FEATURE:
In Bloom
ALL PHOTOS: Unsplash
Can a Website Cure a Lot of the Issues in Today’s Music and Make Us More Sociable?
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IT is still the first day of 2018 so I am not going…
to start pushing myself and getting ambitious until the weekend at the very least! This year; I will repeat some points I laid out in 2017. I have talked a lot about sexism, racism and imbalances that are robbing great acts of coverage and equality. I am making pushes regards my Kate Bush documentary (hoping to get something out before February) and I want to, above all, make concrete development regards my website. I have pitched various pieces about Psychoacoustics: a website that would draw together all the facets and functionality of existing sites and put them into one place. I have taken a rather technological and electronic approach to the end of the year. I talked about the effects of social media and why we should encourage less time on it - maybe there is an irony talking about a website where we encourage artists and fans to spend time on. My concern around social media is less to do with the fact it is indoors and we are wasting our lives away: the fact is, we are not being productive and are open to trolling and abuse. Too many people are subject to bullying and negativity; the ‘social’ side of the Internet means we spent a lot of time staring at screens and sharing pointless information. It is important we retain a certain attachment to social media but I have been wondering what effect it has had on the collective consciousness.
Whilst I am seeing a lot of developments and good aspects of social media – music able to get far and wide; new connections and bonds made – but the downsides revolving around the amount of time we spent on it and what we actually get back raises questions. I will not write too many other pieces around social media but there is a desire in me to spend less time on it and move towards something more material and constructive. One might say a music website is the same thing as social media. People are facing the same problem and the addictiveness is the same. As 2018 begins; I am determined to get ambitions and plans moving and developed. There are three reasons why I am determined to get the website going and focalise all my music stuff into one place. It is possible to integrate all the social media strands into a website and not have people switching between sites. Sociability is an important part of music - and direct contact with artists/labels would make promotion and connections a lot easier. Right now; we have to email companies, D.J.s and artists but, if there was a messaging service where we could contact them instantly; have music contacts only – instead of general ‘friends’ on social media – then that would be a more productive way of socialising and connecting.
Rather than obsesses over status updates and photos; those who love music would have a more economical and relevant timeline/chat function and layout. One of the things that concern me about social media is we are commenting on things that do not matter; watching and seeing information that adds nothing – if we are going to spend time on the Internet/social media; it might as well lead to something beneficial. Another reason I wanted to set a website up is to combine all the various elements of music media into one. How many blogs and sites do we look at of a day?! I must visit half-a-dozen and I often look at another five or six music-related sites. I watch YouTube and listen to Spotify; I am on Twitter and Facebook for my updates; I have my email accounts I check; I am all over the place and spent a lot of time flicking between pages. Having all of those in a menu and combining that with a menu would mean I could have a one-stop access to all the blogs/record labels/magazines/music-related sites that I need of a day. Information is power and, in music, that takes two forms. For musicians and writers; there is that desire to research and discover; to find opportunities and progress. That could take the form of gig listening and local venues; bands/artists broken down into location/genre/alphabet – something not being done on streaming sites and music websites. I am concerned there are too many empty calories on social media. It is the way we promote music and discover new artists.
Everyone and everything is bunched together and we get easily distracted. Right now; things are so disorganised so we are getting waylaid and obsessing; we are in a lower state and mental-health concerns are growing. I am not suggesting a disciplined and regimented music website would allay or erode the issues we have. It would be there for those interested in music but be a positive and safer space. I have seen reports recently of various problems arising. Female artists being abused on stage and marginalised because they are not considered Rock/raw – that is something that should be eradicated. Putting platforms and forums up; sites and information that counteracts this sexism and educates those culpable…a way of sparking debate and reducing the occurrences. Solange, a popular mainstream artist, had to cancel her New Year’s Eve performance/set because a nervous system disorder. Making people aware of that condition would mean other artists with the ailment would get support; it would expose ignorance and highlight underrepresented maladies and issues. There are so many other topics that could be raised. Details about music festivals and school; ways to get funding and controversial topics that have been raised – such as pay-to-play and the problem of depression in music. Informing people and providing links; making changes and moving forward – it would be a way for music fans, musicians and labels/stations/managers to all have their say and connect with one another. Alongside information is education. I am keen to bring together all the sites and websites – concerned with music and anything that could impact on musicians/fans – but eager to see older and new music combined into a single site.
This might be me traversing trodden ground but every day that passes sees me more and more frustrated with the state of streaming and music-sharing websites. I stumbled across songs I have not heard in years; I feel many people are not being exposed to the greatest music from the past. The only way to preserve the past and lead to a fuller music scene is ensuring people can find older sound – and putting them in an organised and compartmentalised place. Whether we integrate Spotify and YouTube alongside SoundCloud and BandCamp: a network or single site/search engine that makes it easy to get on top of all the great new music coming out is key; ensuring the treasures of the past are safe and advertised is crucial. This means new listeners can discover old gems; musicians have more material and archive to source from – it is beneficial to everyone. Making sure all recorded music, past and present, is visible and easy to navigate is as important as providing all the tools and sides to music. Software, where we can record instruments; ways of collaborating online and seeing all the best visuals, documentaries and videos is another consideration. Having a bespoke music library/search engine where one could find any album cover/album information is a good idea; investigate certain genres and, in a sense, create lessons and structured seminars for curious listeners and artists.
The idea is to tie together everything we already have so artists can be better informed and resourced. Listeners have greater availability and can discover music a lot easier. There is a lot of negativity and imbalance in music so, with the Internet at our disposal; there is a desire to provide a supportive community and tackle these problems. Encouraging debate and dialogue are vital in these times and the Internet is one of the most effective ways of achieving this. We all know the way music can improve and inspire so finding ways to achieve that is paramount. Warnings have been provided – by high-profile figures and musicians – as to the detrimental hold social media has. It is a chasm for aggression and abuse; a place where people feel exposed and do not feel safe. Getting away from that side of the Internet and creating something better guarded and music-based – with a social media component running as a minor thread –is a way of remaining on social media/the Internet but adds education, information and music in. Of course; there are downsides transitioning between a reliance on social media and transferring to a new site does not wholly get rid of the problem. The garden does not get rid of its weeds – and replace them with roses – without proper care and common sense.
It is hard to protect everyone and ensure we do not spend too much of our lives on computers. That is quite hard to achieve when you work in music. Most of the daily workload is done online; we spend time promoting and chatting – that does mean there is less time to rest and be a human being. I think a social side to the website that encourages people to get out would be a good idea. Whether that is a dating website or social events; it is key we get people out, together and interacting. It is possible to achieve all you need as a musician/fan, have that element of social media and not change too much – whilst allowing more time to get into the open and allow some room to breathe. Most of us are staying in and spending less time with our fellow humans. That is because of a number of things but I feel we are becoming less sociable as the Internet/social media take a bigger hold. That can only get worse so attempting to reverse that, whilst offering a gateway/transitional option, means the balance can be redressed and we can all improve – become more social and better-informed. I am worried about a number of things and the Internet can, ironically, be a cure to the problem it is creating. It will take a little time to ween people from their addiction to something else but, as a music-lover who wants to socialise more with people like me – and feel less isolated and depressed – there are possible remedies to the…
PROBLEMS we have before us.