by Paul Klemperer

The Dialectic of Large & Small

In the music business, as in other businesses, it is no surprise that the big fish tend to eat the little fish. This is a familiar topic from boardrooms to classrooms to post-gig rants in the back booth at Denny's. But beyond railing against the system, it is helpful to remember that in today's musical ocean the big fish need the little fish, and to some extent the little fish need the big.

The detrimental aspects of monolithic record companies are pretty clear to most of us. They favor sure-fire musical products, so they penalize creativity and eliminate individuality. They seduce rising talent with big bucks, creating a recycled army of musical whores. I say this without rancor; it's just the way it is. Obviously America and the world like this arrangement or they wouldn't spend so much money to perpetuate it.

But there is more to the equation. While the mega-corporations will throw millions of dollars to hype a musical fad, more often they respond to a new group or sound which already has a grassroots or at least a regional following. This has been the rock-n-roll fairytale since Elvis (and arguably even earlier): a group of idealistic young players get discovered and leapfrog from the local market to national and international stardom. Then, of course, come the requisite substance abuse, petty bickering, failed relationships, and high speed drunken car chases with local cops. Ah, the glamour, the romance!

At the same time, the music industry has closed ranks in the last two decades. They take fewer chances and tend to bankroll a handful of mega-stars whose sound appeals on a lowest common denominator basis. Thus, we must slog through airwaves filled with Michael Bolton, Kenny G, and so on. How do these two contradictory tendencies co-exist? It is a dialectical relationship, a sociological dance between large and small musical organizations. The big organizations don't want to take risks, while the small groups (local bands, indie labels, college radio stations, etc.) thrive on risk-taking.

For these small musical structures, be they bands, labels or production companies, financial reward is pretty low on the list of expectations. The goal is to realize a musical dream, to take a distinctive musical creation out to a real or imagined community which will appreciate and utilize it. There is a lot of power in this process. Music is ideas, energy, emotion, experience. It affects people's lives, and people are drawn to it in a primordial sort of way.

Because of its power, music is like a feral animal in the hands of large corporations. They don't know which way it will turn, whether it will bite them in the ass or lead them to a horde of truffles. But for small organizations, hormone-driven local bands, wild-eyed experimental theater owners, and the like, this feral animal is our friend. Our totem. Our source of power in the dialectic between large and small musical structures. It is important to remember this power as we confront on a daily basis all the ways our efforts are limited, diverted, and siphoned off.

As we stand poised on an arbitrary calendrical turnover (being on the verge of the millenium seems so exciting, even if it's just another drip from the leaky cosmic faucet), we can wonder what new musical developments are in the offing. Two that immediately strike me are the major shifts in demographics and in computer technology. As North and Latin American cultures move inexorably toward a greater Pan-American culture, we see a corresponding growth of Latin musical influences in even the most whitebread musical fare. The creation and dissemination of musical products becomes easier and faster with each new technological breakthrough. The record company buzz is all about downloading music on home computers. How will this be regulated? Who will get the money?

These kinds of issues will be prevalent at this year's SXSW conference. There are a lot of topics and it may be difficult to see how they interconnect, especially for those who shelled out the bucks to participate and are trying to decide where your time is best spent. That's why I offer this dialectical view. What are the power relations between large and small structures in any given situation? To answer this question can help you sift through the hype and perhaps more clearly grasp your own power.