Where Did the Music Go?

Nowadays even these things seem rare...

BY GEORGE PATRICK MCLEER

You may not know this about me, but there are few things I enjoy more than getting new music.  For me, there is a process.  Buy the CD, open it, stick it in my car’s CD player, flip through the CD artwork and then proceed to drive off in a musical haze with the stereo turned up and the windows down.  Then when I am home I take the CD, load it on to my computer/iPod/iPhone/iPad and proceed to blast the new music from one of the many speaker systems we have at my house (I’ve got a roommate who is a DJ, another who plays guitar/keyboard, another that sells sound/lighting equipment and then I play guitar and manage a music venue…we’ve got a few speakers lying around).

It is perhaps the most common creative routine I have.  It is a necessity for me to listen to new music in this solitude in order to really enjoy it.The rush of dopamine in my brain when sound waves hit my ear drum for the first time is just about the best feeling in the world.  And since I work with musicians a lot, I have an even better appreciation and understanding of the recording process and the subtleties in the music that makes the experience so much more entertaining.

So today I went to Best Buy to pick up some new tunes.  When I notice…there’s practically no music in the entire store.

What I perceived Best Buy's selection to look like. Yes, they have music, but in my mind this is all they had.

See here’s the thing – Best Buy’s music selection over the past 5 years has dwindled down from a good 8-10 aisles to 2.  TWO.

Now I had noticed this trend over time – I’ve tried to buy music at Best Buy for the past five years and have seen their selection shrink and almost disappear.  But this time it really got to me.  I was looking for a specific CD from a not-so-well-known artist, but one that should be on the shelves of a generic music store.

I’m not trying to be extremely negative to Best Buy just because of this one experience – I’ve tried to go and buy many, many albums without success at this store.  But Best Buy has taken the entire music industry and reduced it to practically a check-out aisle.  Artists in stock do not extend past the Top 40 or well-known classics.  But if you’re looking for a wide and deep selection in jazz, country, classical, stand-up comedy, or even artists on the cusp of greatness — you’re out of luck.  Now there used to be places that I could easily substitute if Best Buy didn’t meet my needs. In fact, if they didn’t have it, I knew I could find it at Barnes & Noble, who have always had an amazing music selection.  But guess what I was slapped in the face with a few months back at my local Barnes & Noble — NO MUSIC/MOVIE SECTION.  The entire store was switched around, eliminating all music/movies and replacing it with 1/3 of the store dedicated to the Nook.

But Best Buy and Barnes & Noble and other major chains – I get it.  Everyone’s going digital.  The iPod has killed your music model…or so you think.  The trend has always been replacing music mediums with the next, most portable and storage-friendly means possible.  But while iTunes and the like have definitely made it easier for people like me to get my music now and on the go – the difference is in the touch.  All previous trends have been from one tangible object to another.  Regardless of whether it was an LP, a 45, an 8-track, a cassette or a CD, music has always had a tangible aspect.  The consumer has been able to not only hear the music, but see it, and smell it (in a sense – that ‘new CD’ smell from packaging).  It also offered an opportunity for the artists to express their album through artwork.  Remember the Beatle’s Sgt. Peppers…?  You could look at that album cover for hours, right?

And I’m not trying to put down iTunes/Apple either.  I think the model for music nowadays is in fact going digital and iTunes is pretty much perfect for this.  Heck I use iTunes everyday.  But what gets lost is the connection with the artist.  The satisfaction in knowing that the CD you bought is solely owned by you.  That the artist’s voice traveled from their vocal chords through the microphone to a soundboard into a computer and then directly onto the piece of plastic you’re about to put into your stereo system.

The need for CDs is still great.  Artists stand to make more money on selling an album at their concert than they do selling it on iTunes.  And while the record companies still rob artists blind during the recording and distribution processes, at the very least, artists can have something physical to hand to an audience member or potential fan.  Not to mention – you can’t autograph an MP3, but you can autograph a CD.

