hey! so sorry for taking a minute to get back to your question. I hope it's still of any use to you.
Should music producers encourage acts to accept that the music industry is an INDUSTRY and tailor their music to fit existing markets?
I think producers (as well as management) should always support an artist's ambitions/integrity/ability and explore that to the fullest. if the artist wants to put out a very commercial product and cash in on writing bubblegum pop songs this will naturally cater to a larger audience than for example a grindcore band (thus making more $), but an artist should by no means have to compromise his/her creativity to cater to a specific market.
if the artist is more interested in maintaining artistic freedom and integrity, it's important to work together with a team that can help an artist find his/her niche in the music industry. it is no longer necessary to be signed to a record label and sell X amount of records to have some credibility as an artist as income sources have shifted from album sales to touring revenues, licensing and merchandise. independent record labels are much more valuable to artists that might not be embraced by the masses but still have a big enough following to earn a steady income as a musician.
in my opinion money should be a result of creative efforts, not the main objective.
Should music producers encourage acts to accept that the music industry is an INDUSTRY and tailor their music to fit existing markets?
I think producers (as well as management) should always support an artist's ambitions/integrity/ability and explore that to the fullest. if the artist wants to put out a very commercial product and cash in on writing bubblegum pop songs this will naturally cater to a larger audience than for example a grindcore band (thus making more $), but an artist should by no means have to compromise his/her creativity to cater to a specific market.
if the artist is more interested in maintaining artistic freedom and integrity, it's important to work together with a team that can help an artist find his/her niche in the music industry. it is no longer necessary to be signed to a record label and sell X amount of records to have some credibility as an artist as income sources have shifted from album sales to touring revenues, licensing and merchandise. independent record labels are much more valuable to artists that might not be embraced by the masses but still have a big enough following to earn a steady income as a musician.
in my opinion money should be a result of creative efforts, not the main objective.