I'm getting ready to write several articles in the Examiner about some of the aspects of the entertainment industry seldom explored in today's media. One of these topics is artistic integrity for musical artists, in particular (though the topic can apply to any art form).
I'd love your thoughts and ideas on just what comprises artistic integrity and what could be legitimately considered "selling out."
Do artists have a responsibility to be true to their art? Or is that just a romantic notion that no longer applies in today's commercial world? What responsibility do those who enjoy and consume art have? And, is there hope that in the midst of an entertainment industry shakedown, during this current economy, that the independent spirit (and presumably with it, artistic integrity) might make a comeback?
Thanks!
Christopher
P.S. As always remember that to see the comments in a separate window, click on the "Comments" link. To see the comments in the body of the topic, click "Links to this Post"
Views of those commenting have not been checked for accuracy and do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog publisher or his associates.
For a glance at other topics covered so far, please visit:Christopher Harding's Entertainment Column at the Examiner,
My most recent posts are:
Can Christian Music Be Saved? and
Artist Integrity and the New Music Business -- A Match Made in Heaven?
Or check out some of the articles that have generated the most discussion:
"20 Questions Every Band Should Answer"
or
"Secrets of Social Networking for Bands -- Do it Yourself Music: part 3",
Social Media Basics for Bands -- Do it Yourself Music: part 4 and
Socia Media Stragegies for Bands -- Do it Yourself Music: part 5
I have a rather cynical saying..
ReplyDeleteArtists are like lightning.. they seek out the path of least resistance and burn anything that gets in their path.
sad, but true in many cases.
That IS rather cynical. To me, an artist DOESNT "sell out" - that's NOT an artist, that's a businessman who just cares about a check, and honestly f*** anyone who comes with any "but I NEED X number of dollars for my baby, and her new room, and the car payments, etc" - we ALL have those issues and they are not excuses to fall short, but rather should be VERY STRONG MOTIVATION. I dont ALL music genres, but (for instance) today's rap/hiphop scene...is a MESS because the top 10 PAID performers, are not the top 10 ACTUAL performers - certain areas are literally RULED by those IN the performance, rather than "whats best economically for the industry". From one of your earlier blogs on "Servant Leaders", NO INDUSTRY will EVER truly prosper when 90% of the leaders are stuffing themselves with finances and support, and purposefully leaving 80% of the higher-end talents out in the cold, so hopefully they QUIT and can fall under one of their ownerships or quit completely. When you call a song a "freestyle" and its not - its NOT "playing it safe" and "keeping the crowd on your side" - its being a Coward and not caring about the art ITSELF anymore. I understand by being 100% genuine you'll probably make mistakes...THAT'S CALLED BEING REAL, and NOT ANOTHER COMMERCIAL that honestly 80% of fans dont Really believe in anyways. It isnt that people dont buy/ care about supporting music anymore. They REFUSE to pay $15 for a cd that IS NOT Worth that much with the lack of effort and care most major artists put into it anymore. and NO, just because you sold and platinum doesnt mean you EVER get to "coast" and sell another million...just because you ALREADY DID IT!!!...I get angry...so I work harder. Bless you all
ReplyDeleteArtistic integrity is the key to what music, or any art form, truly is - the expression and communication of emotions through music, art, poetry, etc. Without this, we just have The Jonas Brothers.
ReplyDeleteComing from a musician's perspective, I feel that music is the language of the soul and should be expressed as freely as possible without being tainted by a label exec looking at you telling you 'write a hit' or 'sell a million copies.'
I have a feeling that eventually music creaters and music lovers alike will make a strong comeback with the realization that music is an incredibly bonding and powerful art form and will be recognized not for how well the producer used an Auto-Tuner, but for how the music truly communicates something great. Also, is it me or did Rolling Stone magazine turn into a 10 month political novel?
Wow! Harsh words about artists, Keith. What have you seen that has left you with this idea and what do you think can be done about it (if anything).
ReplyDeleteAs an artist and consumer of music, I feel that consumers also have a tremendous power to shape the musical landscape. The question really is, are we willing and ready to use that power -- to support the artists who are true to their voice; to purchase (not steal) the music that indie artists and other visionary artists are putting out there; and to search out the radio -- online, satellite or traditional that plays a playlist of real music (instead of replicated crap).
