Amateur Hour

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

-Someone, circa long time ago

Let’s remove the stigma around amateur art. I’m talking about visual art, writing, and especially music! Every professional in these industries started off as just that: an amateur. That’s exactly part of what makes cultural art so good— people from humble beginnings make it. And their contribution is vital. So it’s time to stop feeling like “it’s not good enough to share” if you’re an artist. It’s time to stop rolling our eyes at Soundcloud rappers or Instagram artists or internet bloggers for that matter. This kind of stigma is useless and detrimental.

Let me just focus on music for a minute. Just because something isn’t professionally mixed and mastered doesn’t mean it’s not worth a listen. This sentiment is a serious problem in my eyes. Personal experience has shown me just how much quality content is being hidden because it’s “not ready” or it “doesn’t sound perfect.” That’s not only a huge shame for the aspiring singers and producers but also for the industry itself. Speaking from an economist’s perspective, this is a barrier to entry causing an inefficiency in the free market for music. In other words: as long as there is such a high bar for professionalism among amateur musicians, the music scene will not be as good as it can be. And that’s not good for producers or consumers.

Here’s why this is more serious than you may think. It’s a question of privilege that excludes the marginalized and the less fortunate. Professional music production requires seriously expensive equipment and often an expensive education. Most of the people who are talented enough to make a mark on the industry come from humble beginnings. Think about all of the most talented artists who don’t have enough to pay Berklee tuition or buy studio time or high tech recording equipment. They can’t pay for your attention either. But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.

Painting, writing, music, photography, film, dance, etc. That’s what the internet is so great for. If you have art to share, you can share it. It’s just a matter of transcending the stigma and going for it. Sometimes that means ignoring our families who tell us to focus on school or our current job. Sometimes it means ignoring cynics on social media who think everybody needs their opinion. Sometimes it means ignoring our own inner critic. Amateur art is art. Good amateur art is good art.

So I’ve talked the talk and to make sure I walk the walk, I’m going to produce a Soundcloud mixtape from home in the coming weeks. And you might like it or you might hate it. But I can promise you will not be disappointed at how amateur it is.

Filip, again.