The music industry is dead or at least the industry we all once knew and worked in. We now live in a time where people have been conditioned to consume the blandest, most soulless, factory-made sounds, thinking it’s music and yet some attempt to complain that it’s not the same as it once was. We’ve traded depth and artistry for convenience. A small fee, a swipe, and suddenly, you have instant access to endless streams of pre-packaged noise. It’s a sad and vicious cycle but worse, it is destroying the lives of those who pioneered the industry.
What the masses fail to understand is the blood, sweat, tears, and countless hours that go into creating real music. It’s not just a hobby—it’s a soul-deep calling. You don’t choose this; it chooses you. You invest years, emotions, and thousands of dollars honing your craft, pouring your entire being into something that speaks the universal language of creation. This goes beyond the creative artist as well. This applies to the individuals out there working hard to share this music with the rest of the world.
Yet, when you present your work—something born from that deep, sacred place—it’s often received with casual indifference. Like cracking an egg: easy, instant. As if it didn’t take everything from you. But I don’t create for them. I create for me. If someone listens, that’s great, but the truth is, the fight to be heard in this oversaturated landscape is almost impossible. Every day, thousands of tracks are churned out, flooding the market, and there are only so many hours in the day to listen.
That’s why I want to shout out to the TRUE gatekeepers—the passionate curators who genuinely love music and dedicate themselves to finding and sharing the gems hidden in the noise. Across the US, traditional radio appears to be dying a slow death with a small handful of exceptions while online stations have become the last front line for discovering real, authentic music outside of the new industry standard discovery modes of YouTube and Spotify. It’s a new era whether we like it or not.
While we’re programmed to fork over our monthly fee and drown in unlimited sound, that system bypasses the creators entirely. So, I challenge you—seek out online radio stations, podcasts and the last remaining independent FM radio shows. Let them guide your listening experience. Yeah, you might have to go a little “old school” and wait for a track to play, but that wait will be worth it. You’ll be immersed in something new, something authentic, something that speaks to your soul in ways that mass-produced noise never can. It also supports that mega-fan host that helped create that station who ACTUALLY has a passion for not only the fans but, the artists and are trying to preserve the art of it all.
Thank You to all the radios peeps that champion better offerings of creations. You are one of the primary reasons that the Wayfarers and so many other deserving talents actually have their craft heard.
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