But until we, as artists and consumers, all put our money where our mouth is, nothing will change.
Props to JT
ReplyDeleteI'll venture forth into this foray as an aspiring musician and underemployed consumer.
ReplyDeleteFor me, music has been about personal expression and coming together with the energyscape around me when I'm playing or dancing or simply absorbing. I relish in the feeling of connectedness with all.
(wow, this post-a-comment interface is really terrible! no arrow keys, ick)
First of all, as a poor consumer I'll admit to thievery as these things are defined. I would have been a pirate in a previous era. In fact, I relish in the less thoroughly legislated aspects of our world: I ride a bike instead of driving, enjoy backcountry camping and exploration, barter for goods from street vendors, write and draw in a paper journal. I am peaceful yet anarchastic (and anachronistic, but that's another story).
Integrity as a musician is a new-ish concept for me, and I'm not sure I've ever had the opportunity to act without integrity. When I play I try to play from the heart, be respectful of the other musicians with whom I'm creating, listen, act rightly, and perform to the best of my abilities balanced with the freedom I grant myself to be silly, play "wrong" notes (the wrong notes are also the right notes IMO), and otherwise most fully express myself. I don't worry too much about whether I think I suck or not. People seem to enjoy my energy so I'm delighted to share it.
I had an experience where I was "blown out" by another musician, which might be an example of that person acting without integrity, but basically it just came down to him not being willing to listen to the others who were around and offer them an opportunity to participate. So was that without integrity or just disrespectful?
Speaking of the bigger biz of music and public figures in general, their integrity seems often to be in doubt, but what does it mean to sell out? To accept money for inauthentic or inferior creations? To allow others to create in your name? To use your prominence to promote others products or services or points of view? Sure, that's lame, but my predilections seem to insulate me from the mass hysteria. Tonight there will be dozens of free performances in Salt Lake City. Come on down and enjoy a few of them and explain how any of these musicians lacks or demonstrates integrity.
It's really all about the music.
What is artistic integrity? Great question... I think it's the same as all other forms of integrity. In other words, as an artist I'm true to my vision and voice... which hopefully is always evolving and being influenced by life and other people, sounds and the like. Will I compromise that to make a buck? Or is it possible to mold my sound to fit a format and still be true to my vision? I think both are possible.
ReplyDeleteAs for "stealing" music... yeah, I think if I'm going to take someone's music who isn't offering it for free... and I'm going to take it because I can... that's stealing. So if I choose to do that, I just need to have the balls to own that I'm doing that and see if I'm okay with that. Because by telling myself it's cool, when it isn't for the artist... that's lying and weak... in my mind at least.
There seem to me to be several assumptions collapsed together in various aspects of this discussion. In order for me to make any sense out of this very broad question, I would like first to know more about what some of the terms mean to everyone. For example, what is the definition of "artistic"? And how does it relate to the concept of "craft"? I'm not asking from some philosophical or esoteric standpoint. Contemporary music is an example of a discipline that requires, in order to even exist, a fluid and compatible meeting between artistic impulses and artisanal skills. Serious musicians of any kind, and definitely anyone who develops any skill in the recording process, have to spend time wearing both hats, because you have to get good with your tools in order to even be able to make whatever internal vision you're flogging to the world happen at all. But where's the line? Is it "art" just because you can retch up a couple of lines of bad poetry that nobody ever retched up in that particular combination before? Or is there some other quality required? My most influential music teacher asked a question in response to an "artist" who had become obviously and arrogantly attached to something he'd written that was just unmistakably awful. My teacher said that the real question wasn't whether you CAN write original music. The real question was whether you SHOULD.
ReplyDeleteIs it art if no one but you ever hears it? Is the audience part of the "artistic" process, or is it just part of the commercial process? Or both? What if your art, the real, unedited stuff, is of great meaning to you: meaningful enough to change the way you live your life, regrow your bald spot, and cure your asthma, but sends everyone else on the planet lunging for the exits? Is that still "art"? Or is it something else? Or does it have to mean something to someone else before it makes the cut? Obviously, when you consider some of the dreck the general populace will spend money for, simple popularity isn't much of a measure of anything. And there's lots of "product"; movies, music, books, food, etc. that I absolutely love, and have a wonderful time with, that I wouldn't even come close to considering "art". They're just popcorn, wonderfully enjoyable, often beautifully crafted, and as such, valuable in their way, but also completely forgettable the minute you eat the last bite. What if your "art" is my "product" or vice versa? Who decides? Consumers? You? Or God help us, CRITICS? It may not be possible at all, but it certainly seems impossible to come up with any really usable definition of "artistic integrity" until some of these questions are answered.