I understand the switch in these major chains, I really do.  But I don’t agree with the almost nonchalant methods that they have practically eliminated their music selections with.  There’s a difference between streamlining your models and completely doing away with what once was a major component of your model.  Music is also very different than the TVs or cameras these electronic stores sell.  Music is more than a product.  It has been the backdrop and soundtrack of our nation and of mankind.  How else would you explain or experience Frank Sinatra if you couldn’t find a CD anywhere and didn’t have the capabilities of downloading his music?  I also don’t understand their shunning of the music industry while at the same time expanding product lines in the movie industry – it is just as easy to watch something on NetFlix or download on iTunes, yet movie selections have seemed to increase.  It makes no sense.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that while I will continue to put digital music on my iPod and buy many songs from iTunes, I’ll never get over the need to have something tangible to connect myself with the artist.  The work that goes in to producing an album is more than the general public realizes and the CD is the all encompassing result of that work.  A digital download, while easier in many regards, enables a relationship between the consumer and the product which plays their songs, and not the song itself.

But today I had to replace my lifelong tradition.  Instead I had to go on my iPhone, find the album and download it as I drove angrily back to my office where I promptly burned my own copy of the CD for my car.

Listen Best Buy, if you want me to just bypass your store whenever I want music and go straight to iTunes or find a local record store (which are also closing shop left and right) – I’ll gladly do it, if not only to save myself from the disappointment and wasted gasoline to get to your store and discover you in fact do not have any music on your shelves.

Where did the music go?

Why It Matters – Gov’t Support of the Arts

 

Public support of the arts is non-negotiable.  In my mind at least.

You may ask, “Why?”

The answer is simple – I’ve seen what it has done, what it is doing, and what it can do.  I have experienced first hand the positive results that a government investment in the arts can have on a community, a state and a country.  The results from supporting the arts with public funds are incredible and cannot be overlooked.

I grew up in the Upstate – born and raised in Anderson and attended a high school in Greenville. I have seen the transformation of the entire Upstate from a agricultural and industrial crossroads to a collaborative hotspot for innovation, technology and creativity.  I remember a time when no one wanted to go downtown on a Friday night.  I remember a time when there was nothing to do on the weekends except for a very small number of festivals/events.  Then all of that changed.  Within just a little over two decades, the Upstate has transformed into a destination.  From the offerings at USC Upstate and Hub-Bub in Spartanburg, to Artisphere (named one of the top 20 arts festivals in the US) and the multitude of arts organizations downtown Greenville, to the opening of the Anderson Arts Center, to the developments right here in the Golden Strip (Fountain Inn Center for Visual & Performing Arts, Charter Amphitheater, Mauldin Cultural Center) — the Upstate has become a huge hub for the arts in South Carolina.

During my time spent in Charleston, SC I saw a $20 million renovation of the Dock Street Theatre – the oldest theatrical facility in the US – led by the City of Charleston (I worked for the resident theatre company at the facility); experienced the now over 30 year-old, city-sponsored and city-managed Piccolo Spoleto Festival (I worked as a House Manager, acted in a production and directed another production for the Festival); and witnessed the overwhelming support the City of Charleston had for its arts organizations every day.  Thanks to arts organizations such as the Gibbes Museum, Charleston Stage Company, Theatre 99, North Charleston Coliseum/PAC/Conference Center (a city-owned facility), the Charleston Symphony, and the many arts festivals including Spoleto Festival USA, Charleston Food & Wine Festival and Charleston Fashion Week, Charleston has transformed from a purely historical landmark, to a tourist magnet.  All with the support and funding of the local, state and federal government.

I spent a summer helping the Fountain Inn Center for Visual & Performing Arts get their programs off the ground as well.  While there, I was overwhelmed with how much wonderful support City officials had for the arts in their community.  Taking an old school building, investing in infrastructure, and giving artists the capabilities to present their craft has proven to be one of the best uses of public money for the City of Fountain Inn.  The City now boasts boutiques, restaurants and a thriving arts center that has events at least 95% of the year, attracts over 60,000 people a year and covers everything from classes to music to theatre.  And the City of Fountain Inn helps support all of it.

Currently, we are working hard to bring the same type of atmosphere to Mauldin.  The Mauldin Cultural Center works hand-in-hand with the City of Mauldin to create a cultural and artistic anchor for the community.  We hosted over 200 events (performances, rentals, meetings, exhibits, classes, etc) and over 20,000 people in 2011 and are on pace to break that number in 2012 already.  All of this would not be possible without the support of our local, state and federal governments.

We depend upon government agencies such as the South Carolina Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts to not only enable us to carry out our mission through potential grants, but also to represent the government’s support of the arts across the nation; because, just like the National Endowment for the Arts’ motto states, we believe that “a great nation deserves great art” – and that includes Mauldin.

