Music as Art Versus Music as Commerce, Term Paper Example

Introduction

Music is defined as instrumental or vocal sounds (or both) put together in a manner that is capable of producing form, beauty, harmony, and expressions of emotion. Music is also defined as printed or written signs that represent an instrumental or vocal sound. The definition that will be appropriate to this paper’s context is former and not the latter. Conventionally, music is first an art before it is commerce. This is the case because, in medieval days, people used music to entertain their friends or offer comfort; no one expected anything other than applause at a party after skillfully playing the flute. What is more, music is also a protean art because it lends itself easily to alliances with words, as in song, and with physical motion, as in a dance. The passage of time and the advent of industrialization made it necessary for music to be commercial, too (Morrow, 2020, p. 32). Musicians started getting paid because those who wanted their services realized they have to forgo time to work in industries to present themselves as entertainers. Although music started as an art and still is an art, music for commerce has taken over, and overreliance on music production for money has led to a lack of depth in the art music is supposed to be. This paper aims to explain how music as art differs from commerce for consideration of culture and ideology.

Background of the Study

There was an epoch in the music business when it was mostly considered art and made with limited constraints of business, but as in all trials of an artistic nature, once individuals discovered the commercial potential of people, they started to put pressure on musicians to comply with the realities of the market. Sometimes it seems as if there is a balance since all musicians would want a greater audience, and the best approach to get the larger audience is to come up with music that said the audience would consume through monetary means (Baskerville & Baskerville, 2010, p. 7). Musicians are capable of aligning with their muse and staying true to their music [art] minus “selling out.” It is hard to tell whether Beethoven was a gifted piano tutor or an exceptionally virtuosic performer, but that is how he earned a living. At the same time, he wrote down the classical for which the world remembers him.

The primary negativity in our present-day society is the reality that the music industry and all artistic cares affiliated with it have been dominated by Harvard MBA types that only focus their attention on the artistic undertaking’s bottom lines. Music today, in as much as it should not, is judged concerning the number of dollars it brings to the table; this is not right because it stands in the way of creativity (Klein, 2016, p. 23). There have been many cases where progressive movements in art have struggled economically before getting recognition on a mainstream basis and celebrated.

One question that remains unanswered is: does marketing respond positively to the public, or does marketing itself come up with the market? American Idol is an insanely successful TV program. By all means, the singing talent it has discovered ought to have had a massive influence on the music business. Still, that influence has reduced in a woefully short fashion, Carry Underwood nonetheless. Thomas Kinkade, perhaps the wealthiest musician (monetarily) since the beginning of time but presumably suffered from severe bouts of mania and depression since his work was not appreciated as enormously as he pictured it will be in respected art circles (Gelbart, n.d., p. 87). The balance between businesspersons and artists is a very delicate one, and the moment the pendulum oscillates in one way or the other, either the art stands to suffer, or the capacity of individual artists to profit from it does.

An Argument for Music as Commerce

Music School Is Expensive

Music school is costly worldwide, and a lot of resources [in the name of time and money] are involved so that someone can finally behold a music degree. One reason attending music school is very expensive is that not many people in the world have professionally trained to be musicians or tutors of music. The incentive drives most people to go through music school and get a degree in the hope that one day, just like any other degree, their music degree will be able to ‘mint money’ for them (Holbrook, 2012, p. 32). This is the same incentive that motivates parents to pay fees for their children to go to music school; parents take their children to music school to help them earn their keep and give them the capacity to support their families.

Musical Instruments Are Pricy

For musicians, producers, and owners of facilities like clubs and restaurants where performances take place, musical instruments are very pricy. In fact, they are costly to the extent of being rightfully labeled as an investment. Some artists save money for a long time to get their hands on a guitar or drum set that will help deliver their content to audiences in the best way possible (Homan et al., 2017, p. 60). Given the opportunity cost of getting musical instruments, it is only befitting that positive returns are made. Artists and their managers are people too, with needs like everyone else. Besides, if they choose to approach music as art only and stay oblivious to the reality of business, that ‘stares them’ in the face.

