James Blake Is Right

Summary

In this discourse, Anthony Fantano discusses the privileged backgrounds of some successful indie artists, such as The Last Dinner Party, and the broader issue of economic disparity in the music industry. He argues that while these artists are not the problem, they are a symptom of a larger issue. Fantano also addresses James Blake's critique of streaming platforms for their minimal financial support to artists and the resulting impact on music appreciation. He calls for direct support of artists, challenging the notion that music should be free, and urges fans to advocate for fair pay and industry improvements.

Takeaways

• 🎤 Anthony Fantano discusses the privilege and economic background of artists in the indie music scene.
• 🤔 A recent article about indie rock/pop band The Last Dinner Party sparked controversy due to a misattributed quote.
• 💰 The economic privilege of some artists is a topic of debate, with some arguing it gives them an unfair advantage.
• 🎵 Fantano argues that privilege is not a new issue in the music industry and cites Vampire Weekend as an example.
• 🚀 Success in the music industry today is not a zero-sum game, with more opportunities for artists from various backgrounds.
• 💸 The music industry's economic model is flawed, with streaming platforms paying artists very little for their work.
• 📉 James Blake's Twitter rant highlights the challenges artists face due to streaming services and platforms like TikTok.
• 🙌 Fantano suggests not being angry at privileged artists but focusing on systemic issues within the industry.
• 🛍️ He encourages fans to directly support artists by purchasing their music and merchandise.
• 📢 Fantano calls for an end to toxic perceptions about artist compensation and support for fair pay and unionization efforts.
• 📝 Legislation introduced by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib aims to improve musician pay through streaming services.

Q & A

What was the controversy surrounding the band The Last Dinner Party?

The controversy arose from a quote taken out of context in an article about The Last Dinner Party, which made the band appear out of touch and ignorant towards the economic struggles of the average working people.

How did Anthony Fantano respond to the situation with The Last Dinner Party?

Anthony Fantano expressed that he still loves their new LP and doesn't hold the band responsible for the misrepresentation in the article. He acknowledged the conversation it sparked about economic privilege in the music industry.

What is the broader issue that the controversy with The Last Dinner Party highlights?

The controversy highlights the issue of economic privilege in the music industry, where artists from wealthy backgrounds may have an advantage in gaining success and recognition over less privileged artists.

What is the role of streaming platforms in the current state of the music industry?

Streaming platforms are criticized for not providing sufficient financial support to artists, which contributes to the difficulty of artists, especially those from less privileged backgrounds, to make a living from their music.

What did James Blake tweet about the music industry?

James Blake criticized streaming platforms for not paying artists enough and for platforms like TikTok breaking down music into bite-sized chunks, which he believes detracts from the appreciation of songcraft and production.

What is Anthony Fantano's suggestion for supporting artists?

Anthony Fantano suggests directly supporting artists by buying their merchandise, records, or attending their tours, and supporting their efforts to improve pay and conditions in the industry.

What is the significance of the legislation introduced by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib?

The legislation aims to pay musicians more through streaming services, which could be a significant improvement over the current low pay and would help support artists in the industry.

How does Anthony Fantano view the role of wealthy artists in the music industry?

He believes that wealthy artists are not the problem but a symptom of a larger issue. He suggests that they are better off making music than engaging in other activities that could have a more negative impact on society.

What is the term 'parasocial' in the context of the script?

The term 'parasocial' refers to the one-sided, non-reciprocal relationship that fans may have with artists, where they presume certain things about the artist's life based on limited information.

What is the importance of artists being paid fairly, according to Anthony Fantano?

According to Anthony Fantano, fair pay for artists is crucial for allowing a diverse range of musicians, including those from less privileged backgrounds, to succeed and thrive in the industry.

What action does Anthony Fantano encourage fans to take regarding the music industry's treatment of artists?

He encourages fans to make noise and push for better pay and conditions for artists, including supporting legislation and unionization efforts that aim to improve the situation.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 Music Privilege and Economic Discourse

Anthony Fantano discusses the recent PR moments of two indie artists and the resulting conversations about economic privilege in the music industry. He addresses the controversy surrounding a quote from the Last Dinner Party and the perception of them being out of touch with the economic struggles of the working class. Fantano argues that while the band's background may influence their music, it's not surprising given their wealth. He also touches on the broader issue of economic privilege in the music industry, citing examples like Vampire Weekend and the challenges faced by artists from less privileged backgrounds.

05:01

🎵 Artistic Pursuits and Economic Status

Fantano continues the discussion by reflecting on the use of economic privilege for artistic pursuits, suggesting that it's better for wealthy individuals to create music than to engage in other potentially harmful activities. He acknowledges his own advantages and expresses empathy for those who are frustrated by the success of privileged artists. However, he emphasizes that these artists are symptoms of a larger issue, not the problem itself. He calls for a fairer music industry that supports artists of all economic backgrounds and encourages fans to support their favorite artists directly.

