Patronism... is that even a word?

First, let me answer.  No.  Patronism is a neologism, a word I made up when I needed a URL.  And thank god it was available.  But that's not what this blog is about.

What is Patronism?  You could say it all started with Napster.  Or over the past century as the major record labels came to view themselves as more important than the artists creating content.  Or that it really started when Mozart died in 1791.  Or you could go back another 400 years to Florence, where Cosimo de'Medici began creating the funding structure that brought us the renaissance.  Or you could go back even further to the Caesars, the Greeks, or the Egyptians...

But that much perspective can sometimes blunt the point, which is this:  Until the late 18th century artists were only able to make a living because of patrons.

But over the past 300 years, the music industry grew around a model that focuses on the artifacts of music - CD's, music videos, tee shirts, stickers - and not on the music itself.  When Napster launched in 1997, it unraveled the old model and put distribution in the hands of the fans.  Without being able to control distribution, record labels could no longer control pricing.  Without money flowing in from the sale of those products, they have been investing less money into fewer artists.  The current model is unraveling.

That's why Patronism was born, or reborn.  It is a tool for independent artists to create a sustainable living just like the model of old.  Instead of focusing on writing a "hit" or getting a "label deal "musicians can focus on what they do best:

  1.    Writing great music
  2.    Playing great shows
  3.    Connecting with fans

More stable income for compelling artists leads to more production of new work.  That's what Patronism does, musicians make music, patrons make music happen.  And Patronism provides the platform for the relationship between the two.