Life Goes Om

2022 saw an exponential increase in the number of songs uploaded to the internet. The actual number is a bit hard to quantify, but it's a lot; hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

    Certainly it suggests the number of people who believe that a successful career for themselves as musicians is plausible, regardless of ability, experience or effort. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the phenomenon of the viral Tik Tok hit, the YouTube star, and the other ways in which musicians become known to the public through the internet. Also it's cheap and easy to upload content to the various streaming sites. However, the algorithm only promotes material that gleans views, like the plethora of videos featuring child prodigies who "shred" on guitar. The flood of recordings and videos has also seen the emergence of gatekeeper sites that review, promote and run ads for artists.

    Previously one could only have success by being on the radio and live performances. TV and the music video changed that, and online streaming took it to another level altogether. It's become absolutely essential that a musician have a prolific online presence, constantly releasing new content and building a big library of tracks and videos.

Rick on YouTube

    I do have a YouTube channel but I haven't put a lot of videos on it, at least so far. 

     Currently I have 8 videos posted. Incidentally, there are also some songs from "Nick Millward", that YouTube mistakenly added to my playlist. I've been unsuccessful to get them to correct this despite several tries. Whatever...It's YouTube, which like all the streaming entities somehow manage to make you feel totally insignificant unless you have tens of thousands of followers.

    So I begin this year with the question: Should I do more online? Could it make a difference for me, not necessarily to make money, but to increase exposure of my music? Perhaps a video could go viral and bring some well deserved international fame...maybe?

    I may be feeling some FOMO. As they say, "Your chances of winning the lottery are the same if you play or not", which seems to apply to online success as well. I perform several times a month, and I'm thinking maybe this is an opportunity to make some videos for my channel. It's not that much more effort to set up my phone and film a couple of songs, exactly the home made quality that is ubiquitous. We'll see, it's something to consider.

    The post-COVID period has seen a tidal wave of creative product wash across the market from projects done in quarantine, (one prominent singer just put out 23 new songs and announced a 50 city tour) as is mine, but contrarily though I'm hopeful, I don't yet feel that the situation calls for any celebration or indicates a return to normalcy. Meanwhile my latest project is still waiting for the proper moment to release into the flood. 

    Sometimes it feels like times are more more perilous now that when the virus was running amok. But sitting idle doesn't seem right either. Life must go on, or rather Life goes on, regardless. Say hello to The New Year...same as the Old Year?

As I prepare to post this month's blog I'm sad to hear of the loss of the British guitar genius Jeff Beck. His first solo album, "Truth" was one of my earliest influences, and I followed him throughout his career. in fact, "Astronomy" is in part a homage to his groundbreaking rock jazz album, "Blow by Blow.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

Singer/Songwriter Rick Millward lived and worked on the West Coast until moving to Nashville in 2000. He was part of the Music City songwriter community, collaborating with other artists and producing projects in his boutique studio, including two EMMY nominated soundtracks. Now in Southern Oregon, Rick has discovered a vibrant local music scene centered around the many tasting rooms. 

His records: "Limited Edition", "Home for Good", and “Loveland” are available on Spotify and other streaming platforms. His new recordings, "Astronomy", will be released later this year.

LOVELAND ON SPOTIFY