10:01

📢 Advocacy for Fair Music Industry Practices

In the final paragraph, Fantano addresses James Blake's criticism of streaming platforms and the impact of social media on music consumption. He highlights the challenges faced by artists at all levels of the industry, including the financial squeeze and the need for more support from the industry. Fantano urges fans not to be outwardly angry at privileged artists but to focus on supporting all artists and advocating for better pay and industry practices. He mentions recent legislation introduced by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to improve musician pay through streaming services and encourages fans to support such efforts.

Keywords

💡Indie music

Indie music refers to a genre of music that is produced independently from major commercial record labels. In the video, the term is used to describe the music of artists like The Last Dinner Party, who are part of the indie scene and are discussed in the context of their economic privilege and its impact on their success in the music industry.

💡Economic privilege

Economic privilege refers to the advantages that individuals or groups have due to their wealth or social status. The video discusses how artists from privileged backgrounds can leverage their resources to succeed in the music industry, which can lead to debates about fairness and opportunities for less privileged artists.

💡Success in music

Success in music is typically measured by an artist's popularity, recognition, and financial earnings. The video explores the idea that success is not solely dependent on talent but can be influenced by an artist's economic background, as seen with bands like Vampire Weekend and The Last Dinner Party.

💡Streaming platforms

Streaming platforms are digital services that allow users to listen to music on-demand over the internet. The video criticizes these platforms, such as Spotify and TikTok, for not fairly compensating artists and for promoting a culture that devalues the craft of songwriting and production.

💡Attention economy

The attention economy refers to the competition for consumers' limited attention in a world where information and entertainment are abundant. In the context of the video, it highlights the challenge artists face in capturing and maintaining an audience's interest, especially when music is consumed in bite-sized, easily digestible formats.

💡Privilege and music career

The video discusses the idea that artists from privileged backgrounds may use their advantages to forge successful music careers. It suggests that while this can be seen as unfair, it's also a reflection of a larger issue within the music industry, where economic barriers prevent many talented artists from less privileged backgrounds from achieving success.

💡Artistic expression

Artistic expression is the act of conveying emotions, ideas, or experiences through creative means such as music. The video touches on the notion that even those from wealthy backgrounds can use their resources to create and share art, which is seen as a positive outlet compared to other potential activities they could engage in.

💡Music industry challenges

The music industry challenges refer to the various obstacles artists face, such as financial constraints, lack of support, and the need to promote their work. The video emphasizes the difficulties artists encounter, particularly in an industry where streaming revenue is low and the cost of production and promotion is high.

💡Fair compensation

Fair compensation means that artists are paid a wage that is commensurate with the value they provide. The video argues for better payment models for artists, suggesting that if artists were paid more, it could help level the playing field and allow more diverse talent to succeed.

💡Unionization efforts

Unionization efforts refer to the attempts by workers to form unions to negotiate better working conditions and pay. In the music industry, this could mean artists banding together to improve their contracts with labels and streaming platforms. The video encourages support for such efforts as a way to address the low pay and challenging conditions faced by artists.

💡Legislation for musicians

Legislation for musicians involves creating laws to protect and improve the rights and earnings of musicians. The video mentions a specific bill introduced by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib aimed at increasing payments to musicians through streaming services, which is seen as a step towards addressing the financial challenges in the music industry.

Highlights

Anthony Fantano discusses the economic privilege in the indie music scene.

The Last Dinner Party's recent PR moment and the controversy surrounding a quote in an article.

The perception of indie artists from privileged backgrounds and the impact on the music industry.

The argument that privileged artists may prevent less privileged musicians from succeeding.

The influence of an artist's background on their music and the public's acceptance.

The changing attitude towards artists' economic status in the music industry.

The current state of the music industry where success is not a zero-sum game.

The idea that artists from privileged backgrounds might be doing less harm by making music.

The challenge of struggling artists in an age where music doesn't make much money.

James Blake's Twitter tirade on streaming platforms and the lack of financial support for artists.

The connection between the economic privilege of artists and the state of the music industry.

The suggestion to not be angry at privileged artists but to address the systemic issues.

The importance of directly supporting artists through purchases and attending live shows.

The call to change perceptions about artists' worth and support fair pay from the industry.

The potential impact of artists banding together to demand better treatment from labels and streaming platforms.

The introduction of legislation by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to improve musician pay through streaming services.

The encouragement for music fans to support artists and push for industry improvements.