As to what is artistic, here's a place to start:
ReplyDelete"Art - the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance."
What's that tell me? Art is art, if the people observing it so deem it to be.
"Integrity - adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty; the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished."
Ah, but now we could descend into the question, as to what is moral, couldn't we?
But rather than chase down that thorny rabbit hole, perhaps we could consider artistic integrity, as a starting place for discussion, to be the characteristic of being true to one's own principles while creating something one deems to be beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance. Whether others agree or disagree with the beautiful or extraordinary nature of what I've created will determine whether they also experience it as art or mindless drivel, be they fan, critic, or passerby.
It's a tough call for anyone to make other than the artist themselves. John Lennon, for example, felt he had compromised his integrity the moment the Beatles became famous. "From that moment," he mused, years later, "we sold out."
In the end, I believe we know deep down inside if we've been true to our vision while creating our "art." We also know when we have sacrificed that soulful self-allegiance in pursuit of other goals.
I heard somewhere that, "Art reminds of us who we are in that moment." I believe it also reminds of us of the aspects of ourselves we have not come to accept.
ReplyDeleteCould it be that simple? It just may be.
Oh yeah... it is that simple, Cynthia. Art, music, poetry it's what arises from our soul when we are quiet enough to listen.
ReplyDeleteMaking it ready for the marketplace? Hey, if that's what you do and you want to eat, then you turn those restrictions, and configurations, twists, turns, and requirements into opportunities that challenge your creativity even more.
Let's not bulls**t each other okay? Artistic integrity is something very few of us even begin to understand. You tell me which of you will give up a chance to play or to be on the radio or to sign a record deal in order to be true to your art. And if you did somethin that stupid well you may have integrity but where did it get you? Nowhere but stuck in your own town playing your artistic sh**t for a few of your dumbass friends.
ReplyDeleteSo KC -- it's all about fame and money for you? Is that what your saying? Nothin else -- just fame and money.
ReplyDeleteYou better than that man. It's about spreadin the love and you can't spread the love very far if your only playin to the people in your same old damn club. Gotta fly... gotta get the word out. To do it any other way would compromise the truth of me. You hear? What about that for integrity? Did you think about that? While you sit being so concerned about your art your bein a stingy small minded prick. Let go of all that intellectual bulls**t and get out there and play. The world needs you and your truth.
ReplyDeleteHeard a great lecture by Ravi on artistic integrity (he speaks at Berklee & a lot of other places). Part of his speech on integrity is on YouTube (watch the second half -- that's the best). Ravi on YouTube.com
ReplyDeleteChris wrote:
ReplyDelete… and, is there hope that in the midst of an entertainment industry shakedown, during this current economy, that the independent spirit (and presumably with it, artistic integrity) might make a comeback…..
I think it safe to say that the entire commercial world as we know it is experiencing an “industry shakedown” these days. Integrity - moral such or any other variety - appear to have abandoned ship everywhere. Interest rates are skyrocketing on credit cards and loans; property values are down so mortgages are inflated for many of us, health care costs are high and rising, ya-da-ya-da-ya-da. Seems to me this is the kind of fiscal territory that so often before has spurred growth in artistic integrity as the united artists of the world have gone out there and been a mirror – so to speak - to the rest of society (suppose Woodstock comes to mind)….Maybe the realities haven’t always been nice to witness, but artists have rendered much of the famed integrity from reflecting miseries back at the rest of us…Maybe this is THE time above all for artists, especially the ones attempting commercial success, to hold that mirror ever so high?
And seeing it from that angle, this is a prime opportunity for artists to commit art, not profit!
