Since 2000, the number of full-time songwriters in Nashville has fallen by 80 percent, according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Album sales plummeted below 4 million in weekly sales in August, which marked a new low point since the industry began tracking data in 1991. Streaming services are increasing in popularity but have been unable to end the spiral. The Tennessean 01/04/2015, Page A09 Nashvilles musical middle class collapses By Nate Rau nrau@tennessean As an independent songwriter, Jim Reilley lives the kind of precarious year-to-year existence that is now typical of Nashvilles working music professionals. At the same time the New Dylans began recording their first album in 18 years, Reilley, the bands co-founder, was waiting to find out whether his publishing deal would be renewed for another year. A publishing deal essentially pays a songwriter an annual salary to write songs Reilley writes dozens per year. His publisher hooks him up with other writers for co-writing sessions, pitches his songs to artists and labels and licenses them for television shows or commercials. Last year, a song Reilley co-wrote was licensed to the ABC television show Nashville. But despite his successes, in many ways, Reilleys career trajectory makes him the poster child for the troubled state of the music industry in general and the songwriting profession specifically. As world-renowned artists like Taylor Swift, the Black Keys and Keith Urban have been hoisted up as evidence of Nashvilles it-city status, the music industry has actually been in a state of unrelenting decline. Since 2000, the number of full-time songwriters in Nashville has fallen by 80 percent, according to the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Album sales plummeted below 4 million in weekly sales in August, which marked a new low point since the industry began tracking data in 1991. Streaming services are increasing in popularity but have been unable to end the spiral. The result has been the collapse of Nashvilles musical middle class blue-collar songwriters, studio musicians, producers and bands who eek out a living with the same lunch-pail approach that a construction professional brings to a work site. In fawning national publications, Nashville has emerged as a glamorous place populated with music celebrities. But in actuality, making a living at music is a rather gritty chore. Independent songwriters like Reilley work under pressure- packed year-to-year deals. Professional musicians like Chris Autry, who plays bass for the New Dylans, are constantly on the hunt for a shrinking number of well-paying gigs. And working drummers and producers such as Ken Coomer, who plays drums for the band, earn a living project by project. For each Jack White, Carrie Underwood or Kings of Leon, there are dozens of artists the national media has never heard of, but we know them well in Nashville because theyre our neighbors, co-workers, friends and family. As a creator its not the perfect environment for creation. Its Music City, but its really Music Business City, Reilley said. Reality of songwriting Every September, Reilley waits to find out if he has a job. While the late summer is pressure-packed as he awaits word on a salary, Reilleys livelihood doesnt depend solely on the publishing deal. He also works regularly as a producer mostly for aspiring artists. Since coming to Nashville in 1998, hes produced more than 50 projects. This year he got good news that his deal was extended. Thats how Ive lived for the last 16 years, living one year at a time, Reilley said. You cant help but think about that every day. NSAI Executive Director Bart Herbison said Reilley, who has had about three dozen cuts over his career, has been held up as a model by the association. Herbison said NSAI used to hand aspiring songwriters an essay written by Reilley called The Reality Check, which showed all of the networking, financial sacrifices and hard work that go into the job. NSAI chalks up the decline of the songwriting profession to the rise in music piracy, the loss of album sales and the increase in popularity of streaming services like Spotify that dont pay songwriters as well. Herbison has been advocating for more favorable federal laws to, as he describes it, pay songwriters a fair market rate for their work. Id challenge the premise that there is much of a middle class anymore, Herbison said. Its the haves and have-nots.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 19:47:43 +0000
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