I guess if I'm going to be a columnist for SG, I'm going to have to talk about something I know well. I go back and forth about one particular subject because I don't want to bite the hand that feeds. I don't want to piss people off to the point where they completely stop buying my records, and I don't want to come off as a whiny musician. I love what I do and I love my life but the fact is, the music industry is in serious trouble. In the age of government bail-outs, who is going to take care of the music business? Who is going to bail us out?

For the past 10 years between file sharing online, people copying their CDs for friends, blatant piracy and lesser quality product, the music industry has been taking a massive beating. U2's manager Paul McGuiness said the industry is on its way to oblivion in the next couple of years. It goes down about 20% in volume every year. Even though music is more popular than ever, our industry is failing miserably. So what roles do the audience, the musicians and the technology play in all of this?

Well, the mainstream music audience is acting like sheep. They are fine with three (now four) judges once a week picking out the safest, cleanest singers out there and re-packaging them like in a factory. The audience eats it up, buys the "Idol's" records and turns the reality star into a household name.

If you're an independent, small band, there's no money to invest to go deep into the promotion of your record. It's hard to get a real shot. Even on a major label, it's difficult for anyone who's not a multi-platinum act because you'll only get one chance for a hit single. If you don't catch that break, you'll be sent packing.

During better days, a young Bruce Springsteen released two records at the beginning of his career that completely stiffed. By then, his record company had invested millions of dollars in him, and were committed to him because someone believed. If it were today, they might have given up and dropped him. By his third record, Springsteen got it right and created Born to Run. This kind of investment and commitment by a label will never be seen again. There is no artist development. There is no patience. There is no place for an artist to grow in today's musical climate.

Today, musicians have got to learn how to make records cheaply, efficiently and quickly. In Filter's world, I've learned how to make records for 1/10th of what I used to spend on a single video. And I don't get to pocket all of the money made from sales. I am not alone in this. I have to pay my engineers, producers, band members, managers, agents, touring crew, and many, many more. It's not just one guy sitting with a mic and a guitar. It takes a whole team of people to create, release, and promote an album. I consider myself lucky to see any profit at all. Like you, I'm just happy to keep a roof over my head and put food out on the table for my family.

Advances in technology have made it incredibly easy to make records, which helps, but it's also made it incredibly easy to steal records. You can grab someone's CD, put it in your laptop and burn 100 copies of that very CD. And file sharing? People can find whatever they want on the internet and simply take it. It has devalued music to the point that people do not even believe they are doing anything wrong. Back in my day, if you wanted to steal music, you had to go into a record shop, pick up a CD, fucking punch someone in the face and run out of the store with it-or hide it under your jacket like a common thief. Every time this happens, it gives one less band a realistic shot at greatness, it cuts the salary of an engineer or a guitar player, it perpetuates a very ugly downward cycle that I unfortunately don't see stopping anytime soon.

It is really up to everyone to be decent and responsible, something the majority of society has a problem doing. Can the artists make better financial decisions? Can the fans be more honest about how they get the music? We have to work together to make the music industry work because we aren't getting a bailout anytime soon.


Richard Patrick is the frontman for the rock band Filter. Their latest album, Anthems for the Damned, which features the single "Soldiers of Misfortune," is in stores now. Look out for their greatest hits collection, The Very Best Things (1995-2008), which will be available on March 31. Click HERE for more info.