Published: October 22, 2024
"Everything's already been done, and your job is to find a new way to do it.
Rick Rubin noted how people in the streaming age don't have the same relationships with their favorite albums like they did in the past, and noted how the key to true originality lies in one's unique ability to interpret and build on existing trends.
Although streaming undeniably introduced a whole new world of convenience for the average listener, many professional musicians claim its advent turned the industry upside down, while some services regularly come under fire for what is perceived as the unfair payment of artists. Al Di Meola, for instance, recently claimed that "the record industry is close to dead", and that up-and-coming artists "will never get to experience their records in a store", while "the record companies are not going to put money into building a career and supporting a tour."
Either way, streaming seems to be here to stay, and Rick Rubin doesn't seem to have a problem with it. Asked in a recent interview with Rick Beato whether he believes "music is devalued" in a world where "phones can carry all types of music", the producer said:
"I think both are true. I think the convenience is incredible. I love being able to listen to whatever I want, whenever I want, wherever I am. It has changed the way we listen [to music]. In the past, when you would buy a particular album, and live with that album, you had a different relationship to it than when it's something that's just in the stream. And even today, when a new album by an album artist that I love comes out, I probably don't listen to it as much as I would have in those days."
"I don't know if it's a negative or a positive. It just is what it is. I suppose I could choose to force myself to listen as much as I used to, but this feels okay."
The iconic producer was also asked whether he believes it's possible to come up with anything truly original in 2024, after so much different music has already had its time under the spotlight. According to Rubin, it's all about how you do something:
"Everything's already been done, and your job is to find a new way to do it. And it happens all the time. One of the magic pieces of the formula is when things that are not normally put together, *are* put together — the example of Aerosmith and Run DMC. That, again, wasn't done with the idea of it being popular, but it was an unusual combination. And the unusual combination allowed something to happen."
"Led Zeppelin have a song called 'D'yer Mak'er'. I didn't know this, but that's their attempt at playing reggae. It doesn't sound like reggae. No, it sounds like a cool Led Zeppelin song. So, it's different because *they're* different; they interpret music in their way. So, starting with things that exist in the world, and putting them through your filter, you might find something."
