As some of you may know, I like to rant every now and then about something that is bothering me, but before I do I would like to make you all aware that I’m not pointing the finger at anyone, nor am I angry at the people who have sparked this rant, this is purely something that has continued to aggravate me over the past year or so and I wanted to think out loud.

Rant Starting…

Every now and again, I get emails from people that are along the lines of “Hey Greg, really love your music and what you’re doing. How can I download your music for free?.” Alas, the email is bittersweet. On one hand, I am completely touched that this person has reached out to me and expressed his/her love for my music, but on the other hand, they’re asking me how they steal from me. Imagine someone came up to you in the street and asked you for your house keys, your address, and what time you usually go to bed. Wouldn’t that be weird? Doesn’t that sound a little off? Yes, yes it does.

It’s now been over a decade since Napster etc started the wonderful world of illegal downloading. A world in which everyone but the artist and his team benefits. The problem is, the majority of kids and teenagers nowadays have known nothing but this world, so why would they pay for music when they can get it for free??? They don’t understand the affect it’s having and why would they?*. Their mums and dads do it, their friends do it, fuck I mean their grandparents probably do it, and why not? It’s cheaper!

*When I say “nobody pays for music”, I’m not talking about everyone, nor am I making accusations that any of you steal music. I truly believe that the majority of people reading this blog pay for music, this article is intended to reveal how difficult it is as an artist to survive these days, so please don’t email me abuse if you pay for music. I love and appreciate all of you for supporting this dying business and still valuing music they way it should be. You will ultimately be the saviours of this world.

My issue with it is this. Currently, thousands of people across the world are listening to my music, and my friends music. This is great. In fact, it’s bloody amazing. However, why are we all still broke? Why can I still only just pay rent every month? I recently set up a Google Alert, so that everyday I am notified about anything on the internet with my name attached to it. I’d say 50% of the alerts are for things like “Free Greg Holden Bit Torrents” or “Free Download of Greg Holden - A Word In Edgeways”. This is not great, nor is it amazing. The attitude nowadays, for the most part is that if an artist is on iTunes, or out touring the world, or on a TV show, that he/she is doing just fine and doesn’t really need the money. Well I hate to tell you, that’s not true, not at all!

Do you know how much it costs to make a radio worthy record with a half decent producer? I’ll give you a clue, if someone handed you a briefcase with $20,000 in it, you’d be a little short, you might even need twice, or for a really big producer, three times as much. Then you want someone to publicise it right? Ok, maybe that same amount again. Did someone say distribution? Oh shit!!!!! Before you know it, you’re looking at six figures. How does a little unsigned artist get this money? Sign a record deal!!!! Oh wait, the record labels aren’t signing anyone because nobody pays for music. Hmm…

Wait you guys! There is a glimmer of hope!

Thank the lord for iTunes and the new digital music stores that are currently open for business. People are finally seeing the light and buying music again with the help of Mr Jobs’ genius. iTunes is now the default format when it comes to buying music digitally, and with it’s simplicity and convenience, it is certainly helping us artists stay afloat. Thank you Apple, Amazon and all the other digital music stores out there. Still, they all take a nice chunk before paying the artist and the records are so cheap (this is good because people will actually buy it) that you’d need to sell thousands just to break even with what the record probably cost you to make (if your record sounds half decent). For example my EP is £2.49 on iTunes, I’m going to need to sell quite a few to make rent this month!! PLEASE NOTE, this is not a negative comment, I think it’s an amazing step and I believe it’s the start of a new industry that will finally work in favour of the artist, rather than the label. I know I sound sarcastic and I know I sound like I’m moaning, but the digital stores really are amazing and I couldn’t sell my music otherwise. So yeah, woohoo!!!

I think I’ve ranted enough. So I will conclude.

If you’re one of those people who hears about an artist, then heads over to iTunes and buys their record. I love you, so do all the other artists out there. We love you for supporting us, and we love you for supporting the music business. Thank you so, so much.

If you’re one of those people who uses illegal download sites and has that “fuck the system” attitude, be aware that the only person you’re fucking is the one whose music you love.

Greg x