Oh, you thought there was a “Golden Age?”
That everything was better in the 1960s? Or the 1990s? Or whatever?
The truth for 99% of artists is that it was much more expensive to record music “back in the day,” and it was much harder to get those tracks to listeners. And unless you were one of the extremely lucky few who get signed, you would have almost no meaningful (sustained) access to industry outlets like radio, press, and music stores.
Sure, the affordability and ease of recording, distribution, and listening today means you have a different kind of problem: Competing against the glut of music for limited attention. But at least the starting point today assumes you’re involved in the expressive process of releasing music — along with the benefits of “free” reach through social and algorithmic discovery.
Don’t get lost in what might’ve been. Make the most of how easy it is to create music right now.
