Anyone that has been involved in music in any respect will know that it’s not easy getting people to take you seriously when they find out you want to have a career in the industry. The old line ‘but when are you going to get a proper job’ doesn’t do much to inspire and is hardly supportive. It is, however, quite typical from the unenlightened.

We believe that there are many reasons that music should be seen as a viable career path and many things that musicians can add to society.  We therefore think there should be mechanisms to support musicians in their development and funds available to assist create high quality recordings.  The worst thing that can happen from our perspective is when we come across a great act that we’re sure has massive potential but is let down by a poor recording solely due to a lack of funds.  We’re almost certain that it was exactly this problem that led to ‘The Peel Sessions’ and the legacy of those recordings is still a major part of the bedrock of British music.

We at Digitalgig have no problem with the arts or classical music.  Far from it.  We do believe, however, that popular music needs to receive its fair share of funding, both nationally and locally.  As an example; it should be noted that in a recommendation from the Live Music Forum a sum of £500,000 was to be set aside to provide rehearsal space in ‘areas of deprivation’ around the UK for 2008 and 2009.  This has to be set alongside the £31,500,000 spent on the restoration of the Leeds Grand theatre; including a rehearsal room for Opera North.  This amounts to 63 times the amount spent on the entire UK over 2 years.  This is just one example of the inequities between ‘the cultural’ and ‘the popular’ that are currently in effect. 

Originally this was partly due to the notion that the responsibility of supporting popular music was that of the commercial record companies.  After all, they were going to make money from the artists they developed.  With rapidly dwindling turnover (the music industry spends approximately 17% of turnover on artist development), the number of artist that benefit from this development is also quickly declining. 

When the Olympic handover in Beijing had Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis at it’s heart, our country said ‘our popular music is our culture’ yet the sums spent on developing the next wave of talent are miniscule.  While the fine work of organisations like Strummerville, the PRS Foundation and The Prince’s Trust in helping support musicians has to be applauded they can’t be left to shoulder the weight of a nation’s music.  We can’t be forced to rely on charities and definitely not the products of stage schools.  If we try we’ll see another thing that makes Britain great die before our eyes.  The recent announcement that the New Deal for Musicians was to be abolished was another nail in the coffin of governmental support for popular music. 

We also believe that while the position of the major record companies and The Featured Artists Coalition are understandable they do leave the ‘as yet to be discovered’ bands and artists as well as small independent labels at a significant disadvantage.  We believe that there should be some kind of fund set up by both parties to help the musicians and minor labels that are on the outside.  The world of football is a great example of how things can go when money is taken from the top and the bottom of a system without proper measures being put in place to assist those that need it.  The rich get richer…

We at Digitalgig are, therefore, beginning a campaign to try to change this.  We intend to build alliances; use our knowledge and connections to make the point that the industry needs support and that there must be equity between the arts.  We believe that all things should be equal. 

This is where our industrial revolution begins…  It’s time to make someone pay!