What's Really Destroying Rhode Islands Music Scene

We recently made a post discussing Why The Rhode Island Music Scene Is Failing and received extremely interesting responses from viewers on our Facebook page. The feedback we received helped shape a new perspective of what could be the true reason(s) behind the lack of growth and establishment of the Rhode Island music scene. As the Facebook comments from the last post suggests, our view of things aren't amongst the more popular opinions in the state, still we believe these discussions need to be had.

Due to the varying opinions given on the last post, we are going to compress the information into a list of things the people of Rhode Island believe are the issues regarding Rhode Island music:

1. There are no venues for talent to perform and build a fan base

2. The economy is negatively effecting buying power for fans of local artists/musicians

3. It's difficult for artists to compete with AI artists making songs on ChatGPT

4. The music market is oversaturated and fans don't support

5. Artists want to get paid for audiences they don't attract and seats they don't fill at venues

We are going to unpack each argument, but first we'd like to add some context. The point of the last article was to explain that artists/musicians have done a poor job of gaining and securing the attention of the Rhode Island population (over 1 million citizens). Because of this, we currently see hundreds of artists suffering from lack of overall exposure, stifling their ability to make money and establish a career in music. We believe that much of the responsibility artists who want to be successful have is pawned off or blamed on fields, businesses, and sources whom owe them no allegiance. Their idea of the music industry is to be picked up and carried to success by managers, promoters, booking agencies, labels, agents, and more. Here's our take on each point made above:

Lack Of Venues

We simply disagree that venues are the issue regarding artists success. We live in the digital age, where most individuals find products, services, hotels, flights, food, and all things under the sun to get what they want and need. What makes music any different? Most artists that Rhode Islanders listen to today were discovered on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, and other platforms that host music. So why would the argument be that venues are the reason artists can't attract and grow fans or make money?

Rhode Island also has a number of venues for artists to perform, especially in Providence. The problem is that artists don't have the fan power to fill seats and expect promoters to do their jobs for them. This is not a good business practice, as Rhode Island artists put the promoters at risk of losing money while working to guarantee they get paid. This also contributes to why promoters have flipped the script and get artists to sell their own tickets, as its the only way to prove they belong on stage and can "pack a crowd".

Poor Economy

We are not saying that times aren't hard for many Rhode Islanders when it comes to money and the states overall affordability. What we are asking is how that stops an artist from bringing attention to their music. For artists and civilians that blame the economy on their lack of success, we wonder just how much they think it actually costs to get started or make a scalable impact with their music. Much of what is the problem may not have anything to do with the economy at all if the right things are put into prospective.

AI Artists Competition

Are we really saying that what someone else is doing shuts down our ability to be creative and still be rewarded for it? If Rhode Island artists make a good enough song, are we doubting the people of the state (if the music reaches them) so much that we believe they cannot choose for themselves what they like and are willing to champion? Is local authenticity in Rhode Island truly a thing of the past because AI says so, or you?

The Music Market Is Oversaturated In Rhode Island

How is this the case if NOT ONE ARTIST HAS SECURED A SIZEABLE FAN BASE IN THE STATE!?!??!?! There literally is not one artist that everyone knows about or has heard about, so what is being saturated? If you ask us, there is an oversaturation of unheard unsuccessful artists, that's about it.

Artists Want To Get Paid For Work They Haven't Done

This one we agree with, as we lightly touched on this point earlier. If artists and over opinionated citizens of Rhode Island keep putting the blame and pressure on venues and promoters to pay them while filling the seats with an audience, why should they deal with them? The business between artists, venues, and promoters should be mutual. It's not like a popular artist from Atlanta, Miami, LA, etc. is coming to the state to perform, THEY ARE ALREADY HERE! So if they are popular, that means people already know they exist! Making the promo for events 10X easier!

Even still, it's easier for a promoter to convince people to come to a show when a potential fan says "Oh I've heard of them" or "They made my favorite song" about an artist that isn't from here. How bad is it here if no one knows the artist or their music, and they live in the same state? You guessed it, the worst! So who is truly responsible here?

In conclusion, we believe that accountability on the artists part is completely non existent in regard to what they need to get up and do to make a difference in Rhode Island. There is more we will be discussing in the future, but as always we'd love to know what you think about this.