I agree with all that. Curiously, classical music doesn't seem to be nearly as captured. But the literary world is now policed by a very authoritarian politburo. Up-and-coming writers have no chance unless they submit. We have to establish a parallel culture--a free one.
So true about the literary world. It's especially sad considering it was hard enough getting the attention of an agent or publisher to begin with, but now ... well, I spent an entire decade of my life writing a novel with "Plato" in the title about a philosophy professor falsely accused of sexual harassment, so fat chance for me!
"We have to establish a parallel culture--a free one."
I hope it works. The problem is that the majority of readers still stick with what they know. This year I participated in the "Indie Author Experience" at the Tucson Festival of Books and was treated like some pathetic wannabe by the volunteers running it (mostly comprised of readers, I assume). The Big 5 authors, on the other hand, had no superiority complex whatsoever and were perfectly friendly.
3 hrs ago·edited 3 hrs agoLiked by The Common Centrist
I hate to shill my new essay twice in one comment thread, but maybe I can commiserate a little bit from the perspective of an independent filmmaker.
I spent years working on a very complicated documentary film and watched the culture of film festivals warp to become more and more inherently hostile towards the film's cultural and political content (and, for that matter, towards my status as a white guy) as I was going through the process.
One of the subjects of the film, who previously had connections in the world of film festivals, was even cancelled as a TERF midway through production (the movie has nothing to do with that, though; it's a retrospective piece about a bizarre, rebellious performing arts group from the 90s).
In any event, it came close to being accepted to premiere at Sundance 2023, and then after they passed on it, it was rejected by 30 consecutive festivals.
It's encouraging that more people are starting to speak up about all of this, and I'm glad to know that I'm not quite as alone as I thought I was in challenging how all of this has been playing out in the arts, which is certainly one of the milieus in which the "woke" cultural phenomenon has hit hardest.
I'd only add that the problem of decisions around arts funding and exhibition being made based on ideological whims doesn't appear to diminish at all when the state isn't directly in control of the process.
In the US, it's nonprofit corporations that mostly run the show. Some of them receive funding from The National Endowment for the Arts, along with state and local governments, but the NEA's annual budget is only about $210 million. Digging up information on all of this online is difficult, but according to this NEA document from 2004, only about 10% of funding for arts nonprofits in the US comes from federal, state, and local governments:
In any event, if you want to hear more about my perspective on all of this, and in particular on how all of this seems to be playing out in the world of independent film, feel free to check out this essay I published earlier today:
"Can there be an artist that everyone has heard of and can recall their songs in such a world? A cultural touchstone, as it were."
I have been thinking about this a lot lately, wondering if Taylor Swift is the common denominator for young people today. I just don't know about these things. I guess I'm old and out of touch. I mean, I know if I talk to anyone my age, that person will likely be familiar with Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, the Counting Crows, and the list goes on. What do young people today have in common? What will they sing for karaoke night when they get a little older?
I fear I may have contributed to the decline. I was in college when Napster came on the scene and I confess, I downloaded music like a maniac. The streaming services today are a complete joke compared to the sheer enormity of Napster. It was truly nuts what you could find. I could listen to a local band at the bar down the street and come back to my dorm and download a recording someone had done of that live concert. The sound quality was often retched, but the songs were there. And for college kids like me, that access was irresistible. I'll never forget the reaction when we heard the news all that free music might no longer be available. I hadn't heard from my friend in a long time so I decided to pay her a visit. I knock on the door. I hear a weak voice say, "Come in." There she is sitting in the dark in front of her computer and a huge pile of CDs. She had taken enough speed to stay up for 5 days straight, all so she could download as much music as possible before the end of Napster.
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing. I have strong feeling about streaming services as I mentioned in the article with links to the articles.
As much as I would like to see the music industry reformed into a model that better benefits artist from the airplay, sales and streams, I think it is perhaps too late. I think the music industry will remain as a micro-niched as it is, or will probably get worse. That's one of the reasons I distribute my music here on Substack.
A small fan base on here of paying monthly subscriptions will do for me. I could live off of 200 of them and that's my end goal.
A lot of artists are adopting a similar '1000 True Fans' business model and I think it will only increase over time. But I will be sad to see the end of the Stadium Band era, though.
I don't blame you for feeling that way about streaming. This is the same sort of fracturing going on everywhere, it seems. The democratization of everything has its benefits, but those come at a big cost.
If it makes you feel better, I made more money busking in front a Whole Foods in Albuquerque than I currently do as a writer. I've made less than nothing with my novel. Seriously. Anyway, good luck in meeting your goals!
Very interesting indeed, culture has always been the target of overt politicisation, I for one hate the mass produced, cookie cutter music of pop factories that seems to be everywhere in the present and laden with 'the message.' I much prefer the indie stuff, it's honest, it's raw, it speaks of human experience and most importantly it's creative.
I agree with all that. Curiously, classical music doesn't seem to be nearly as captured. But the literary world is now policed by a very authoritarian politburo. Up-and-coming writers have no chance unless they submit. We have to establish a parallel culture--a free one.
