Is it just me, or are there a lot of bands (not all bands - they know who they are) who focus on desperately trying to make the big time?
Whatever happened to making music because it felt good?
I know that DIS promotes loads of bands who are in it for the enjoyment - I think they need a a little forum appreciation.
they try to make some money
so they can do music full time. that's good isn't it?
I think there are lots of people who make music for fun
It's just the ones who do it to make money are more likely to reach your attention as they'll be prepared to do whatever to make that the case.
If that makes sense.
yeah making music for fun
is all good and well when you've got a trust fund to fall back on. But if you don't and rely on it to make money of course your going to be 'desperately trying to make the big time'. You can't live off sheer enjoyment.
Lots of people with very little money
and no trust funds make music for enjoyment. If you make music with the primary intention of making money out of it, you're probably making god-awful shite in my experience.
Paul McCartney has specifically said that
when he wrote songs he was writing for a 'swimming pool' or a new car. And I'm sure their are many others. Of course they can enjoy it aswell as I'm sure he did. But when all your doing is 'music' your going to inevitably worry about money.
IRL
i don't think there are many bands who direct their music in order to be famous. bands like the pigeon detectives, kaiser chiefs, razorlight etc, are probably making the music they want, and it happens to be lowest common denominator.
the kooks though, they're defintely more interested in being big than being good
Why on earth would you do it for fun?
It's shite. You don't get paid unless you're Paul Mccartney, you have to tour shite places where the people shout things at you, you have to support bands worse than you, you have to spend hours in a studio with some nerdy recording guy going on about "the mid range on this is too harsh, maybe if we ducked the snare behind the synth and added a 3 band EQ on the vocals". Then even if you make it big you won't like your fans because half of them will be scenesters and half of them will be nerds. Then you'll eventually put out an album that no-one cares about and go back to whatever job you had before. And nowadays you have to endlessly publicise your band on WEB 2.0 because "it's the future" and you have to have "merchandising opportunities".
Going down a flume is fun. Go-karting is fun. Watching Austen Powers is fun. Making music is Deadly Serious Business.