I often hear that there is no money to make with music. But then, when Bob Dylan began his career, at least according to Bob Dylan, there was no money to make with music. “If you could support yourself, you were doing good,” he said in an interview clip. Short edit above. “There was no such big billion dollar industry today. People go into it just to make money,” he apparently made that statement in the late 1980s (to judge by him). Heart of Fire (Looks) By then, both the popular music industry and nature had evolved into a very different beast than the early ’60s when he made his recording debut.
“The machines make most of the music right now,” adds Dylan. “Did you notice that all songs sound the same?” This is a complaint that was 40 years ago, considering synthesizers and sequencers, and today with streaming algorithms and artificial intelligence engines in mind.
Dylan was not criticized for not changing his sound or for refusing to acknowledge the benefits he offers to individual musicians. However, he understood that this new convenience, such as that introduced by many other technological developments, came at cultural prices.
Even in the 70s, recording became dangerous. In the 60s, even if you were the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, or in fact Bob Dylan, “You paid enough membership fees to play around and make records.” But the next generation of bands said, “Look for someone to make records right away, without even hearing them.” As for solo acts, “If you’re a good looking kid or have a good voice, they expect you to do it all,” but “If you have no experience going with it, you’ll just be disposable,” the mere means of producers who were accused of the author of the records they praised. When it’s easier than ever to find any kind of music we might want, all of this should not be so surprising to hear that “something too mundane is happening” than Bob Dylan.
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Based in Seoul Colin marshall Write and broadcasting stationTS about cities, languages, and culture. His projects include the Substack Newsletter Books about cities And the book The Stateless City: Walking through 21st century Los Angeles. Follow him on social networks previously known as Twitter @colinmarshall.