So true about the literary world. It's especially sad considering it was hard enough getting the attention of an agent or publisher to begin with, but now ... well, I spent an entire decade of my life writing a novel with "Plato" in the title about a philosophy professor falsely accused of sexual harassment, so fat chance for me!
"We have to establish a parallel culture--a free one."
I hope it works. The problem is that the majority of readers still stick with what they know. This year I participated in the "Indie Author Experience" at the Tucson Festival of Books and was treated like some pathetic wannabe by the volunteers running it (mostly comprised of readers, I assume). The Big 5 authors, on the other hand, had no superiority complex whatsoever and were perfectly friendly.
I hate to shill my new essay twice in one comment thread, but maybe I can commiserate a little bit from the perspective of an independent filmmaker.
I spent years working on a very complicated documentary film and watched the culture of film festivals warp to become more and more inherently hostile towards the film's cultural and political content (and, for that matter, towards my status as a white guy) as I was going through the process.
One of the subjects of the film, who previously had connections in the world of film festivals, was even cancelled as a TERF midway through production (the movie has nothing to do with that, though; it's a retrospective piece about a bizarre, rebellious performing arts group from the 90s).
In any event, it came close to being accepted to premiere at Sundance 2023, and then after they passed on it, it was rejected by 30 consecutive festivals.
https://cinematimshel.substack.com/p/ideologically-out-of-line-and-insufficiently?r=16t7t
Agreed. I think Substack may play a role in that last point... as long as it doesn't also become captured...
Good piece.
It's encouraging that more people are starting to speak up about all of this, and I'm glad to know that I'm not quite as alone as I thought I was in challenging how all of this has been playing out in the arts, which is certainly one of the milieus in which the "woke" cultural phenomenon has hit hardest.
I'd only add that the problem of decisions around arts funding and exhibition being made based on ideological whims doesn't appear to diminish at all when the state isn't directly in control of the process.
In the US, it's nonprofit corporations that mostly run the show. Some of them receive funding from The National Endowment for the Arts, along with state and local governments, but the NEA's annual budget is only about $210 million. Digging up information on all of this online is difficult, but according to this NEA document from 2004, only about 10% of funding for arts nonprofits in the US comes from federal, state, and local governments:
https://www.americansforthearts.org/sites/default/files/how_0.pdf
In any event, if you want to hear more about my perspective on all of this, and in particular on how all of this seems to be playing out in the world of independent film, feel free to check out this essay I published earlier today:
https://cinematimshel.substack.com/p/ideologically-out-of-line-and-insufficiently?r=16t7t
Thank you for the comment. I’ll definitely check out your article this evening…
"Can there be an artist that everyone has heard of and can recall their songs in such a world? A cultural touchstone, as it were."
I have been thinking about this a lot lately, wondering if Taylor Swift is the common denominator for young people today. I just don't know about these things. I guess I'm old and out of touch. I mean, I know if I talk to anyone my age, that person will likely be familiar with Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, the Counting Crows, and the list goes on. What do young people today have in common? What will they sing for karaoke night when they get a little older?
I fear I may have contributed to the decline. I was in college when Napster came on the scene and I confess, I downloaded music like a maniac. The streaming services today are a complete joke compared to the sheer enormity of Napster. It was truly nuts what you could find. I could listen to a local band at the bar down the street and come back to my dorm and download a recording someone had done of that live concert. The sound quality was often retched, but the songs were there. And for college kids like me, that access was irresistible. I'll never forget the reaction when we heard the news all that free music might no longer be available. I hadn't heard from my friend in a long time so I decided to pay her a visit. I knock on the door. I hear a weak voice say, "Come in." There she is sitting in the dark in front of her computer and a huge pile of CDs. She had taken enough speed to stay up for 5 days straight, all so she could download as much music as possible before the end of Napster.
That's a great story. Thanks for sharing. I have strong feeling about streaming services as I mentioned in the article with links to the articles.
As much as I would like to see the music industry reformed into a model that better benefits artist from the airplay, sales and streams, I think it is perhaps too late. I think the music industry will remain as a micro-niched as it is, or will probably get worse. That's one of the reasons I distribute my music here on Substack.
A small fan base on here of paying monthly subscriptions will do for me. I could live off of 200 of them and that's my end goal.
A lot of artists are adopting a similar '1000 True Fans' business model and I think it will only increase over time. But I will be sad to see the end of the Stadium Band era, though.
Thank you again for commenting
I don't blame you for feeling that way about streaming. This is the same sort of fracturing going on everywhere, it seems. The democratization of everything has its benefits, but those come at a big cost.
If it makes you feel better, I made more money busking in front a Whole Foods in Albuquerque than I currently do as a writer. I've made less than nothing with my novel. Seriously. Anyway, good luck in meeting your goals!
Very interesting indeed, culture has always been the target of overt politicisation, I for one hate the mass produced, cookie cutter music of pop factories that seems to be everywhere in the present and laden with 'the message.' I much prefer the indie stuff, it's honest, it's raw, it speaks of human experience and most importantly it's creative.