Don’t ask me why, but often when I watch movies I marvel at how much effort went into making them, and how soon they will be forgotten. Only a handful of movies truly achieve classic status and are watched at all after 12 months of release. They are released and they are gone. It actually makes me sad a bit, highlighting the impermanence of our achievements. (disclaimer: author could be going through a mid-life crisis)
So this always gets me thinking as to what achievements do truly have lasting impact. Books arguably are read for much longer than movies are watched. While there are certainly classic non-fiction books, they invariably get dated to the time of authorship. Classic fiction however, truly can transcend. Millions of people still read John Steinbeck, William Shakespeare, and Kurt Vonnegut. So maybe there’s a vote for classic fiction.
I have recently begun to think, however, that musicians and music may have the most cumulative and lasting impact on humanity. Whoa, big statement right (and depressing from someone who has no musical ability whatsoever). Music has the ability to move people every time they hear it. Who hasn’t had the experience of being in a certain situation and suddenly connecting with a song that they had heard hundreds of times before. Whether its the soulful voice of Tracey Chapman, the sad ballads of George Jones, or the inspiring symphonies of Beethoven, their works continue to impact me on a weekly basis. Music also has the advantage of being compact impactful content, so we can hear a wide range of it during a day. (Interesting that poetry, and short stories, the short form equivalent of fiction, haven’t ever caught on as much as their long-form counterparts). So if you could add up all of the impact of inspirational music, I think it would show that they lead the pack in terms of human impact.
What makes this depressing though, is that the current state of the music industry does not reward musicians for creating inspirational music. Artists get paid almost nothing for actually creating the music, and many argue that they should give it away for free and just make money off of concerts. This is just wrong to me. Tracy Chapman has moved me with her songs countless times, and even though I do enjoy seeing her in concert when I have the opportunity, it is just wrong not to reward her for creating the music that rewards me.
So what is the answer? Oh hell, I don’t know. For one, authors should get a larger percentage of their music. Two, there should be a system where I pay based on how much I listen. If I listen to an album once, it shouldn’t cost me the same as one of favorite albums that I play over and over (although it should incrementally go down over time). Third, there should be some sort of voluntary pay mechanism on top of it. Maybe it’s to pay to share the music with someone else, maybe its money to a charitable cause selected by the artist, maybe its just a direct payment to the artist? But when Tracy moves me, I am more than willing to pay, I want to pay her back for what she’s done for me. Please music industry, save the musicians.
