the gutted middle class of artists
Is it just me, or does every musician now need a gimmick to succeed?
To get famous on the internet (which translates directly to reputation, ticket sales, “success” in the eyes of the world), you almost have to do something absurd just to get noticed:
- Play three guitars at the same time
- Make songs out of Craigslist ads
- Sing while dangling upside down from a building
These are attention-grabbing tricks, and they work — because the game is the attention economy. Capture attention, and you capture opportunity. Go viral, and suddenly doors open: publications want to feature you, promoters call, commercials and brand deals appear, powerful people invite you to their table.
But something about it doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe I’m old-school, maybe I’m a traditionalist. The whole “monkey dance” aspect feels like we’ve traded depth for cheap stimulation. As though art has become less about meaning and more about spectacle.
Don’t get me wrong — I love a clever viral song or a ridiculous stunt. They’re fun, they’re inventive, and sometimes they’re genuinely brilliant. But if the only two ways to “make it” are:
- Become a technical monster at the level of Chris Thile or Wynton Marsalis, or
- Become a meme musician who pumps out quick-hit content
…then what happened to the middle?
Where is the space for the musician who has something valuable to say, who practices their craft seriously, who shares work that is neither circus trick nor god-tier virtuosity?
We used to have a kind of middle class of artists — people who weren’t household names but who carried culture, who made work that mattered in their communities, who could sustain themselves without selling out to gimmicks or chasing impossible technical peaks.
It feels like the internet ecosystem has gutted that middle. It rewards the extremes and leaves little oxygen for the artists in between. And yet, that gradient matters. Those voices matter. We still need the artists who live in that space, who speak to us with honesty and craft, not just with memes or miracles.
Maybe it’s a values clash. Maybe it’s me shaking my fist like an old man. But I’d rather aim for depth than dance for scraps of attention.
