doesn’t have the same marketable ring — but vilifying the concept of capitalism isn’t exactly fair, either.
In addition, it occurred to me, more than once during the film, that the heinous acts Michael is describing could not have occurred without significant government involvement. To be fair, he actually points this out multiple times… but then stops short of seeing the contradiction in his argument. If government is involved in the ways he says they are, we’re actually not talking about capitalism anymore because the free market has been drastically tampered with.
These two thoughts aside, it is a fantastically enjoyable film.
P.S. The “Cleveland” segment made me laugh so hard I was crying. If you’ve seen it, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
P.P.S. Here’s a great article by a great author on the subject.
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Copyright © 2005-2012 Josh Allan Dykstra
