Alternatives to SXSW
Well folks… SXSW 2020 was canceled. It is very sad because I wasn’t the only one looking forward to going and learning all of this new stuff in the music industry! But while that is in the past, I look to the future to see what other music industry events may be ahead. One that I found is the Music Tourism Convention. It is in Mississippi from September 29-October 2. One reason I would love to go is because the Grammy Museum is down there and I would love to see what all is inside. They will be holding a reception there as well, so the more to be excited about! This event is a lot like SXSW but smaller in numbers and they do a lot of tours around town.
The second event coming up would be the ASCAP Experience from April 1-3. The biggest thing that caught my eye was that it brings in a community of songwriters into one place so that everyone can learn and get better at creating songs. I personally love creating music in my free time and want to get better everyday. What a better way to get better at writing songs than to be surrounded by professional songwriters?! But sadly, due to COVID-19, it has been canceled this year. But in this time of being stuck at home, I am going to use this opportunity to learn all that I could have from going to these conferences. So look out on my website for new music to go up on iTunes, Spotify, etc. If you have any questions or would like to Collab with me, press to “Contact” button at the top right of the website and you can email me there!
Women in Music Panel
This Thursday 3/12/20 at Groove U will be the women in music panel! It starts at 6 and will have women from all around Columbus that are working in some aspect of the music industry. It will be a good time to come and network with people and also hear what they have to say, and if you’re a woman I’m sure they can give you good pointers if you are going into the music industry. I hope that I will learn a lot about the music industry and what the down falls of it are so that maybe I can help change that for the future! Can’t wait to hear them speak knowledge and Sarah moderate everything! It’ll be a great time!
Napster-Downloaded
I believe that Napster was trying to help bands that may not be very big to make them more popular, but they were going about it in the wrong way. There are other ways to popularize bands than to make their songs free. Some bands didn’t mind because Napster made them popular and they gained profits all from venues. Napster showed the world that computers can evolve and do so much more than they had thought. I do believe they helped the growth of computer sales and changed the way people used computers. In the end, Napster tried to do something good without realizing it was completely illegal, and they totally fell apart. Just buy a song that is $1 than steal it from the band!
I Saw the Light
I just watched the biopic called I Saw the Light about Hank Williams’ career in music. I had no clue of what Williams went through in his life before the movie and it really matched up after researching his’ life after watching it. It is a super touching biopic and one that makes you have uneasy feelings for Hank and sometimes his first wife Audrey. I would recommend this biopic 10/10 even if you don’t care much about music because it absolutely connects to people in their everyday lives. Leave a comment down below and let me know if you watch it and your thoughts!
Groove U Grammy Party
January 26th, Groove U held a Grammy Party at the Grandview theatre. It gave us all a chance to get to know each other better outside campus and to just have fun. I had a blast hanging with my friends and listening to quality music. At the start of the night, we played some card games, ate some pizza, and met some prospective students. When the time came, we all went into the theatre and watched the 2020 Grammy’s award ceremony. Some of my favorite artists that performed were Camilla Cabello, Alicia Keys, and Lil Nas X gave us a good show. I wish Lil Nas performed a different song, but it was all performed very well. Camilla’s song was very touching and could be very relatable between a father-daughter relationship. I am still in awe that Billie Eilish won 4 Grammys! Props to her and Fineas (her brother) for working hard on making a popular album. Alicia Keys did a good job as the moderator but some things could have been passed to save time and get to the performances quicker since it ran over a little bit. I thought it was touching the idea of everyone coming together singing for Nipsy and Kobe, but it was a little much and could have been executed a lot more professionally. I wish that Coldplay could have been in it because of their Everyday Life album, but it was probably released too late to be in the nomination for the Grammys. Can’t wait for next year’s Grammy Party!! Thank you Grandview Theatre and Groove U!
An increase of women in the music industry
In the past years, many popular bands and their engineers have consisted of men. With the industry already having a standard of men running the music industry, it would be hard for women to have any chance of succeeding in the music industry as well. A well known artist, Selena Gomez, wanted to make sure that women were involved during the making of her album “Rare.” It allowed women to prove to the industry that they could do just as good a job as men can in the music process. “The Recording Academy’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force" initiative was made so that women could be given the opportunities involved in the music industry. It was a good place for women to start if they wanted to work in the music industry and have a chance.
I believe that the minds of men and women are different in the way they think and go about things. It is easy for a guy to say yes to an idea than think about the bigger picture, while women like to think more about the bigger picture in the end. With this in mind, women and men may have a harder time working together in the music industry. I do believe it is possible for them to find that connection of agreement, but when it may come to the writing process, men and women have different styles. If those styles could be tied together, I think we would have a breakthrough in music like we did with The Beatles. Men like to work with each other, so for them to allow women to help with their music path would be amazing. Great things would come out of women being more involved in the music industry.
With a 12% increase of women in the music industry over the past 2 years, it shows that men are being more open to allowing others to help in the creative process. If that was only the past 2 years, think of the next 2 years ahead. How many more women will be included and working in the music industry? Which part of the music industry will grow the most? With their creative mindsets I believe they would work great in the band or as a manager for a band.
In the past, if a woman had a job and she was in a family, it was considered disgraceful to the male of the household to not be providing for the family. A woman was considered the one to stay home and take care of the house and children while the man would work and provide for the family. As time progress, women become more involved in the work force. It is considered a norm for a female to have a job just as long as a man. But because of the past, our world is still in a stage of transformation in the work force to be including women. With constant change in the industry, all positions will be filled by both women and men. I believe that women should have the opportunity to try whatever they want, just as men are able.
When I am driving in my car listening to the radio, most of the time I will hear a song with a female voice in it. And I know that even 5 years ago, that was very unlikely to be heard. Women are forming their own bands, performing, and succeeding. There is a growth like nothing we’ve seen before. People are standing up for equality which is including women, and those of different ethnicities in the music industry and so much more. Most would ask,”Why is the music industry gaining more female workers?” Well I would say it has a lot to do with a connection to an artist or song they heard. If you hear a song and it correlates with your life, you become more interested in what that artist has to say and what other songs they will put out there. People like Gomez and Swift make songs that may describe what they have gone through in their life, and others may have gone through the same thing and want to support those artists. Once you build a connection to music it is hard to let it go. You want to embrace it and understand it more. And I believe with the steady increase of female artists making relatable songs, other females connect with that song and want to be apart of the music industry. There are many other reasons that lead one into the music industry, but one of the biggest is that emotional connection you gain with a song. At this point in the industry, not only are women growing, but the whole industry itself. People are beginning to realize how much music means to one’s emotions and sometimes even their life. With all of this said, if you know of someone going into the music industry, encourage them because it’s not easy. There is a lot of work you have to do before you can make enough to support even yourself financially. Surrounding yourself with the right people will make your life easier and your career stress free!