As I mentioned in my last post my husband and I are starting a business. Another business…I should say. But this kind of business requires a lot more than a laptop and some office supplies.
Something I love about Spokane is that everyone here is connected. And even people who have lived here in the past feel connected somehow. Spokane has a great community feel…probably not for everyone. But for me it always has.
Watching donations come in has been so awe-inspiring and makes me see this great connectedness that music and art bring to our city. Don’t judge me but I was watching the voice last night and Cee-lo Green is always surprising me with little words of wisdom…last night he said “Music is for imitating life and for encouraging the living.” I love this. As culture proceeds to monetarily de-value the artform of music (a perfect example is the fiasco happening currently with the Spokane Symphony) we will realize that a culture void of the arts is a very lifeless culture. Music imitates life in that it takes on millions of forms, genres, voices, emotions. It can put sound to every experience and through that it encourages us through our moments, days, months and years. It keeps us in the moment allowing us to drown in our tears more sweetly or rejoice in our triumphs more exuberantly. It ties us to our memories in a unique way and at it’s best…helps us to reflect a little bit on who we are and who we want to be.
I could go on and on. Music has been a huge part of my life since I was little and I have always been greatly drawn to it. I could list a thousand moments at concerts, in living room sing-alongs or listening to cds in the car where the world just comes alive. And the real beauty of this is that it has little to do with the fact that I’m a musician and more to do with the fact that I’m a human. And each of us has this ability to connect with music…it’s actually knit into our brains and hearts.
The problem is, people often know how much they love music, but for some reason they forget what it takes for it to be created…and created well. It’s not easy, and often the life of a musician is a tormented, lonely, impoverished road. If I sound dramatic, good. Short of Lady Gaga and the other 1% of pop stars…most musicians are struggling by. When I say most, that probably includes your favorite bands, even some that you have maybe seen on the Grammy’s or on your favorite Late Night show. Fame doesn’t always equal a consistent paycheck. After bands walk off the stage they are greeted by a culture that wants what they are providing, but doesn’t want to pay for it. They are greeted by an industry that is looking for every chance to screw them over and by clubs who are professionals at half-assing everything. (more drama…sorry, proving a point here) Obviously, there are some people who are doing well, there are some good venues out there and some industry professionals who are kind and hard-working. There is hope for musicians who are talented and ready to work hard. But things in the industry are getting more difficult not easier, read more on that here.
All of this leads me to a philosophy that Caleb and I feel very passionately about. The culture of music in our country and in our city is struggling. We can complain but instead we are choosing to bring change and to advocate. Our city needs us…and it needs you. We all have things we are passionate about and parts of culture that kind of make us cringe. Why not take a step towards changing that part of your culture? If music is something you are passionate about, or if my ranting resonates with you at all. Think about helping us, we really need you to move forward with this cause. Also…follow what’s happening with the Spokane Symphony, it’s a similar story and a place where musicians need us to stand up for them.
Our society needs reminders that music affects us all, and that it needs our help in order to continue. Thank you for the beautifully put reminder Karli. You are awesome!
I could not agree more…and I could not be more impressed with how you have contoured your philosophy of art…and (I promise, I will stop) I could not be more proud of how you and Caleb live this out.
Great piece of writing karli. I love your passion for art and music and even though I don’t live in Spokane anymore I’m inspired from afar.
That all sounds sweet on the surface, but it seems what you are really saying is that music boils down to the need for money. The moment you start to take that approach you’ve moved away from speaking on art and on to business. Please, don’t confuse the two. To say music, as art, is struggling is at best ignorant and at worst fraudulent. If music as business is difficult to pay your bills, maybe it’s time to figure out a different plan for your affairs and quit blaming the “culture that wants what they are providing, but doesn’t want to pay for it. ” or the “industry that is looking for every chance to screw them over and by clubs who are professionals at half-assing everything.”
Seriously, what bubble is everyone inside? Anyone with a decent living wage job and internet access can accumulate the equipment and knowledge necessary not only to learn to play magnificently but to produce a great sounding recording. Where does this inherent need for compensation arise from? Is this all really THAT hard? Is it not possible to be a musician AND have a job?
This cause is a cause of self-righteousness and lack of will.
I think you have some valid points and I would be willing to discuss them. I by no means was attempting to write a well-rounded essay on the subject and I think this topic has a lot of different angles.
But I could definitely do without the personal attack there at the end. I get that you choose to combat my drama with your own, but is it necessary to make judgements on my motives?
John, I would love to hear your work with your “decent living wage job and Internet access.” Art has always depended on support from the community and benefactors. Michelangelo didn’t just paint for the sheer exhilaration of standing back and simply admiring his work. He was paid and commissioned by the church. The same with J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and the list goes on and on. As a member of the Spokane Symphony, I did not one day decide that today I am going to perform in a professional orchestra. No, I spent years of study and training to come to the place where I could make what I do look easy, knowing full well it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to pull that off. People that assume art and business have know place co-mingling are truly ignorant about the business of art and making art. I can tell you countless stories of how artists cobble together a life so that they can financially survive and work out their passion for making art while being able to feed their families, pay the rent and live off of what they earn for their art. To say that the two (art and business) can’t co-exist is to denigrate art to a mere hobby. I can think if no great work of art that was produced from a hobby. Yes, you can be a musician AND have a job but not a very consistently good musician, and “playing magnificently” would not come to my mind. Art IS a job and the beauty is it can be the best of both worlds, creating and providing. As a final note, thank you Karli for mentioning the important fight the Musicians of the Spokane Symphony are in to work towards a fair and livable contract to share our art with the community.
While the money side of art can be adulterated, I believe that John has missed what Karli is saying here. It takes serious investment of time and money to do anything well. To think otherwise is “pollyannish” and ignoring the facts. It is not just music and the arts, but anything. Read Outliers. Oh, and you cannot just pickup a guitar and make magnificent music…it requires an enormous investment of your life. You may be able to play campfire songs, but something magnificent? Come on. You are exposing yourself as someone who simply doesn’t know.
I love the idea and passion. In essence you are starting a business and need to show how you will turn a profit unless you think it will survive on donations. It is nice to offer free concert tickets and perks but if a serious investor came along what in the way of a business plan or P&L would you show them for a return on their investment?
Hey Jason, thanks for asking. We actually clearly state in the campaign description that we would be happy to send anyone our business plan that would like to see it. We can confirm that we are prepared and have financial projections that show profit for the business.
The video was specifically geared to have an emotional pull for people. Anyone who is interested in giving more than the smaller donations has and will discuss the details and the sustainability of the business.
Also…investors wouldn’t donate through this specific campaign, they would have to come to us directly and we would work out interest rates, and so on. But this campaign is not set up for that.