I urge you to contact your local representatives – city council, state legislators and federal representatives – and let them know you support the arts.

To find out more about government support of the arts, click on these links:
Americans for the Arts – Gov’t Support for the Arts (Federal vs State vs Local)
National Assembly for State Arts Agencies – Why Gov’t Support Matters 

George Patrick McLeer
Executive Director, Mauldin Cultural Center

The Arts in 2012

A quick list of the things to look for in the arts industry for 2012.

1.) Ticket Sales/Attendance – Movie audience number continue on a downward spiral as the availability of online media entertainment becomes more and more plentiful.  Pair that with the growth of services such as Hulu, Hulu Plus, Netflix, iTunes and most recently Amazon’s on demand movie streaming service, and you’ve got yourself a perfect climate for marketing departments in the performing and visual art world to break out all the stops.  While the biggest enemy of a live arts event will remain the couch, watch for audiences to move their ‘entertainment’ dollars away from movies with friends and looks for something else.  If the arts world is smart, they’ll use this to their advantage – because a night out at the gallery or theatre can’t be replaced by Sony, no matter how hard Sony may try.

2.) Ticket Prices – On the other side of the previous trend – ticket prices are still a huge hurdle for many Americans to experience the arts.  Shows on Broadway – the definitive performing arts locale in the country – can cost the average person anywhere from $30 – $250 any given day.  And when you look at a recent study of 2010-2011 season attendees on Broadway, the population segment attending these shows is, well, expected – white, middle-aged, well educated (college degree or higher), affluent and female.  This is a trend that will be interesting to watch.  As people continue to cut their expenses in their home, arts organizations are going to have to reflect their understanding in their ticket prices/offerings.  While there will always be a demand for higher priced tickets, I’m more interested in the bottom half of the ticket scale.  (shameless plug – the Mauldin Cultural Center has FREE concert and theatre tickets…)

3.) Congressional Bills –  There are a few bills to watch out for in 2012, namely the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) [link to full text], that will play a huge role in not only the arts industry, but also how the average ‘Joe’ is able to access and utilize the arts.  SOPA is garnering a lot of friction currently.  The biggest culprit of the criticism is a portion of the bill that effectively gives the US Dept. of Justice the right shut down, or rather deny access to, any website that is accused of spreading pirated works, without a court order.  In ‘english’ – if you posted the official music video for Frank Sinatra’s newest song on your YouTube or Facebook account, even if your only intent was to share it with your friends, the record company could request that the D.O.J. shut down the entire site of Facebook or YouTube until the material was removed. It would also require that, until the material is removed from the website, Facebook or YouTube would not be allowed to appear on any online search results.  Now the overall goal for the bill is admirable – helping eliminate illegal downloading/sharing of copyrighted material (especially music and movies) – but many feel that this bill is far too overreaching. Check this article and this article for more information and keep your eye out for this legislation to make a huge splash in 2012.  Currently it has not made it out of House Subcommittee yet, so there is some time before there are any votes or any movement whatsoever, but if it should reach the floor of Congress – you’ll be glad you knew about it now.

4.) State Arts Agencies – If you thought last year’s budget battle was tough, wait until 2012.  With a Presidential election looming as well as other state elections, be on the lookout for many state governments to target, yet again, the arts.  In South Carolina, we’ll be facing an uphill battle with Gov. Nikki Haley who last year budgeted the elimination (not cuts, elimination) of the SC Arts Commission.  When state legislators put the SCAC back in the budget, Gov. Haley vetoed their funding, and her veto was (luckily) overturned by the SC House.  Gov. Haley has again expressed interest in eliminating the SCAC in the 2012 budget.  We [arts professionals] expect to see this trend throughout a few other states and we’ll need the support of everyone to help keep the arts alive.

If you need a refresher course on the importance of the SCAC to the state, and to organizations such as the Mauldin Cultural Center, check out our blog archive for coverage of last year’s budget process.

5.) 2012 Election – It’s no surprise that the 2012 election will effect all of us in some fashion, no matter who is elected.  With some candidates calling out the National Endowment for the Arts for elimination, charitable donation legislation in Congress, SOPA legislation, and the further polarizing of American politics – the arts are poised to become a talking point in the political arena in 2012.  Be sure that you are informed of everything arts-related this year.  Check out the “Links” page here on our blog site for some helpful resources.