One of the post Neil Young controversies that caught a huge attention, was James Blake who reached out to explain to the context about Dylan and Neil that what musicians face in this streaming era. In a series of tweets, he lambasted the current state of the music industry and how it has practically eliminated the chances of an artist to make a living off their music alone. Instead, he said, the focus is on how to get another marketing gimmick to make money and hype music because it is poorly compensated.
He wrote, “One thing I keep seeing is that if you are lucky enough to go viral, use your exposure to generate income in another way. Musicians should be able to generate income from their music.” Quite interestingly, he later asked if the audience really cares about high-quality music when it is said that to have it created, it has to be financed. Streams, according to Blake, do not pay them well, record companies always take too much, and Tiktok does not pay them at all. To his complaints, he also added that costs of touring are too high for most now.
Blake went on to state that the industry was overly ‘brainwashing’ the general public into thinking music is free and this, in return, makes the financial scenario for the artists even more complex. He was also worried about the development of AI music which undermines human musicianship and reduces the income that creator receives. In another tweet, Blake said, “Watch out. Since it is cheaper to produce low-cost fast music and boom artificial intelligence for profit, see how the model prepares you for artificial intelligence music which doesn’t pay any artist.”
His sentiments also found resonance in the views of other musicians such as Kanye West (Ye) who has for the past few years been attempting to build his career away from the confines of the music business. As streaming services continue to dominate the music industry, the onset of AI music continues to baffle many, and the reality of the costs of tours is becoming an ongoing debate.