Learning Music Takes Time

Pianists, violinists, and people who play the saxophone can attest that they have lived to follow Malcolm Gladwell’s school of thought, which affirms it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to become an expert. Given the level of commitment needed to master being a musician, especially in a music school’s confines, expert musicians have never had the time to do anything else career-wise(Seago, 1995, p. 22). It is only befitting that they earn their keep from something that they have dedicated their lives to for such a long time, hence the reason why music as commerce takes precedence over music as art.

The World No Longer Operates on Barter Trade

Before the advent of money usage, people relied on barter trade to exchange goods and services. For example, a young lad would help till a parcel of land belonging to his uncle, and in return, the uncle would repay him with a woven cloth to fashion a garment of his choice. What is more, a musician would sing at a King’s palace in exchange for sitting at the king’s table and offered a reward such as a house. Considering that those days are long gone, it is only practical that money is exchanged in any setting where music has been performed for entertainment.

Most Producers Are Interested in Money

To get the attention of a worthy producer and a record label at large, a musician has to have a fair amount of money. Many raw talents are lost because the potential artists involved do not have money to do a recording. Statistics show that about 10 percent of the world’s most famous musicians were given a chance to do their first single solely based on talent and not money (Taylor, 2016, p. 5).

An Argument for Music as Art

It Takes Talent to Be a Musician

Musical talent is innate, and the truth is people are born musicians. Music, just like art, is deserving of its ingenuity and geniuses. In the realm of art, only a few can be like Leonardo da Vinci or Pablo Picasso. For this reason, there are so many imitators avoiding realism and engaging in abstract art because it provides a lot of freedom. Similarly, not everyone can be as talented as Mozart simply because they went through music school. Given this reality, music should remain an art that it is, and those that pursue it should solely be engaged with the discipline because they are talented. When people participate in music without considering whether they are talented or not, the result is lousy music (Homan et al., 2017, p. 11). Today the world is full of unqualified musicians who make music simply because they have money or connections to a producer [record label]; this is not how things should be. In fact, it is such a trivialization of musical talent that has led to the death of classical music; it is the very reason why new legends are not born, and legendaries like Mozart still command the air in modern-day concertos.

Good Music Cannot Be Produced Under the Pressure to Make Money

For music to be as artsy as it ought to be and for its splendor to go beyond time and distance, it must be carefully written and choreographed. However, the incentive to make money has made record labels very keen on producing as many hits as possible within the shortest time. The problem of producing music fast as though it were confectionery is that it eventually lacks meaning and taste. Today, there are so many musical albums released that the classics get lost in the quagmire. What is more, the fact that some hit singles top world charts for two weeks straight and get millions of views on sites such as YouTube, only to be forgotten and avoided by disk jockeys in clubs is a testament that special music is hard to get by in this day and age.

Music as Art Will Ward off the Tendency of Plagiarism

Today, unlike in the past, it is ubiquitous to hear the same beats or instrumentals used by multiple producers as artists. It is not only beats and instrumentals that are being copied; even lyrics are copied time and again. Worse still, some musicians seek licenses and permissions from others so that they could use some or all of their lyrics for a new release. When such dealings go wrong or when people use music that is not their own, court cases result, and many shameful insults from the plaintiff, the defendant, and their respective fans fill social media posts. Many people in the industry are becoming ‘copycats’ because a commercial mindset makes them think songs can be slightly differentiated and presented to the market the same way physical goods are (Omojola, 1995, p. 24). If music is given the seriousness it deserves, like the art that it is, people will be less keen on making music that has the same beats as Migos’ latest hit single or Mariah Carey’s classical. On the contrary, they will be keener on listening to their souls and inner selves to draw the words that reside within.

The More Money Is Thrown Around, the Lesser the Talent

Today’s generation is devoid of passion for music because present-day musicians are not inspired by how many people will get to cherish their recorded music, their only concern is how much money they will earn. When the number one intention is to make money what follows is a full album cannot be characterized by classics all the way; there will always be songs that were done in a rush just so that releases could meet deadlines. By and large, the bigger the music industry becomes in terms of revenue, the lesser the talent that is exhibited by musicians; new and old.