Transcripts

hey everyone Anthony fantano here

internet's busiest music nerd and it's

time for discourse are we playing Mario

Cart right now cuz I feel like I'm about

to get first on this course okay listen

this past week in the world of Music two

different artists from two different

sects of the Indie world were having

respective PR moments and even though

they were very different in terms of

their reception and overall topic I

think they're very much connected and

and I would like to link them together

here and create between them a super

discourse Frankenstein monster starting

first with the new upand cominging

beloved indie rock and pop outfit the

last dinner party now in a bit of

inaccurate attribution recently there

was a piece uh covering the group

talking about their recent popularity

and this piece caused a lot of people to

get angry because uh the quote in

question in it uh out of the context in

which it was originally said it made the

band seem uh very out of touch very

ignorant toward the economic plights of

average everyday working people those

who are struggling to make ends meet on

a regular basis here's the quote in

question and while in my opinion uh it

doesn't really look that much different

in the original piece it was lifted from

it was not quite the snoody looking down

the pores type moment that it was read

to be in this newer article this newer

piece so no hate to the band no shade

toward them I still love their new LP

but this situation caused a conversation

among many on Twitter talking about how

groups such as the last dinner party and

many others in the music world and the

Indie scene broadly come from a place of

just staggering economic privilege I

even got an email from a fan before all

of this uh asking me what I thought of

the last dinner party in groups like

them using their high levels of uh

status and economic privilege to kind of

Leverage their success in the music

industry because there are a lot of

artists out there even some who have

built very passionate followings on the

Underground circuit who come from

households where one or both of the

parents make a seven fig salary uh have

net worths in the millions and billions

and there are people who have been very

outspoken on Twitter specifically in

reaction to this last dinner party stuff

saying things like these girls shouldn't

even have a music career they shouldn't

even try because their success and their

spot in the industry right now is

preventing a more deserving horror group

of musicians from ascending and becoming

popular themselves if we get rid of the

last dinner party who's going to replace

them it's not like there are seven other

groups of a lower economic status that

are making the same kind of music in

fact I think their background kind of

influences their music in a way you

can't really be surprised RIS that a

bunch of energetic in-your-face girls

who like to dress like oldw World

Aristocrats might come from money and

that's kind of the other reason that I

feel like uh this whole we don't like

rich people being successful in music uh

Genie is not kind of going back in the

bottle not only has this been a thing

for years but we're long past the point

where artists even feel the need to hide

this anymore like literally what the

[ __ ] is Vampire Weekend the only only

aesthetic they brought to the table is

hey we're a bunch of uh richy Rich Ivy

League school kids making cutesy silly

kind of lowii Indie pop and rock tunes

occasionally with a West African twist

which was also weird yeah that was very

much thrown in our faces pretty

unabashedly and audiences ate it the

[ __ ] up for over a decade now you could

officially use your upper crust economic

status to make your band look cool the

levies have broken on this Dam not only

that but especially now today in the age

of streaming uh success in the music

industry is no longer a zero sum game

like not only do you have more contracts

going out to artists over a mid-tier

viral Fame than ever these days but

there are tons of artists out there

every day who are releasing beloved

albums who are gaining large followings

who come from pretty low or average

economic means not to imply that it's

only good music that gets popular or

gains attention or success in the

internet age on top of this I know the

attention economy isn't like infinite in

terms of its size and space and I feel

like the solution to this problem of

only so many eyes and ears to go around

is that artists should be getting paid

more for the attention that they do get

imagine a music industry where a 100,000

monthly listeners on Spotify affords you

a full-time living you and a whole band

and honestly I can't really blame a lot

of these rich kids for wanting to use

their privilege and the Comforts they've

been afforded in life to make art I mean

making art is fun it's most likely what

a lot of you would be doing if you had

nothing else to do and considering the

very high economic status of a lot of

these individuals in the music industry

uh making music that entertains people

is probably the least destructive thing

they could be doing I would rather many

of them be doing that than I don't know

uh working under their dad as an oil

tycoon or taking the reins of their

family's trust fund I guess in terms of

global economic social damage these

people could be unleashing onto the

globe uh making music is maybe like the

best thing they could be doing with

their time and look as somebody who's

been around for a minute and has seen a

lot of artists with these kinds of

backgrounds attempt to build music

careers out of them for every one

Vampire Weekend you see there's like

dozens of other artists out there that

come from a similar place and are really

just going nowhere and if one of these

[ __ ] does manage to come out with a

great record good amazing fantastic I

would rather they have spent their time

focusing and accomplishing that as

opposed to I don't know inventing a new

kind of mortgage that uh kicks people

out of their homes or becoming the next

Elon Musk there's an alternate universe

where he actually pursued a shitty

SoundCloud DJ career and I wish we were

there after having said all of that

though I get your concern I myself don't

come from you know much economically

speaking and I'll be straight I've had

