“The internet has allowed us to have an open sewer of cynicism to run through the world. I have seen young artists make a political point and stick their head up above the parapet and say something on Twitter, and they just get such abuse. In my day, I only had to put up with some snarky journalist and the occasional heckler,” Billy Bragg noted.
Times have changed for recording artists, musicians, and political songwriters over the years. Truth be told, in the technological realm we live in today, any one of us can broadcast our beliefs to the world in a matter of moments.
For a songwriter and activist such as Bragg, this is a positive on a commercial and a political level. These means can influence how he distributes his latest record, Tooth And Nail, or impact the speed in which he is able to make political commentary. Speaking from his home in Dorset, Bragg explored the idea of these changing landscapes in our world.
“For me as an artist it has fundamentally changed my ability to broadcast what I am doing. If I write a topical song, you can hear it tomorrow – providing you are following me on social media. I can send you a link to my website and get it right out there if I have your email address.”
“But during the miners’ strike, I wrote a song called ‘Between The Wars’. By the time we got it to the record shops in England, the strike was over. By the time it got to Australia, the strike was history. In that sense, for someone like me, it is a really good advance,” Bragg commented.
“If it was not for the internet, I would have to wait for Tooth And Nail to say my piece on the phone hacking saga (‘Never Buy The Sun’). Whereas, thanks to the technology, I was able to write it on a Friday, perform it on a Saturday, and film it in the dressing room after the gig – and upload it before I went to bed. By the time I woke up, over 15,000 people had viewed it. That is what is great, that in those terms, you can find and connect with your audience.”
“In the old days, your audience had to not only find the correct magazine, they had to find the page you were on,” Bragg continued.
This immediacy is the positive side of the internet caper for recording artists. The negative side is piracy, and an antiquated royalties model when it comes to getting money for your creation or art.
“The internet has allowed us to have an open sewer of cynicism to run through the world”It is interesting to note that Bragg comes from the age of the DIY punk era, where people were taking control and making music on their own. Artists today need to understand the business, and in some ways run it themselves to ensure they reap the rewards of their labour.
Bragg noted that new artists are the ones who seem to have more to lose, and that record labels tend to rid themselves of the “middling talent”.
“It appears these days you are either in the charts or the record labels throw you off. So many bands I hear of these days never get to their third album. I have always thought that the third album is the one where you truly define yourself.”
“My third album defined me musically more than my first. It took me three albums to work out what it was I wanted to say. Born To Run was a third album. London Calling was a third album. If the industry is not giving people a space to grow and flourish, we are in a real problem here,” explained Bragg.
Artists with a track record continue to make money and are able to economically produce records. Take for example Tooth And Nail, his latest, and the five days it took to record. The record, produced by Joe Henry, is a subtle classic and no doubt one of his best. Henry has allowed the words to come across with a sweet and laidback production, which leans more to Nick Lowe than anything Bragg has done before.
With streaming, his website, and social media taking up much of his time, the musician hinted that even though he is not a technophobe, all this ‘homework’ takes away from his time as a songwriter. Adding to his long list of technological responsibilities is now Spotify. The singer-songwriter has been working with the music streaming giant to play DJ between playlists he presents on a monthly basis. The rationale behind the decision was spelled out clearly as he pondered the economics of the music industry today.
“For a while I thought it would be relatively straightforward to make a radio show and to just sit down once a month and play some old stuff and enthuse about some new music. I am always bumping into young political songwriters who don’t get any airplay. I did look into it and it was just a nightmare with licensing and rights based on this new process and model.”
“The entire music industry changes in the five years it takes me to put out a new record, and it keeps happening to me. I come back and there is a new load of things I have to do. Cooking Vinyl had this new digital record department and a bunch of bright eyed whippersnappers telling me what I needed to do.”
“It took me three albums to work out what it was I wanted to say”“One of the things they wanted me to do was make playlists for Spotify. As soon as I heard that, I thought there is more homework for me to do on top of my Twitter and Facebook homework,” Bragg moaned.
The singer-songwriter did a mock-up of a radio-type show, which resulted in Spotify signing him up. To some, this may seem like he is signing up with the devil incarnate. How does this sit with the artist, considering the known stories of miniscule royalties being paid to the creators of the music that is streamed by this service?
“Generally, the way things are going is that we (artists) are getting less and less. We are streaming our content but we don’t even own the file. It does not mean there is no money out there to be made. I think that if the major record labels were not making money from places like Spotify, they would not be putting stuff on line.”
“The money is being made, but the problem lies in the fact that the major record labels are working on old royalty rates from the analogue age to justify their hefty cut. In reality, the split from digital should be much more equitable,” argued Bragg.
“I do disagree with the artists railing against Spotify and the issue of micro payments to artists. I believe it is a fundamental problem of the old record contracts and not of the service itself. If we are going to complain about it, and we should be complaining about it, we should be marching with our pitchforks and torches to the likes of Universal,” continued Bragg.
His politically written protest song may not have the same vanguard role as it did when music was one of our few choices for a social medium. The ability to communicate in many formats has splintered that into many forms. With the ‘bard of barking’ still keeping us honest, we will continue to have him rallying for equality, peace, love, and understanding – on the many growing platforms available to him.
Billy Bragg Australian Tour 2014
Tooth & Nail Tour
w/ Courtney Barnett
Sunday 8th March – Perth Concert Hall – Perth
Tix: www.ticketek.com.au
Monday 10th March – Womad Festival – Adelaide
Tix: www.womadelaide.com.au
Wednesday 12th March – Federation Hall – Hobart
Tix: www.tso.com.au
Tuesday 13th March – Palais Theatre – Melbourne
Tix: www.ticketmaster.com.au
Sunday 16th March – Sydney Opera House – Sydney
Tix: www.sydneyoperahouse.com
Wednesday 19th March – Canberra Theatre – Canberra
Tix: www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au
Thursday 20th March – Tivoli – Brisbane
Tix: www.ticketmaster.com.au
Friday 21st March – The Northern Hotel – Byron Bay
Tix: http://thenorthern.oztix.com.au.
ALL TICKETS ON SALE NOW
