How much should an artist make?

Here is an idea that has been percolating in the back of my mind for a while, "How much should an artist make?"  In pretty much every music rag now days there is an article on either the industry being in a downturn or how disappointing the first day sales were. 

Where did we lose focus?  To be successful in the music industry is it all or bust?  It seems as if a musician is deemed a failure unless he or she is making millions, but why can't we be successful for just making an honest wage?  If a musician, producer, or DJ can make enough to live successfully off their music, let's say $50,000 a year, is that not successful?

It may appears that the music industry is failing, and it is sad when a small record label closes, but I am looking forward to the future where a group of people can start a label on the internet for a minimal investment.  If the label takes off then they can make their money back through selling the tracks, merchandise, and touring.  Sure they won't be making millions and buying airplanes, but if you are doing what you love...

Of course the argument against this is that without the major labels screening out the crap how will the average know what to listen to?  But isn't that what Radio and club DJs are supposed to due?  Find those great tracks and share them with the world? 

- Charles Cushman

Thursday Night at the Tavern

Maybe it's my age, but for some reason I don't like going to bars. Now that is not to say that I don't like getting a drink, but bars are too loud to talk and the music generally is not good enough to dance. Yet I can be seduced to go out. Last Thursday my friend called, said she was in town, and asked if I was free to go out that night to the Taven in Pacific Beach.

I am not going to go into the details of my night out, although there are some good stories such as my friend forgetting his ID and driving all the way back to the North County to get it. What I do want to discuss is the music that the Tavern was playing. Early on in the night they were playing upfront hip-hop with some classics thrown in. I am not sure if the DJ was using DVJs or some other kind of software (he was not visible in the DJ booth), but the mixes were seamless and the corresponding video for each song was playing on select TVs throughout the club. However the music was being presented, it was working and the dance floor was full the entire time I was there.

With management making such a positive decision to have good music in their club it was disheartening that at 12:30, when the clubbed switched over to house music most the tracks they played were 5 years old. They even played "Shut the f^@& up and Dance!" That song was great, I bought two copies of it, but it definitely sounds dated. I know that I can not expect the newest Trentemøller track but come on... There have been loads of great up tempo vocal house tracks that have come out in the past couple of years that should work just as good for a college crowd.

I don't really care about a bar playing outdated music; there is a general trend to play old dance music and this reinforces listeners' negative opinion of it. DJs, even at the run of the mill bars, need to continue to push the limit. Introduce new songs. It is too easy to cave in and say "The punters only dance to what they know." But then we might as well be jukeboxes.

- Charles Cushman

Spin Class

Today I took my first "spin" class at the local gym.  My goal in taking the class was to find a new way to ease the tedium of winter cycling training.  That does not relate to this blog, but the music they played does.

Prior to today's experience I knew relatively little about the music behind spinning.  I had read once in the editor's column of Club Systems International that the music was diva trance and this afternoon when talking to a coworker he stated that he thought they turned down the lights low and blasted techno.

And the truth to be told the music did fulfill those expectations.  There were a couple of cool songs during the rest periods and the cool down, but during the actual workout it was mainstream dance / trance with every overplayed sample that you can think of.  Now I know there are some limitations to the music that they can play.  It has to be upbeat, driving, and during the peak moments of the workout pretty fast.  To add to those problems the instructor probably does not care about what is happening in the dance scene...

I can not help to think though how damaging this is to the EDM scene.  The mainstream world has very little exposure to dance music: commercials, trendy clothing stores, wedding DJs still playing Sandstorm.  This continual exposure (except for commercials) to the same cheesy pop cannot help spread the music or alleviate peoples' misconceptions.

-Charles Cushman

The Blue Room

Today my wife was listening to a recording that I made of the Blue Room a coupe of years ago. I had forgotten how much fun that show used to be. i was lucky enough to record a couple of episodes, but those can only go so far.

If you have not heard of the Blue Room it was a radio show on BBC 1 Saturday and Sunday morning. They played a really diverse mix of electronic, dub, and indie rock. It really highlighted what is great about BBC radio; a willingness to not just play the hits, but to play great music. 94.9 in San Diego is also that way to a certain extent, which makes radio so great here.

If anyone does stumble across any recordings of the Blue Room pleas let me know, I would love to add some more recording to my collection.

-Charles Cushman

Dirty Dirty Techno in San Diego?

An opportunity has arisen for the:metronome:project to host a club night in downtown San Diego. With every opportunity like this first comes the excitement. Here is a chance to create a night that I would want to go to, my vibe, my music.

Unfortunately, that is quickly tempered by reality. A $2,500 guarantee, no support from management other than running the venue, and a previous cliental that was hip-hop driven and have refused to even check out previous attempts at electronic music nights (which have failed miserably).

To succeed I need to bring in partners which means watering down the vision. Quickly the night starts loses direction and instead of creating a night like Club Mighty in SF, it devolves into a cheap emulation of Ruby Skye relying on model wannabes and another overpriced DJ in an already saturated market.

Is it worth it, I have until Monday to decide…

Where do you start?

So here it is, the first blog for the metronome project... Let's just start at the beginning:

The Metronome Project is dedicated to seeing the world through the eyes of the electronic music prisim. Where off notes, the miscellaneous, and rhythm have created a new form of music.