advantages in life I have great teeth I

was raised in an Italian American Family

my parents liked me and yeah sometimes

it does boil my blood to think of people

having all of that and on top of it

really no economic worries in the world

and getting to do everything and

anything they ever wanted as a result of

that but the reason I can't stay mad at

those particular individuals who again

use that privilege to uh Forge a

successful music career because they can

afford to like really get in the

trenches and take multiple hits on

albums that don't go anywhere or use

their influence to Cozy up to people who

know people who know people who know

people who will get their feet in the

door in certain situations really at the

end of the day those people are a

symptom of a much greater issue they're

not the problem the problem being even

if you got rid of the last dinner party

even if you got rid of every trust fund

baby in the music industry today people

of average or poorer economic

backgrounds can't afford to be

struggling artists in an age where your

music literally makes no money enter

stage right the second part of this

discourse a TI raade that one James

Blake went on over Twitter we will put a

lot of these tweets on the screen right

now but to sum them up efficiently James

pretty much went at all of these

platforms that uh music fans access

their favorite music through and talked

about streaming platforms essentially

putting little to no money in artist

pockets and then on top of that

platforms like Tik Tok breaking down the

uh level of attention paid to music

broadly because now everything is

getting shortened and kind of fit into

bite-sized chunks and we're not actually

appreciating songcraft and uh lengthier

pieces and dense Lush amazing production

now this is the current state of the

music industry it is very real and this

and the topic I was just discussing in

the video are very much connected we

can't sit here and be surprised at the

number of people are rich and privileged

succeeding in the music industry today

where your average person even if they

are talented even if they do have good

song ideas even if they have the

potential to be the greatest musical

artist the world has ever known they

can't afford to fund an entire 20 30

state tour that makes no money and that

they lose money on they can't afford to

spend all of their free time just

Hawking and promoting and pushing and

linking over and over and over all the

stuff they've made on social media

there's a squeeze for money there's a

squeeze for time that artists at every

level of the industry are feeling even

somebody as successful as James here if

a guy like James is feeling the pinch

who's been in the music industry for as

long as he has and also you know has a

dad who was a songwriter and a producer

too that's got to help if this guy feels

like he's being slided by this system

imagine how it feels for anybody

starting out with zero anything so I

guess let me say what I think we can do

from here one don't be outwardly angry

or hateful toward artists who uh you

know maybe come from a place of

privilege just simply based on that

background again they're not the problem

they're a symptom there would be more

artists of average means either

succeeding before them or succeeding

around them if they just had the

capacity to do so in a music industry

that paid and supported them fairly also

let me just say how weirdly parasocial

it is to presume any number of things

about an artist just based on who their

parents are and how much money they make

because even with those factors so many

different family Dynamics could be at

play next stop acting like music is free

and that artists are just really lucky

to be able to make music for a living

that they're barely actually making

artists are making music because they're

passionate to do so because they're

great at it and they're hoping to do it

for a job they're not doing it just as

like a favor to you so when you can

please directly support them and their

efforts by uh buying their merch buying

their records or going and supporting

them on a tour or something and lastly

but most importantly please get rid of

these nasty and toxic perceptions

that artists don't deserve more money

and support from the industry they're

operating within stop responding to them

with jealousy and hate whenever they are

calling out things like how crappy the

pay is from streaming services because

it's that very crappy pay that's

preventing uh people who are smaller

than them economically and Status wise

too from starting out and succeeding

from nothing when you see artists

calling out these streaming platforms or

uh doing something like getting behind

unionization efforts for example support

that get behind that and get loud about

it if the biggest artists in the

industry today got together and you know

did a boycott of music releases from

their labels or prevented their stuff

from going on streaming platforms a lot

of what's happening today could be

completely flipped on its head I mean

look at the recent accomplishments that

were made by the uh Screen Actor Guild

and the writer Guild while obviously the

agreements they ultimately came to were

not perfect and there's still a lot of

room for improvement uh those groups of

workers have way more leverage in their

industry than musicians broadly do right

now where even the biggest artists are

routinely at the mercy of their labels

and streaming platforms as it just so

happens congresswoman Rashida TB just

introduced

legislation that would pay musicians

more through the streaming services

which is obviously not a silver bullet

solution to this problem but a vast

improvement over the current state of

things and given that a lot of you guys

are music fans who want musicians to do

better if not musicians yourselves you

might actually want to get behind this

legislation passing and call your

Senators call your Congress people

because Lord knows that if you stay

silent and do nothing uh the labels are

going to Lobby against this thing and

it'll be totally buried in the dirt Make

Some Noise push for something that could

uh improve things let me know what you

guys think in the comments about all of

this over here next to my head is

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Anthony fantano music forever