What's the Market for Instumental Electronica in Europe?

[Baron von Case]

So I've been trying to force myself for years to write lyrical, song-format music because it's the only thing I can picture being received at all by anyone.

Then I realized - I'm not a poet; my music is what truly gets the message through.

I want to get back to my roots, but I need to know if there's any circle out there that cares about instrumental music anymore.

What's the market like in Europe? There's no market in the US for anything other than rip-offs of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" and "Push It" by Salt n' Pepa. Oh, not to mention incessant 2-note songs about getting drunk and dancing.

Tell me a musician can still do his own thing and be picked up by a label and have somebody listen..?

[beats me]

Seriously? Have you ever been to beatport? 90% of the Electronica doesn't have any vocals or at best a few quick vocal stabs. I'd go as far as saying a lot of people don't like their Electronica vocal heavy.

[esky]

The market in europe is totally devastated, as in the rest of the world. CD sales like in 1989, 90% downloads illegal. Do what you feel you can do best, people care about music, but they won't pay for it. Sorry...

[beatpoet]

I'm with esky on this one, very hard to make a living solely selling your music in these times,

Start gigging and sell vinyl at gigs.

[Angstrom]

Tell me a musician can still do his own thing and be picked up by a label and have somebody listen..?

Are you a hot chick who is dating a famous person?
Or perhaps a twink with magnificent oral technique?
Or perhaps a big time coke-dealer to fuckwitted media types.

If so then yes. A label will be glad to pretend to listen to your music.

/captain cynical

[beats me]

Tell me a musician can still do his own thing and be picked up by a label and have somebody listen..?

Are you a hot chick who is dating a famous person?
Or perhaps a twink with magnificent oral technique?
Or perhaps a big time coke-dealer to fuckwitted media types.

If so then yes. A label will be glad to pretend to listen to your music.

/captain cynical

It does sound a bit like the OP is saying "how do I get commercial success?".

And as far as feeling there's no venue for instrumental Electronica, it probably doesn't help they live in Bumfuck Ohio. I'm sure they wouldn't have the same view if they lived in New York or San Francisco, unsure why they feel they have to leave the US entirely for this type thing.

[Marx]

There's no market in the US for anything other than rip-offs of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" and "Push It" by Salt n' Pepa. Oh, not to mention incessant 2-note songs about getting drunk and dancing.

Tell me a musician can still do his own thing and be picked up by a label and have somebody listen..?

lol. what? It amazes me that in the age of Pandora, Last.fm, beatport, MySpace etc. people still think this way. No time in the history of music has such a broad range of genres and styles of music been available by pointing and clicking FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM.

I really feel that people who think that American music boils down to "Dead or Alive" and "Salt n Pepa" are at best Lazy and Jaded, and, at worst, ignorant and uninspired. Flying Lotus, glitch mob, Treasure Fingers, Deadmau5, Lazer Sword, Tobacco, Diplo are all american touring artists that make a living solely from instrumental electronic music. STS9, a still relatively unknown band, has been on Billboard's Top 50 touring acts since 2002 and they didn't even come out with a proper album release until 2005.

Why are you even concerned about Markets at all? A market should never define the style of music you make. Make the best music you can in whatever genre that interests you. Hopefully some day you may be able to support yourself with the music (although it's a long shot for all of us) and if you still never make any money or gain any recognition, at least you have a creative output that you can be proud of (because most people go through life doing nothing creative at all).

[Sales Dude McBoob]

Make music for yourself. Make the music you want to hear. If anyone notices in Europe or Cleveland, that's just the icing on the cupcake.

[WaveRider]

A market should never define the style of music you make. Make the best music you can in whatever genre that interests you. Hopefully some day you may be able to support yourself with the music (although it's a long shot for all of us) and if you still never make any money or gain any recognition, at least you have a creative output that you can be proud of (because most people go through life doing nothing creative at all).

that is the best way to see it... words of wisdom

[esky]

It amazes me that in the age of Pandora, Last.fm, beatport, MySpace etc. people still think this way. No time in the history of music has such a broad range of genres and styles of music been available by pointing and clicking FROM YOUR LIVING ROOM.

True, but that doesn't generate income at all. People seem to preview on those pages and then download illegal.

A market should never define the style of music you make. Make the best music you can in whatever genre that interests you. Hopefully some day you may be able to support yourself with the music (although it's a long shot for all of us) and if you still never make any money or gain any recognition, at least you have a creative output that you can be proud of (because most people go through life doing nothing creative at all).

Absolutly true...!

[beats me]

I really feel that people who think that American music boils down to "Dead or Alive" and "Salt n Pepa" are at best Lazy and Jaded, and, at worst, ignorant and uninspired.

Again, look where he lives. I've been to small town Ohio. It isn't exactly the epicenter of cutting edge music.

I have a friend that lives in small town New York and feels the same way but what this did was motivate him to start his own nights there and they have been hugely successful. It can be quite easy to be the big fish in your town with a little drive and promotion.

[esky]

Again, look where he lives.

Searched for Youngstown on google earth. He can be lucky he got news about a product like Ableton Live there...
But he can do it from there, the internet community won't care if his music is great...

[beats me]

Again, look where he lives.

Searched for Youngstown on google earth. He can be lucky he got news about a product like Ableton Live there...
But he can do it from there, the internet community won't care if his music is great...

Agreed but sometimes when people step off their porch to go explore the local scene they can get really discouraged by what is being played out around them and get a false image about what the global community likes as well. It sucks to live in music shitsville.

But agreed that people should just write what they feel and not base their own music on what is being played at the local Liquor Bucket. I'm sure a lot of successful musicians went against the grain locally. Not everybody was born and raised in LA.

[Da hand]

The market in europe is totally devastated, as in the rest of the world. CD sales like in 1989, 90% downloads illegal. Do what you feel you can do best, people care about music, but they won't pay for it. Sorry...

I disagree. People are still very willing to pay for music they like. They download a lot and chose to buy only a small percentage of their downloads. So what? They are just unwilling to buy a whole CD of crap with one "hit" single on it anymore.

[Sage]

What's it like in the USA? Europe is an even bigger place.