The margin of error for mainstream success in popular music has always been tremendously small. The highest attainable level has always been seen as attaining mega superstar status, turning one’s life into an episode of MTV Cribs, and generally ballin’ out of control. However, it would appear that in the midst of the greatest American economic downtown in nearly 80+ years and the record industry’s long collapse that the nature of “success” in music has been amended. Lets call them the “Blue Collar Rockers.” These guys have no major record deal (or any deal in some cases), are highly accessible, constantly performing and pushing some new project (usually for free) in getting their name out there and growing a sustainable fanbase along the way. Is thriving in this environment and managing to survive comfortably rather than living extravagantly now a measure of success? Is the destruction of the traditional “rock star” concept good for music, or do we need to revitalize it in an attempt to rescue sagging record sales? Please keep reading…

As a Washington, DC resident, 2009 was the year where two major acts, rock band US Royalty and rapper Wale were expected by locals to become major mainstream acts and bankable superstars. US Royalty’s John Thornley was lauded by many respected journalists as having the “it” factor that would carry the southern rock revivalists with an edge over the top; Wale was cosigned by vaunted producer Mark Ronson and a deal with Roc Nation. Of course, now it’s 2010 and US Royalty are still touring, playing and recording a new record in LA. They’re success has afforded them comfort,  but superstars they are not. Wale? His 2009 album Attention Deficit debut unfortunately stumbled mightily out the gate and in 2010 he wisely went back to what had brought his greatest success, the mixtape. Wale’s More About Nothing (Wale’s 7^th mixtape) in it’s first day of availability quintupled Attention Deficit’s first week album sales and drew even more fans to him and his music. So 2009 didn’t yield the sort of wild success the record industry was banking on for either of those DC based artists. No mansions, no private jets and no Bentley coups. It did however lead both to a professional stature where they are now being paid to do what they love, have a great and growing fanbase and most importantly living comfortably from it. So is that an OK dream to aspire to now? Or is being a “Rock Star” something artists should pine to be?

On another level, Eminem’s latest release, Recovery, has gone double platinum in just under three months, which proves that Eminem still has a lot of fans willing to pay for his music. As a superstar from an era of comparative bliss and financial prosperity, are his album sales more a reflection of nostalgic conditioning, or is “Love the Way You Lie” really as great as “The Real Slim Shady?”

Nobody gets to be a recording artist because they need “a job.” Most people leave real  jobs and financial security to pursue their dreams and the artistic freedom being a musician provides. So will the new generation be as inclined to leave a decent-to-well paying desk job to pursue that “Rock Star” dream when the odds of them or anyone achieving the sort of fame and stature of a Jay-Z or the Rolling Stones is even less likely as we head further and further into the future?  Or is it satisfying to just be able to just put “musician” on a tax return and really mean it? So I wonder, is there something not fulfilling about being an artist like Wale? Is Wale unfulfilled with being Wale? Is the apex of success to someone like him reaching a Jigga level of celebrity or is it a more grounded reality these days?

The mixtape market is perpetually flooded with free material daily… yet in that vast ocean where a listener’s choices are uninhibited by finances, people are still flocking in droves to Wale. So is having seven extremely successful free releases and one less successful mainstream album really that bad? Is there even a problem with giving away scads of well produced music for free in hopes that this can either be personally recouped by touring,  merchandising and maybe even some licensing? Just because it’s free doesn’t mean people will listen to it, care about it or want more of it. Sure this may no longer realistically afford an artist to live the Big Meech and Larry Hoover lifestyle, but there was a time when being an artist not all over MTV or the cover of Spin meant you could barley afford to live the Duane Reade and Harris Teeter lifestyle.

I don’t know about you but I take some level of comfort in knowing that maybe, just maybe we’re approaching a time where attaining a ridiculous level of fame is no longer a prerequisite to being living out your life happily as an artist.

- Marcus Dowling