Ownership of the means of production

It is both disheartening and convenient when you are struggling to write an essay, forcibly putting words together that do not work, trying ideas that make almost no sense, and working in a direction that isn’t clear, and finding an essay that says what you are trying to say more clearly and cogently than your efforts could lead you.

I was trying to write such an essay recently, when today I came across the following spectacular essay by Ken Lowery Eugene Ahn at The Bureau Chiefs. It is a response to Rachael Maddux’s cover story for Paste, “Is Indie Dead?” about the relative death of “indie” music.

Out of sheer necessity, the “indie” mentality began to translate directly to the message inherent in a segment of the alternative movement, and the corporate and/or financial background of certain acts. The representation of a band backed by a gigantic, corporate conglomerate seemed antithetical to the notion of music’s inherent purity, and, in some respects, its democratic value. Everyone plays with the same musical scales, and works with generally the same musical language to produce the countless combinations of melodies, rhythms and messages that all genres and segments that music can offer. The equalizing power of music as an artform, as a creative exercise, and as an industry carries with it the soul of the conventional American Dream myth: that anyone with a guitar and three chords can write a song that could, in fact, change the world.

Exploitation of that lofty message for pure profit seemed wrong, even if it’s less than realistic to believe it could be otherwise. And while bands have always attempted to speak out against “the man,” or any number of political causes, it was the message that the music held, separate from partisan politics or individual beliefs, that was important. There was still something pure about the way music was created, and by proxy, the way good music was distributed (word of mouth, grassroots movements, needle-in-a-haystack success stories).

However, beyond mere musical contexts, the concept of independence is a myth. No longer can people retreat to Walden pond, or simply unplug from the world. There is something inherently faulty in peoples’ attempts to maintain this belief that music is somehow able to remain independent in an era where, due to informational access, technology, and simply the way we do business, it’s easier for acts to get exposure through more conventional means, while missing the fact that the conventional means are simply less conventional than they used to be. And while it may not be truly “indie” in the way we understand that term, pop music and the industry that surrounds it are inherently “more indie” than they ever used to be. And isn’t that a good thing?

At one time, indie music may have something, insofar as the means of music production and distribution was the possession of the music companies. Independent music was a revolution against the corporate nature and structure of music, an anti-democratic structure that locked out some acts in favor other others, irrespective of talent. Of those locked out of the regime, the more talented were capable of producing some music (albeit less polished and well-produced in many cases), developing revolutionary fan bases based on word-of-mouth and underground publications, and making something of a career. However, today, technological advances have blurred the line between well-produced high-fidelity music produced by major music companies and music made in basements or garages by amateurs. The means of production have been democratized, and there is barely any difference between so-called earnest singer-songwriters selling their self-burned CDs at coffee-shop performances and so-called corporate whores whose records can be bought at Target for $9.99. Heck, the earnest singer-songwriter, at his point, has as much chance of hitting a number one single on iTunes as the corporate-backed  and produced singer-songwriter.

It does seem, now, that “indie music,” as such, doesn’t really exist anymore. Gone are the days of secret record-store societies with their music nerd staffs locking away Pavement LPs from the unready public. In fact, many of the most well-regarded so-called “indie” acts are now signed to major labels, while many major—wildly popular, even—acts are running their own show, 80s/90s DIY-style. Of course, this is little surprise or news to the generation that grew up amidst the Internet, Napster and burned CDs, not to mention the generation currently growing up amidst iTunes, iPods and Pandora. Earlier, the means of production were democratized, and musicians grabbed control; as we move further, the means of dissemination and distribution are democratizing, and there is little doubt that musicians are grabbing control.