The Music Game Is Rigged

     I was in the middle of writing a poem to post, however, a rant came to mind because of the poem's subject matter, music. Sure, that doesn’t shock anyone who has read my work.    
   
      Anywho, I might finish the poem because I know poems get more comments than prose on here, or so it seems in my short time at DU. Most the time it’s a feeling thing that makes me choose which form I use, and prose won out tonight.  
   
      So here’s the skinny. It’s really kinda sad that music has to be a business. What’s it cost to write a song? Nothing, not a fucking thing. It takes talent and an instrument of the songwriters choosing.    
   
      Guitar, and Piano, are the usual culprits. Lessons or some sort of instruction in learning to play. That’s the money part in the beginning. So it does cost to play.    
   
      Then it mostly costs time. Honing one’s craft and working to get proficient at the instrument. Learning songs, scales, chords, all the technical jargon. Then it’s dedication and the pursuit of wanting to compose original material.    
   
      We’re not even bringing into account the ability to sing. At least well enough to convey melody and song structure. And lastly the ability to write lyrics. Not everyone can do that.    
   
      Those musician’s who can only write music and melody need a lyricist. Example, Elton John needed Bernie Taupin. They formed a songwriting duo. Took both of them to make songs. Talent and chemistry also play a huge factor. For obvious reasons. Not everyone makes it that far.    
   
      With the gift of both. Well the sky is the limit. God has gifted that musician. Believe me. I’ve met a shit ton of lead guitar players. Most of them I knew were pretty good and a few were incredible.    
   
      I’m talking could play in the league of a, Clapton, or Van Halen. But they couldn't compose a song. For any lead player to shine, they need a song. It’s the vehicle or vessel needed to display their talents.    
   
      Songwriter's are sought after. They create the soundtracks to everyone's memories. They entertain and relate to us through song. So it’s free to create music. But somewhere down the road. Possibly around the corner. The evil will creep into the equation.    
   
      Studios and records are the bait. Distributing, promotion, the things only a corporation can offer. In the end talented people are suckers in a sense. Because they think that world won’t change them. Or they will have some amount of say in the decisions regarding their career.    
   
      Signing the contract to any label will make them a slave. Property of a corporation. They have the ability to make or brake them. Make them a star. Their golden goose. Or lock them into a purgatory of writing for others. Either way they get what they want in the end. To profit off the gift of another individual. Prostituted, manipulated, and to be whored out whenever they see fit. Them the facts.    
          
     Then there's the secret societies. Flesh debts, drug addictions, scandal, and blackmail. The second the profit and interest dries up it’s over. When they’ve torn the soul and life out of them. When the music rights are worth more than the musician or artist.    
   
      Only two choices exist. It’s either being blackballed from the industry and winding up in prison. Or they end up dead. Overdose, suicide, murder, and any other way to make a person disappear. That’s the dark side of the business. The evil of this world owns everything at the moment.