Consider This

There is one thing that Britney Spears and Paris Hilton have in common- they both make millions of dollars a year and neither one can sing. They are also both geniuses. That's right, I said "geniuses". You have to be a genius to captitalize on a talent you don't actually possess. They have found a way to market themselves so that consumers pay more attention to their image than their inability to sing. And they are laughing all the way to the bank.
If you want to actually make money in the music industry these days, you have to put down the instrument for a while and start studying business. Real musicians have to make it a priority to educate themselves in the business they are trying so hard to enter. The days of sitting on a street corner, playing music and waiting for a music producer to discover you are over.
I can't stand it when musicians say "I'm an artist, I don't do math" or "I'm an artist, I don't concern myself with economics". Those are the people who will be sitting on that street corner for the rest of their lives, just waiting to be discovered.
Music executives aren't the least bit concerned with how well you sing or play guitar. They are only concerned with the bottom line: how much money can you make the company. Someone that doesn't know how to market themselves, won't make very much money.
Take a lesson from the queen of marketing, Ms. Paris Hilton. She's been in movies and she can't act. She's sold a book and she can't write. And now she is topping the charts with her version of a reggae song and she can't even sing. I'm sure she's aware that she's not particularly gifted in any of these areas, but she is gifted in the area of self promotion.
Real music fans are acheing for some innovative talent, but it doesn't seem like we are going to get it any time soon. Musicians need to embrace the business side of their craft. They must realize that finding new ways to promote themselves and market their craft can be as creative an experience as composing a piice of music. If they don't, we are going to be stuck listening to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears for a real long time to come.

Posted by Kristen at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments

Generation Apathy

I awoke to fists being thrown at my door. Whoever it was had to be crazy to think I was getting out of bed. I had only gone to sleep two hours ago, tops. Then I heard Tati scream. Something in her voice told me this was an emergency. With one eye open, I made my way to the dorm room door and threw it open. Tati didn't say a word. She grabbed hold of my wrists and dragged me down the hallway and into the lobby. Everyone in Osceola Hall was standing in front of the big screen television and most were crying. Soon I was crying too.
It was September 11, 2001. It was a day that changed my view of the world forever and I thought it would have the same affect on my entire generation. But for some, no sooner did it happen, than it was forgotten.
In fact, we stopped by a friend's house that day after attepting to give blood at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital and our friends were sitting around smoking weed like nothing had happened. They were aware of the atrocity that had just occured, but they were unaffected. They all seemed to have the same "well, there's nothing we can do about it mentality".
I had never been so ashamed of the people I associated myself with, so Tati and I left. As we drove down Tennessee Avenue towards our dorm, we spotted our friend Allie and stopped to give her a ride. "Isn't it great. They cancelled class. Now we have time to look for an apartment," she said as she smiled through my driver's side window. I couldn't hide the look of disgust on my face, so I drove away; leaving Allie standing in the middle of the road.
Recently, I spoke to my friend Elizabeth Repensek, 22, a student at Florida State University, who said "People in our generation have this idea or theory that nothing affects them. Even if it affects their neighbor, it just doesn't hit close enough to home for them". And if you've ever tried to collect money, signatures or support for a cause you feel strongly about, you would have to agree.
Two weeks ago, I tried to collect signatures for Amnesty International's International Women's Rights campaign. At the top of the e-mails I sent out I wrote: "All you have to do is type your name at the bottom of the page and press send to give a voice to women around the world who are being raped, beaten and unjustly imprisoned". I thought, maybe they won't care as deeply as I do, but they will at least take the time to type their names and press send. So far, none of my e-mails have returned.
Repensek worked the polls last Tuesday in Tallahassee for the primary election for governor. Only 30 out of 400 registered voters, under the age of 30, voted during the primary election that day.
"It was painfully sad for our generation," Repensek said, "the older people were so happy to see younger people working the polls and showing that they care".
According to CNN.com, only 17 percent of the presidential vote came from voters between the ages of 18 and 29.
Generation Y is apathetic, at best. Our parents' were united in fighting for civil rights and against the Vietnam War. Our grandparents lived through the Great Depression and World War II. Our parents and grandparents were made aware of the impact these political, economic and social catastrophes had on their lives because the effects were inescapable. Maybe we've just had it too easy. Maybe most of our generation believes that nothing will affect them because nothing ever has.

Posted by Kristen at 6:42 AM | Permalink | Comments