Inside the Music Industry in Athens
By CJ Walker Athens is a vibrant city located in the northeastern part of Georgia. The town is known to have an extremely dynamic music scene, but that has not always been the case. In the past 30 years, the music scene in Athens has definitely witnessed a rapid growth. “I was here in 1981 when it was a tiny thing with about 10 or 15 bands and a couple of little places the bands could play at,” said David Barbe, director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia. “It has blown up into this huge thing where there are dozens of places to play downtown and hundreds of bands and it’s now a place where touring acts around the world want to come. If I had to pick one word to describe Athens music scene, it would be thriving.” Though the music scene is constantly growing in this city, some people feel as if the industry side of the business isn’t as appreciated as it should be. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry or IFPI, revenue for artists has been at a stagnant for the past ten years and as of recently it has steadily declined 10.5 per cent to $3.0 billion. There are many opportunities for artists in Athens to be heard and venues for them to showcase their work, but according to Jesse Houle, support staff at Nuci’s Space, their work isn’t getting valued. “We live in a town that doesn’t value labor very well and our culture doesn’t value art as labor so the intersection of those two means that we have very few people whose music is valued,” said Houle. Because of this reason, there is a strong bond between the musicians in Athens. They want to see each other grow and do whatever possible to help one another. “It seems that the people who are musicians in Athens are supportive of each other,” said Dave Chamberlain, volunteer coordinator at Nuci’s Space. “It doesn’t seem cutthroat, competitive or anything like that. It seems pretty tight-knit.” Tight-knit is the perfect word to describe the music industry in this quaint town. Everyday a new band is formed and Athens is a place where they can find their voice and have the support of many. Though there is some room for improvement, the music scene in Athens is nowhere near finished growing.
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