The value of music... plus the solo for "Lest Ye Be Judged"

Greetings guitar friends! Today I'm going to start off expressing my thoughts on the value of music and the value of musicians. Its pretty clear we live in a world today where it has become pretty common place to take the arts for granted, largely because of the internet and the immediate access we all have to it. I've known people to download dozens and dozens of albums from torrent sites without batting an eyelash.

Back in my senior year of high school, I was asked to present a debate for my government class to argue over. The Napster issue happened to be in the headlines, and being an issue that hit close to home (wanting to be a professional musician and all), I chose this for the topic and to argue against illegal downloading. My entire class argued against me, stating that downloading "helps musicians get noticed" and that "all their money is made from touring anyway" and "it won't hurt the industry." Flash forward 10 years later and, for better or worse, I was right and my classmates were wrong. The numbers prove it; illegal downloading has hurt the music industry.

But instead of berating those of you who may download illegally (perhaps you've even downloaded my music illegally! ;-) ), I'd instead like to talk about the value we place on music. Obviously, music is very dear to us. In the metal subculture in particular, the music represents more than just sound waves to its fan base. It's a way of life.  It moves us, strengthens us, and without it, many of us might even lose a sense of ourselves.

Music has to come from somewhere, though. That "somewhere" is the mind of a skilled musician, and this is why for centuries they have been celebrated for their craft. But think for a moment what makes something valuable and how we express desire for that value. If the music of a band or artist is to be considered of worth, it needs to be treated as such. A precious gemstone is cherished because its beauty cannot be found in a simple pebble on the side of the road. If we are to show the artists that move us and speak to us that their music has worth and value, we cannot treat their work as that of a common rock. To reduce the beauty of music to a commodity that can simply be taken up and cast aside is to devalue that beauty. When you pay an artist for their work, you are telling them that their work is of value to you, that their creative output is that shiny gemstone in your CD case (or mp3 player or hard drive), and without it, your world would be a lesser place. When you treat an artists work as a commodity, you are telling them that their work is no more special to you than any of the other pieces of gravel out there that you couldn't care less about.

When an artist feels their work has no value, what incentive do they have to share their work with others?

We are already seeing the devaluation of music stretch beyond that of paying for recorded audio. There is downloading of recording software and audio plugins, and its slowly becoming more and more common for venues to try to get live music for free. As a guitar teacher, I can only imagine that there will come a time when I'll be told I should be teaching for free as well.

I also think that part of being an artist in this day is to find ways to work within the system. It's clear that music listeners have become accustomed now to being able to hear, or "sample" an artists work before paying for it. For this reason, I think more artists need to embrace streaming media as that means of "trying before you buy." Whether its YouTube, an artists own Soundcloud or Reverb Nation page, etc. streaming media allows the listener to hear your worth while still being able, as an artist, to offer them something more with a proper sale (downloadable content at higher quality... CDs are on their way out, but I'm sure more tangible collectable items and merchandise can be offered in conjunction with digital downloads in the future, as they are with CDs). For this reason, I'm 100% fine with my music being uploaded to YouTube. I say this because I am confident in what Dark Empire has to offer the metal world, and as long as fans are educated as to why it is important to show an artist that their work is valuable to them, I have nothing to fear from my music being available on streaming media.

So, the moral of the story, kids... if you like an artist, support them! Oh, and here's the PDF file and Guitar Pro file for the solo from the Dark Empire tune, Lest Ye be Judged, from our new album, From Refuge to Ruin:

Lest Ye Be Judged PDF
Lest Ye Be Judged Guitar Pro 6

Hey look, I'm giving this out for *free*!! ;-). Interested in learning more about how to compose your own solos and licks like this yourself? Email me at mmoliti@mac.com if you might be interested in webcam (Skype) guitar lessons!



And of course, Dark Empire's From Refuge to Ruin is available at these fine internet locations:
Direct from our label, Nightmare Records
Amazon.com
iTunes

Until next time!

Matt