I realize the industry is changing. iTunes makes it possible to put together an album (and not have to purchase tunes you don’t want) of what you as a consumer want instead of what a band may see as its artistic expression….Doesn’t vouch well for the survival of artistic anything, expression nor integrity, really….. Albums can be released online….Web pages and social networking sites are fertile marketing grounds….you can do-it-yourself in nearly every aspect of the industry. The web has completely revamped the world, and artistry will never be the same again.
I guess what I am rambling about here is simply the fact that though commercial gain and artistic integrity sometimes coincide, the whole concept is a bit oxymoronic at base. I think artistic integrity is a moral concept much more than it can be said to be a commercial one. Being a commercial success doesn’t necessarily exclude integrity, but I believe it makes it rather hard to keep a focus on the art involved rather than the balance sheet. I am not so sure that commercialism and art really are compatible. How do you put a price on art, be it music or anything else, and quantify it in a way that commerce really can understand whilst maintaining integrity? I guess that is the question of the hour.
AEP, you write of a moral dilemma, it would seem, between art and business. But at the very instant an artist determines that they will rely upon the sale of their art to feed themselves and their families, their art becomes a commercialized commodity reliant upon the same economic balance of supply and demand and the same scrutiny of perceived value in exchange for currency as any other product.
ReplyDeleteIf artists choose to stay on some illusory high ground, they may do so by making a living doing something other than creating and selling art into a marketplace already crowded with more than anyone needs. For as soon as an artist puts a price on his or her art (or agrees to such a price) he or she has now taken their sacred self-expression into a world where it becomes worth precisely what someone will pay for it and not a penny more.
Interesting thought, Edward, that as soon as I offer my creative work up for sale, the value of my product is worth what someone will pay for it.
ReplyDeleteWhile there is a very logical sense in which your stance is real, I think that there is a value to art, humanity, life, etc. that transcends the price people will pay for it.
It's been said in a variety of ways by those commenting here that art is a subjective expression. It's that intangible value I'm interested in exploring.
I agree with what many of you have said, that artistic integrity for each artist, can only be determined by the artist. I can say someone sold out, when in fact they may feel that their ability to adapt to market demands was, in fact, an essential part of their artistic pursuit.
Using people's response and reaction to my creative works provides me with feedback. What I choose to do with that feedback is up to me. It's also up to me what I make the feedback mean. Does, "They like it," mean my art is better than if they think it stinks? If I find that what I've created is an honest expression of my own soul, does it matter, from the standpoint of artistic integrity, whether anyone else cares or not?
Obviously, if I intend to make a living from my art, then having the ability to create marketable art is important.
After reading the responses here, my real question is, what do you personally struggle with as you seek to find that balance between meeting the demands of a buying public, and creating your art in whatever form you create it? How do you personally manage that balancing act?
It is a struggle sometimes. But a lot of that struggle has more to do with my ego than my art or my integrity. I think that's a place where a lot of us get mixed up. We take some righteous stance about our "artistic integrity" when really what we're talking about is our big fat egos.
ReplyDeleteJanez,
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment. Can you expand on what you mean when you compare "artistic integrity" and egos? I am most interested in that line of thinking.
Excellent point, Janez. Here's a thought in a similar vein that recently crossed my mind as I was sharing comments back and forth with Steve, one of the readers of the Examiner:
ReplyDeleteSince there are countless artists out there already working in obscurity, what happens to an artist when they suddenly find themselves the talk of the town? How might the adulation impact their creativity?
I would love anyone's thoughts or personal experiences about how ego might effect your creativity and your sense of artistic integrity and how this might vary, depending on which side of the success continuum you're on.
Happy to contribute. I've thought more about this topic after reading AEP's question and I find myself wondering just what integrity is.
ReplyDeleteDoes it mean that I never change (how limiting!)? Does it mean that I do what I say (consistency builds trust)? Does it mean I'm true to who I am (which will hopefully change as I grow and develop)?
And artistic integrity, more difficult still. I suppose I could say that I create art that I feel is an honest expression of who I am or whatever I was trying to portray or convey at the moment. For me this is where the ego starts to play an even more insidious role. Because my pride over my own creation, my self-righteousness about the importance or value of my "art" is such a convenient guise for my ego to take on.
I'm not sure, really that artistic and integrity belong together. One seems to be a definition of one's character (integrity), while the other seems to be a subjective expression of one's mood.
Perhaps I've only muddied the waters, but that's what comes to mind for me.