WeCraveExlusive: Save the Indie..

After several weeks of #CraveMusic chats revolving around others opinions on what it takes to be a REAL artist on the indie scene and in general the consensus is that I am not alone in thinking the masses still celebrate the basic watered down music over quality lyrics and topics. 

When I approached our @WeCraveMusic followers with the question of:

“Is the Indie route becoming flooded with mediocre artists like the main stream because of easy access?” 

The general opinion was that too many people without passion were in the game because they have access and desire the life that is portrayed to go with it on TV. 

It is as if when the less talented artists started taking over the mainstream airways we still had the TRUE independent artists who do this for the love of creating music and self-expression. I am not just talking Hip-Hop either. There was a time when chicks like Kesha or Taylor Swift would never have signed a deal. NO offense if you like their music, I am just saying they could use a cup or two more of talent to the mixture.  As I was saying though, the INDIE artist was the relief, underground sound that was not trying to fit the mold of the masses. It was raw and unpolished; everything was hands on for them from lyrics, beats, to finances.

 Yet now these days that title of INDIE artists is being applied to any person who used their friends makeshift studio to record a few songs over either a simple basic beat or over another songs beat and up load them to some online file sharing site and then taking to twitter, facebook , myspace, and all these other social network sites and calling themselves an ARTIST. Taking a flip cam video or iPhone video and creating a youtube account to follow their lives and show their “music videos”. Then Llc. A name and call themselves a label. Add a few more friends, I mean ARTIST to the mix and boom INDIE Artists/Label owner/Manager.

Riiiiiiiight.

Now to clarify that I am not just being biased because I have a solid preference in what my artist should be like. I then asked the @WeCraveMusic followers

“How do you all feel about the title of "INDIE ARTISTS" being placed on any independent music makers, talented or not?”

Again I was greeted with replies similar to how I felt. It takes talent and skill in what you are doing in order to call yourself an ARTIST of it. I feel a big part in this is the INTERNET, as great a tool it is, the easy access to “Brand” yourself has made it so easy to portray yourself to be something you are not. The worst part of that is when a lie continues and builds some people start to find it to be fact. A person books a few club shows, has thousands of followers, thousands of youtube views, and a few pictures with REAL artists and now my association and popularity they are an Artist themselves. In my opinion, this is not the case.

At the same time for those who DO have talent this is a great outlet to reaching the world and getting their art out there. People with lyrics that touch you and voices that soothe you, things you can vent off too and others you can zone out to. Often these people know that it takes more than a virtual influence to really make it somewhere so they also invest in their careers by whom they work with, how they present their music, and when asked of a course of action and reason they have one.  Its bigger then the glitz and gold for them.

So see I really just wanted to shed light on the fact that the INDIE music scene is flooded with people who have no right to be called artists, BUT if you dig and weed through you will find some jewels still. I hate to see people claim the title of artist when they have no skill in any art other than perpetrating but I more so appreciate the platform that INDIE music is.