The Reality That Is; Precedence of Music as Commerce

Right from the start, it is important to expressly state that music is not commerce; it is an art form that ought to depict culture and ideology in its respective consideration. Despite the fact that a lot of commerce has taken over the music industry, music can (and does) take place whether or not any individual makes money from it. Even so, for musicians in the present society, the decision to embark on music as a full-time job necessitates approaching it as a business. Musicians need to perceive themselves and their work through a specific perspective so that success in the corporate world surrounding music can be realized (Holbrook, 2012, p. 32).

As intimidating as the corporate world might be, too many musicians, in actuality, all manner of businesses resonate with three fundamental concepts. They include evoking a need or desire among individuals, coming up with a product that meets that desire or need, and marketing the product to the individuals who desire or need it. The reason why a majority of people who make music perceive it as commerce is that they made a point of rethinking the elements of their talent in broad conceptualizations-to change elements of music in corporate terms. Within the context of conducting a business, then the translations of music that make most sense resonate with: music being a need and a desire in individuals and music being a product that can possibly meet that need.

Music Is Both a Want and Needs That People Have

The need to be entertained and inspired is part of the makeup of human beings, and music is at the center of both. A culture that is devoid of any musical classics is definitely on the verge of dying.

Music Is a Product That Can Meet the Need to Be Entertained

Musical performers should be aware that people expect to be inspired and entertained by their music. If they do performances, as cold as it may appear, they are also a product. People on the business side of music are aware of this commerce principle and continuously attempt to present their products as something that audiences will spend their money on. The moment a musical product is successfully created, it can be marketed for sale to the general public using a promotion, record sales, and concerts (Morrow, 2020, p. 12).

With good reason, there exist plenty of musical performers that chafe at the translations made above. As earlier mentioned music is not and will never be a business. musicMusic is, by all means, a function that is achieved when people use the right side of their brain, and commercial transactions take place when people work on the left side of their brain, quite the opposite. It is of great benefit to keep in mind the difference between them. A lot of music produced today lacks concerning memorability and inspiration because artists have made the lines blurry and converted music to very much of a product. What this does in actuality is that it devalues the product since it no longer satisfies the original need for inspiration. Therefore, in a sense, plenty of negative perceptions by most musical artists is correct.

Commerce is still the approach utilized by the global culture that meets patrons’ wants and needs, and music remains a need. The answer, then, is perhaps for people to make peace with the reality that the commerce aspect of music is here to stay; this way, they will learn to strike a balance between art and business aspects of music (Holbrook, 2012, p. 90). If a musician is looking to earn his keep through the production of records, considering that music is art first before it is a business will help keep whatever is produced relevant, i.e., help maintain value in the long haul.

Conclusion

The world is full of scarce resources that people practicing different careers, including musicians, scramble to get their hands on incomes. Given that money is the only exchange of value that is deemed worthy of uniformity by people from all walks of life, everything [different types of goods and services] has to be commercialized. It is for this reason that music as commerce is prioritized over music as an art. Besides, this paper’s content has demonstrated more arguments for why music as commerce is taking precedence over music as art, a depiction of diverse cultures and ideologies. Perhaps if musicians could purchase goods and services solely on their ability to sing and without giving money to vendors, then music as art would have taken precedence. The hope of people who genuinely recognize music that real talent is not entirely lost in the confusion of making money that is overwhelming artists in this day and age.

References

Baskerville, D., & Baskerville, T. (2010). Music business handbook and career guide. SAGE.

Gelbart, M. (n.d.). Genius versus art in the creative process: “national” and “cultivated” music as categories, 1760–1800. The Invention of “Folk Music” and “Art Music,” 80-110. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511481918.004

Holbrook, M. (2012). Music, movies, meanings, and markets: Cinemajazzamatazz. Routledge.

Homan, S., Cloonan, M., & Cattermole, J. (2017). Popular music and cultural policy.Routledge.

Klein, B. (2016). As heard on TV: Popular music in advertising. Routledge.

Morrow, G. (2020). Designing the music business: Design culture, music video and virtual reality. Music Business Research, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48114-8_1

Seago, A. (1995). Burning the box of beautiful things: The development of a postmodern sensibility. Oxford University Press, USA.

Taylor, T. D. (2016). Music and capitalism: A history of the present. University of Chicago Press.

Omojola, B. (1995). 7. Towards an anthology of Nigerian art music. Nigerian Art Music, 135-147. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.ifra.614