Democratizing Music

We interview everyone from struggling artists trying to earn a buck performing all the way up to well established multi-album producers.

Background

Starting in the mid 1990s, it was suddenly feasible for musicians to begin recording at home. The quality of the results varied, but anyone with the time and a few hundred bucks could buy a simple recording device, plug in a mic and guitar, and teach themselves how to record their first demo. My first device was the BOSS BR-1180 (🗃 link) 8-track digital recorder.

Around the same time, the Napster got its chocolate in MP3’s peanut butter, and broadband internet became available in many cities. At this convergence, the music industry lost the keys that controlled musicians’ access to gaining public attention.

In the early 2000s, musicians saw entry level audio interfaces come down to affordable prices. If you had a Mac or a PC with a firewire input, you could buy a cheap interface + DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) software package like PreSonus’ FireBox (🗃 link) for a little over $200. The iPhone became a thing, and podcasts exploded. Arguably, besides affordable HD cameras coming to market, it has largely been incremental advances since then.

Equipment has gotten better and generally costs less. Software is way cheaper; manufacturers, likely driven by perfectly usable free options like Garage Band, have mostly made a “light” version of their premium DAW software available at no cost.