What am I supposed to be buying today? I’ve lost track. Seems like Black Friday lasted for a week. Cyber Monday is redundant since we’re all worshipping at the great altar of Amazon anyway. And Giving Tuesday is kind of a tragic joke since it’s tacked on at the end when we’ve already spent all our money.
It’s a weird juxtaposition with the content I’ve been seeing about alternative gift-giving or just changing/cancelling gift giving traditions all together. Since the current tradition seems to still be spending more money than we have on crap other people don’t want.
Of course, then there’s the flip side. The issue of all the stuff we claim to want but don’t support, or that we consume but don’t pay for. For which there are growing consequences. And no, I’m not talking about uneaten bricks of fruitcake.
Recently, musician Danny Michel posted some hard numbers about the state of the music industry as a result of the effects of streaming services. I’ve heard similar stories before, and the numbers across the board are shockingly low.
They’re not the only ones. Want to be an author in Canada? I hope you already have a good job… And so it goes. Technology isn’t the only factor in killing off the arts, but it’s certainly one of the larger weapons involved.
Hell, when Jon Ronson can almost make you feel sorry for the porn industry because of how advances in technology and the ubiquity of online porn has decimated it… something’s wrong.
Y’see, people like to eat and have a place to live and other such crazy luxuries. And when they have a calling and/or talent for artistic pursuits, ideally they can achieve those things by making and selling their art. Especially since royal patrons are a bit thin on the ground these days.
I won’t get into whether or not the tech community pulls its weight supporting the arts here. That argument has been made in depth elsewhere.
When that equation doesn’t work, all we end up with is the processed and packaged stuff funded by big companies, which tends to be rather sterile at best, marketing materials or propaganda at worst, and does nothing to support or enrich our communities.
I had a couple of arts-centric conversations last week. One was with a musician, a thread of the conversation was about generational differences. The future and health of our arts culture is in the hands of young people. But this is the same generation that has grown up on the internet… where you never paid for anything.
Now, I am aware that these maligned young people are most subject to the challenges and miseries of what previous generations have done to the business world and the economy. So it’s hardly fair to bitch about them not spending their money on the arts when 30-year-olds still have roommates and many work several jobs but have no benefits.
As this NPR piece notes, Millennials aren’t necessarily killing industries. It’s not about how they spend their money; it’s about them not having money to spend.
But assuming that these people will eventually find stability and prosperity, you want them to be already “primed” to participate. (Insert side rant about the importance of teaching kids financial literacy, including philanthropy.)
How do you change the “free” mindset and convince (all) people that art is worth paying for? Especially when ever more sophisticated technology makes free access (stealing) so easy? Most artists don’t have Taylor Swiftian clout to refuse a platform access to their catalogue, demand highly beneficial contractual terms, or sue big companies for stealing their designs.
We figured that the way to get young people – or any new audience – engaged and supporting art and artists is to get them in the feels. Experiencing good art makes you want to experience more of it and share it, and helps you to understand that for it to exist it needs to be “fed.”
The sharing part is key, since the best experiences are those we have with people we care about. Plus, having some friends make you get off your couch to go out to see that new band or drop by that craft fair makes you a lot more likely to go.
A personal example: I was never a fan of digital modes of art. Then in Paris this past summer a friend and I attended this Klimt exhibit, which is an immersive multimedia experience and utterly stunning. It absolutely made me a digital art fan, but it took experiencing it. My friend and I also recommended it to others heading to Paris later on.
At the very least, experiencing art and especially engaging with artists can help people understand the realities (often harsh) of trying to be an artist and make art, whether it’s an album, pottery, photos or something else.
Humans suck at understanding the harm of the status quo until we’ve had direct exposure to those being harmed (while they’re just trying to function).
Now, let’s not dump all the blame or expectations on the shoulders of the kids these days. My cohort pirated like the wind with Napster when it went mainstream. But we had already had spent our formative years shelling out to replace vinyl with cassette tapes and then CDs. Sure, the music industry screwed us coming and going, but the point is we did pay for stuff.
We’re also at an age/life stage now where we tend to have some disposable income, and we’ve developed our personal tastes. There’s at least some chance that we’ve gotten into the habit of seeking out and embracing (i.e. paying for) the local, the unique, and the passion-inducing.
So given that we’re in a position to lead by example, I’ll go first. If you missed the fall Waterloo Potters’ sale, the Etsy Holiday Market, or the launch of Juneyt’s latest album, you can still hit up the Christkindl Market in downtown Kitchener this weekend, get tickets for Romeo Sex Fighter at Rhapsody Barrel Bar on New Year’s Eve, and subscribe to the TL;DR Waterloo Region newsletter, bringing the best of local culture right to your inbox every week. (Thanks, Alex.)
See you out there, fellow patrons.
M-Theory is an opinion column by Melanie Baker. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Communitech. Melle can be reached @melle or me@melle.ca.
