So What, Indeed

I was a pretty good enough guitar player at my peak to do whatever I wanted in my own band but never remotely good enough to even consider a “career” as a musician, but this book review reveals that just like a lot of things throughout America in the last few decades, the middle class has almost totally dropped out of it as well:

There’s still money in music today, at least at the very top. Spotify reported its most profitable quarter ever this summer, Taylor Swift is winding down the highest-grossing concert tour in history, and, in the past few years, superstar artists have found new revenue by selling the rights to their music. Hipgnosis Songs Fund, a company based in the U.K., made news for paying hundreds of millions of dollars for the back catalogues of Justin Bieber and Shakira, among others.

But, for those just starting out, the opportunities for a sustainable career—for joining Nicolay’s “musical middle class”—appear to be vanishing. There’s probably never been a better time to share a song you’ve made, and yet it’s harder than ever to get paid for it.

So pour one out for yet another song nobody will ever hear or care about unless Taylor Swift buys it.