I always pay attention to the future. You have to live today,no one is promised tomorrow. As I get older I'm seeing many great friends both musical and personal leave us. It sobers you up. In one sense you'd like to take some cash jump on the plane and go to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. In another sense you look towards the future and wonder what it's going to bring to you,so you are cautious. I remember making a great living in the studios of the world and saying to myself" This will change one day.Am I prepared?" I saw the coming of digital,the end of the studio scene and knew my next move was taking control and being a producer. It took awhile to take shape because nobody gives you a shot. You have to figure out the shot.I feel that as long as I'm aware and not doing anything stupid,I have a chance to make this balancing act happen.
Now we get to the music business. Forget about the record business. it hasn't found it's way yet. That may still be a ways off,but what about the real future-The Artists. I started to look up the age of some of the biggest names and legacy artists. The good news is many are still here. The bad news-time is marching on and many artists are really getting older. everything is cool for the moment but in 10 years artists that were the cornerstones of the music scene may not be performing or unfortunately alive. Paul McCartney, The Stones, The Eagles, Herbie Hancock, The members of the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Paul Simon,you get the picture. Many jazz festrivals and clubs have lost money as they were making money with artists like Michael Brecker, Joe Zawinul, Oscar Peterson etc. Promoters aren't working to help build new acts and artists for the future. I noticed it in Japan where the wonderful music fan in Japan loves american legacy artists.But many are leaving-what happens to the essence of the music business.. Who can really sustain a tour,sell out halls,arenas, stadiums. Have we built the scene for the future-I don't think so. Time is a mutha f..ker. It stands still for no-one. I would never think I'd be talking about this 30 years ago but now here we are. Live for today-enjoy your life and the people you have around it-But keep your eye on the future-We can't totally be ready for it but discussion of what is going to happen in this business in 10 years is worth preparation and discussion. Peace, Jason
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