We made it! December has finally arrived and 2020 nears its end. But despite everything, once again our hats are off to the frontline musicians, artists and players who’ve saved our lives by soundtracking the silver lining to this horror show of a year. This year’s playlist is a demonstration that quality music is still being made and it’s a testament to both the resilience of artists to produce in extreme circumstances as well as the all encompassing nature of the art itself. It’s time now to take stock of what we have and really celebrate the best of what this year has brought us.
But first, please allow me this platform to address an unsettling situation for the music industry. There’s unlikely been a tougher year in living memory for musicians. Since the onslaught of streaming, the live scene has been long recognised as the financial saving grace for artists, a means to recoup what decreasing physical sales have taken away. Now this year, that has been taken away too. Having a knock on effect, of course, to all road crew, venue staff and the many others who rely on the live music network for employment. Without the live music financial stream, the structure that is supposed to sustain the industry is crumbling, the ability to produce is being stretched to breaking and there is real danger of cutting off the well of music that we all need to drink from.
Petitions and legal bids are ongoing against streaming services to look again at their policies and readdress the balance for fair remuneration, but the creatives whose work enriches all of our lives are still losing out. As thousands of online groups scream for the return of live music and copious hashtags fight for the right to party, the makers of the music are literally going hungry and the future of an art form that means so much and respected so little is at real threat of disappearing. Yes, if you have shelter, be appreciative. Yes, if you have food, recognise that. Yes, if you have loved ones, cherish them. But also, if you like music, make sure you buy some. Don’t cash in your cancelled gig tickets, instead book more ahead to help ensure its survival. Look out for the brilliant fundraising project Whole Lotta Roadies, released on 18th December. A compilation by Rod Jones of Idlewild of covers by road crews to raise money for road crews, featuring the likes of The Rezillos, Arab Strap and The Proclaimers lending their vocal talents to their own covers.
I grant you it’s an arguably hypocritical statement from a playlist blog that uses free streaming services but most of the industry now agree that the establishing of streaming platforms has now gone so far as to make withdrawing them a bigger risk to the majority of acts. Many bands and artists still need that platform to highlight their work but the longer they are taken advantage of and not recognised as the primary reason for the overall success of it all, the sooner production will slow and art will dry up. Not all of it of course, those whose tastes are limited to major label pop dictation will probably be forever catered for and so can continue to want only for what they are given. But if your capacity lies anywhere beyond that then you are truly obligated to invest.
So here’s Tracksuite’s take on the top 50 tunes of the past year. As always, it comes in hand crafted playlist form. The vast majority of these artists are emergent and indie crafts people who have unlikely yet bought their first yacht. They are the ones aforementioned, struggling to make ends meet and find the parity between the level of quality in their art and in their bank account. So, please proceed to enjoy the genius on show but remember to delve deeper and cough up where you can.
Dig in. Best Albums of 2020 coming soon…
Love and Hope
D@Tracksuite