Sellout
Jerry’s post about the violinist Nicola Benedetti, who might sell more albums based on sex appeal rather than her talent as a musician, raises an important question: What is our goal as musicians? To sell albums or to make art?
The answer to this question would probably vary depending on who was asked. Posed to the artist, I’m pretty sure the answer would be the latter. But directed at the president of a big-name record company, I bet the answer might be different. And probably at odds with his or her artists’ aims.
To her credit, Ms. Benedetti seems to understand the possible ramifications of her recent deal–her spokesman Ian Roberts issued the following statement: “Nicola wants to keep to her core of classical music, but modernise without losing standards.” And just what would happen if she began to lose her standards? Well, she’d run the risk of being branded a “sellout” by both peers and critics, if they haven’t already made that judgement.
The music business has it’s fair share of these artists, and each instrument can most likely claim at least one. Among saxophonists, Kenny G as long been the bearer of this burden (all the way to the bank, I might add!). The truth is that many of these so-called “sellouts” are fine musicians, Mr. Gorlick included. They’ve simply chosen a path in music that might be a bit more lucrative than the path that you or I have chosen.
But the issue then becomes the hype or overhype surrounding the artists. This is precisely why Anthony Tommasini wrote such a scathing review of Lang Lang’s Carnegie Hall recital in The New York Times. Because Deutsche Grammophon had built up such expectations about the event, who can fault Mr. Tommasini for his reaction when, to his ears, the performance didn’t live up to the hype?
Performers and composers want to make music and share their art with the public. Record companies want to sell albums. In a way, these two goals are quite simila—at their core they both are about allowing people to enjoy music. Yet they couldn’t be more different. Is there a way to bridge the gap between these competing aims or perhaps just create more common ground?