The Power of Music, Modern Society, and Our Goal
Music gives us a lot of benefits ,Healing a broken heart, gives us the courage to overcome fears, or – like a flash of lightning in the darkest of nights – Inspiring us to live.
At the same time, music also has the power to transcend words. That’s probably the reason that music is loved beyond the boundaries of country, race, and era. Music enriches people’s hearts and transcends ages and genders to greatly contribute to the creation of bonds between people from all generations and all parts of the world.
However, as our society changes dramatically, music, its values, and the world around it have also changed significantly, giving rise to new challenges that have never existed before. Regarding this, we feel that there are three important social issues that should be dealt with.
Commercialism-driven Mass Production & Mass Consumption of Music
At some point, music has become commercialized and the music industry began mass producing it, putting profits before a commitment to the music itself. The Internet technology makes this trend more accelerated and music has come to be mass consumed as if it were a disposable product.
On top of that, listeners have been ingrained with the value of “the newer, the better” from the mass media, video view counts, rankings, and other commercial propaganda, making them increasingly inclined to jump onto the next newest thing. As a result of this, musicians are more focused on sales and standing out as a part of an increasingly stronger tendency to emphasize elements other than inherent musicality, such as looks, personas, and marketability.
With the development of such a music market, opportunities to attract attention are greatly reduced for musicians with real performance skills harnessed through the blood, sweat, and tears of effort and those with a power of expression that pours out from the bottom of their hearts, creating a situation where it’s harder for them to be appreciated.
This current environment where genuinely talented musicians are losing opportunities to be appreciated is not only a shame but can be considered a significant social loss.
Impact of the Spread of Digital Technology on Music
Not only can people who have never touched a musical instrument achieve perfect pitch and rhythm as long as they have the ability to use an app, but even the tone of recorded voices and instruments can be modified in post-processing. Because of this, it is possible to create sounds that can sufficiently pass as “music” without possessing sufficient singing or playing ability. This cutting-edge technology allows anyone to easily enjoy music production, which in itself is a wonderful thing in the sense that it makes music more accessible to a greater number of people.
On the other hand, this is also potentially making music more uniform and leading to fewer songs that have that human touch to them. This situation is resulting in a decline in musicians’ ability to perform and express themselves which in turn causes a loss of the artistic sensibilities of unique sounds, high-quality performances, and passion for music. We also can’t help but feel this is contributing to a deterioration of the happiness, anger, sadness, pleasure, and other emotional responses in the hearts of those who enjoy music and society as a whole.
Losses in Opportunities from Long-term Recession & Economic Disparity
In the midst of a recession that has been ongoing for many years, music is becoming something that only those who are well-off can indulge themselves in. This economic disparity is expected to widen in the future, making things bleaker for equal opportunities to experience and learn about music.
There are people who want to learn but can’t afford lessons, people who want to play but can’t afford instruments, and people who want to practice but can’t find a place where they don’t have to worry about the noise for neighborhood. As a result, not only young children and adolescents but even adults are increasingly unable to continue being involved in music without the financial means to do so and are forced to give it up, no matter how much talent or drive they have.
Goal of the Music Promotion Project
In light of these social trends, we believe that as long as someone has a pure love of sound in their heart and the talent to express it, they should have a system in place where they can be fairly appreciated. We also aim to support musicians who can create unique and high-quality music without relying on machines or AI by offering them dreams and hope.
In addition, our goal is to create opportunities to reclaim the human touch in music that has been lost due to the spread of digital technology by establishing a “second-chance system” that supports those with the passion and talent for music who had to give up their dreams midway for financial reasons.
We strive to contribute to the establishment of a society that enriches people’s hearts through music by restoring a society in which more people can enjoy the creation and performance of music and have their passion and ability appreciated regardless of their backgrounds.
Through our work, we will also actively engage with legendary musicians overseas and music enthusiasts in general to build the ranks of those who love genuine music. Our wish is to pass down this fantastic music to our children’s generation, their children’s generation, and beyond.
Music Encouragement Association of Japan
