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Music For Yourself vs. Music For The Masses

Woof	Date: July 24, 2006 @ 9:04 PM Are they irreconcilable? Everybody hopes that others will like what they've played. And it's likely that most folks would state that they write for themselves, and if someone happens to like what they do, great. Some folks even get lucky, and a LOT of people really like something that they've done just to please themselves. Regardless, I wonder if, once the idea of popularity grabs an artist, some degree of personal perspective gets lost, and there's this constant buzzing in the back of the brain, maybe even only subliminally, pressuring that artist to please. It's like a bad drug that disturbs the creative process and interrupts the odyssey of discovery. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. But I think it's cumulative. Look what happened to U2.
vzeye	Date: July 24, 2006 @ 9:11 PM You are very correct and have hit the nail right on the head. I guess music can be a growing process which in its evolution can make the artist a better person overall. When an artist wants to please the masses, then he or she can lose themselves in the process. Your thread is very thought provoking.
kingo	Date: July 24, 2006 @ 9:41 PM I've rarely thought about the power of popularity in those terms. On the other hand, I've always thought that artists making a living from their music have to be fighting that battle a lot. Of course I imagine there are people for whom all of those things are intricately tied together. Part of what gets them into making music is that they want to create something that others enjoy. But absolutely, I think it's very difficult to NOT let the opinions of others change you in some way or another. Even if not consciously.
justinother1	Date: July 25, 2006 @ 7:41 AM music for the masses... or... music for them asses... ???
zedsalt	Date: July 25, 2006 @ 12:05 PM I KNEW IT!!! I KNEW Jus' couldn't let this one sit without pulling out that pun! So satisfying. The real problem seems to be with artist's work suffering from their successes. I imagine that it would take nearly superhuman integrity to avoid trying to turn a successful song into a formula (even subconsciously), thereby destroying everything that made the thing special to begin with. I would like to have such a success, a piece that made me so wealthy and famous that failure to repeat that success would terrify me. ...y'know, just to see how I'd react. Ridiculous wealth, beautiful women throwing themselves at me, the adulation of millions...purely for academic reasons, you understand.
southwing	Date: July 25, 2006 @ 2:29 PM Bob Dylan (years ago anyway) would say he wrote for himself, I don't believe it. He wrote songs to SELL! And that he did. He appealed to The Masses by the millions of dollars worth, than boasted "My music isn't for everyone". You simply don't write a song 'The Times They Are A-Changin' to just remind 'yourself' of changing times, a subject like that is targeted towards 'Them Asses'
TonyV	Date: July 25, 2006 @ 3:04 PM I say stay true to yourself. Most of the time people can relate to whatever you lay down. Your always your own worst critic.....
kingo	Date: July 25, 2006 @ 3:52 PM No, actually. Everyone else is my worst critic. I'm my best critic.
dennbb	Date: July 26, 2006 @ 4:58 PM
TonyV	Date: July 26, 2006 @ 6:00 PM I guess there are exceptions. But I won't criticize you, Kingo. Not unless I have something clever and witty to say that may give me a chuckle. Too many problems of my own to judge others.......
pangtera	Date: July 31, 2006 @ 11:54 PM Cookiecutter genre music is what I would call it. But if it puts food on that artist's table, then I can see why they do what they do.
Rodrica	Date: August 1, 2006 @ 4:50 AM It's a tough thing to do...but I have to separate the two. I write songs primarily for myself as an indie artist. But as a songwriter I have to write to order to suit other people. A lot of songs I have to create are way out of my usual genre and are sold to individuals who specially commission them, or are sent to publishers with a view to getting them published. In those cases, they set the rules/style/criteria. Naturally, the writing-to-order thing can be a real bore and the music is inevitably rather contrived - especially if it has a deadline attached
EvilPicnic	Date: August 1, 2006 @ 8:03 AM I write and perform for myself as catharsis, education, and for enjoyment; and I write on the assumption that if I like it, some other people out there might like it too.

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