- Jason Allen recently won an art competition with an AI-generated piece—just one example of our current culture boom time.
- Our culture is just as important as politics, maybe even more so. And right now, some harsh truth-telling is needed.
- The metrics for our culture have never been larger. A hundred thousand songs are uploaded daily to streaming platforms, 1.7 million books were self-published last year, 2,500 videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and there are now 3 million podcasts.
- The supply of culture is huge, but the demand side of the equation is ugly. In many cases, the metrics have been shrinking or even collapsing, and there is an ocean of stuff out there, but consumers sip it through a narrow straw.
- The most obvious saviors of culture are the large culture businesses, but they are the most cautious and risk-averse players in the whole culture ecosystem. They give grants to create more songs and poems and plays and books, but they hardly care one jot about building a smart, discerning audience for culture.
- The future of culture lies in alternative culture, with platforms like podcasts, Bandcamp albums, YouTube channels, and Substacks. There are 36 YouTube channels with more than 50 million subscribers, and some of these are growing exponentially.
- MrBeast has launched new music acts, and is likely to become a bigger force than Sony and Universal Music Group combined.
- There are many other successful stories in alternative culture, although their metrics are often kept private.
- Hundreds of start-ups are trying to revitalize our culture.
- Alternative people and platforms are the only successful audience development force in contemporary culture.
- We need a culture with hundreds or thousands of organizations doing audience development and outreach.
- The MacArthur Foundation and other organizations should play a role in bringing good music, writing, film, and painting to a million people.
- The real question is whether the huge dinosaurs like major record labels or movie studios will get on board.
- We should support the arts by becoming discerning members of the audience.
Published February 18, 2023
Visit The Free Press to read Ted Gioia’s original post America’s Culture Is Booming. Really.
