Insidious Third Party Judges — What Gives Publishers and Record Labels the Vote?
What artist hasn’t experienced the crushing sentiment of a rejection letter fresh in the mail? Of hearing that big, fat “no” when you play your song to them, or the back turning, even before you start playing?
For decades now, the artist world has lived under the thumb of third party publishers, record labels, and networks that decide what’s art and what isn’t. For decades, even centuries in the cases of some of these glorified middlemen, we’ve let others tell us what’s worth reading, watching, and listening to. Why?
I was contemplating an indie artist who recently enjoyed serious success with a song she put out. A song that, according to the artist, several record labels passed on before she decided to say fuck it, and release it herself. As a fan, I was glad she did, and got to wondering what qualifier those record labels had for deciding what I should listen to?
There’s no school teaching taste.
I’m not saying the publishing houses and record labels and big networks never had a purpose. Back when distribution of entertainment was finite, naturally, you needed a curator to decide what made it on TV, on the radio, or in book stores. Besides, back in 1948, you didn’t really have an alternative to picking your poison of the finite things released to the general public.
But in 2023, we don’t really have that issue anymore. When the Internet offers infinite broadband for you to broadcast your music, art, sketches, indie movies, and indeed, your writing, why should decisions remain in the hands of these middlemen?
Because, to be fair, that’s all these labels, networks, publishers, etc., are. Middlemen who, in many cases, have abrogated an obscene amount of power, when power (if we’re to be saved as a species) ought to be in the hands of the creators.
To put it in other words, when there’s no limit to broadcasting resources, no finite number of EPs, or shows, or books, or songs you can send out into the world, the need to choose reverts from middlemen to individuals.
After all, someone working in one of these companies has no better breeding, no higher education than you. As far as I know, there is no definite school that teaches students what makes a unanimously good book. No branch of Juilliard teaching what makes an enjoyable record. More often than not, these people are either (a) well-versed in marketing which, while useful, is no qualifier for taste; or (b) schooled exactly in the same place where you were, but merely chose a different career path.
Does that give them a right? And should these things equate a keen eye for quality? I think not.
The struggle of picking for yourself
With the advent of the endless streaming and broadcasting options offered by the Internet, the middleman’s job is rapidly becoming obsolete. The job of record labels is on the outs, with artists easily able to broadcast their music to millions of listeners. The same is true in the visual entertainment department, with more and more indie creators putting out stunning shorts, films, and entire series across the Internet.
And while it’s possible for these artists to show their work to the public, they’re still smacked with the stigma of not having a “proper” label or a “proper” network/streaming app offering their show. This endless opportunity, this true meritocracy that the world wide web has ushered in, also creates a financial dilemma for artists. While it’s now much easier for me to stream my music online, my best bet at garnering attention is by streaming for free.
Many artists provide consistent high quality work online for months, even years, before they get anywhere close to “making it”. In which time, they still must pay bills and build a life (not to mention somehow find funding for the hellishly expensive recording apparel).
But the industry where these middlemen hang on the strongest yet is, of course, publishing. For one thing, sadly, fewer and fewer people read. For another, if you want to get a hold of new indie authors, what are you gonna do, scroll endlessly on your Kindle at random, hoping to hit on something? Reload Smashwords until something exciting pops up? So we cling to traditional publishers and booksellers because there, some kind of curation has been made for us.
Yet, what reassures me that the kind people at Penguin, for instance, have my particular taste in mind? Maybe today, just now, they passed on a book I would’ve loved. Where does that book go? And how can I possibly find it, so we can fall properly in love, as we’re meant to?
Obviously, curating for yourself is damn hard. Takes trial and error. But who knows, you might just find gems you would’ve never even had a look at, if these middlemen had their way. And I think the choice should be up to you.
While publishing your work has never been easier, ironically, getting people to read has never been harder for authors. Like most artists, indie and self-published authors face a stigma. What ought to be celebrated as brave and authentic (because putting your creation out on display for the world to see is fucking terrifying) is disqualified automatically because… what? Someone else didn’t think you’d like it?
Seems a dangerous game to me. There’s quite a bit of literature about letting other people choose what the general public gets to read (or view, or listen to), and it seldom ends well for the general public.
But hey, I’m one of those indie self-published authors, so what do I know, right? It’s just sour grapes…or is it? For me, publishing has been a huge rollercoaster ride, and one of my favorite parts about that has been encountering other indie writers out there, in the great digital universe.
It’s very exciting when you see someone you like, a poet, or a musician, or a digital artist, put out something all on their own. And sometimes, you’ll reach out and let them know you liked it, whatever they did, and they’re all like “really? I wasn’t sure about uploading. I was quite self-conscious”.
While I’m sure that’s true about middlemen productions, too, they just don’t give you that vibe. And there’s nothing more heart-warming than that vibe.
Thank you for reading. I recently released the second book in a fantasy trilogy. So chances are I’ll be talking about writing, among many other scatter-brained subjects on here. If that sounds like something you might enjoy, why not subscribe? It’s free.
