As he prepares to take the band on the road for the remaining fourteen dates of the 'Moonlight tour', we talk to Joshua Burnell about touring logistics and making music as an independent artist.
FT: You are about to embark on the ‘Moonlight Tour’. Without too many spoilers, what can the audience expect from this tour?
JB: Outrageous shirts. This is a given. I’ve also got some new songs I’m extremely excited to blast out on stage, mixed in with the favourites. There may even be a new instrument thrown into the mix… This year has been one of transition – both in terms of my personal life and musically – and I feel like I’m going to come out of it with a lot of new songs and sounds. There’s something so exciting about hearing a song take shape, you know? Being at the incarnation of something that might become a much bigger song later.
FT: Behind the scenes, how difficult is it organize and manage a band consisting of yourself and five others on the road?
JB: It is a constant barrage of admin (who knew music would just be another office job in disguise!) but the flip side is that I’m grateful to have so many people supporting me. Everyone has their own unique set of talents they bring to the table. I’m so lucky to have Phil Simpson as my agent, Nathan is a tech wizard, Fe books hotels, Olly’s great at soldering and fixing broken gear . We sometimes have one of my good pals Ryan Willis (AKA Flagboi) waving a flag and just generally being positive and helpful. He brought me a cup of tea when I’d almost lost my voice chatting to audience members after the show and it’s little gestures and moments of initiative like that that make me feel so unbelievably grateful to the people around me.
There is a disgustingly long list of jobs I do which I won’t list here because it would be chronically dull for you reading this. I’m running a small business and any business owner has a heap of jobs, so this is no different, really. The most difficult part is finding the time to manage the workload, because I have to be working various other jobs to be able to afford to make and tour the music!
My fans are also incredibly supportive; I’m sure as the numbers of engaged followers keeps growing, the easier it will become.
FT: As an independent artist how hard do you find recording and releasing music these days?
JB: Recording has always been hard, but to me, that is the fun bit! I’ve always loved recording and producing, and with years of practise and (again, help from friends) I’m at the stage where I can do the production and mixing myself. It also makes it affordable.
Releasing music has never been easier – it is promoting it and breaking even that is nearly impossibly difficult. Approximately 120,000 songs are released every day. Every day. So how do you make sure your music doesn’t just get lost in the stream?
FT: Do you find your relationship with streaming services useful for getting your music out there, even though they run the risk of devaluing the physical product?
JB: It is an unfortunate myth that streaming services help deliver music to new listeners. There is an enormous caveat that I’ll talk about in a moment. But you know me – I prefer to find solutions rather than whinging! So I choose to see streaming as one small part of my music eco-system and have placed most of my efforts into other, more exciting places. If you follow my music, you’ll know the party’s not on Spotify!
I has taken me a while to educate myself to get to this point, and I think it is important we spread a truthful picture as widely as possible. Here’s a paraphrasing of what many videos, podcasts and conversations have taught me:
Streaming services are tech companies; not music companies. They’ve found two huge gaps in the market:
1) the public wants to have access to all of humanity’s music for cheap.
2) aspiring musicians are desperate to be heard.
Streaming services profit off both these groups.
It’s a similar business model to dating apps: you pay a small subscription to browse; you pay more to be discovered.
Personally, I have very rarely spoken to someone who has come to a show because they found my music via streaming. To make streaming work effectively, you have to pay thousands in advertising or be lucky. I’m not going to wait for luck to fall from the sky, so I’m paying.
For musicians, streaming is ultimately a paid advertising service.
Huge acts and labels make money from streaming royalties but they are the minority at the top.
Then there’s the plot twist! Musicians are expected to have high streaming numbers to attract venues, promoters and festivals so you can’t opt-out; you have to have some music on there and you have to make it do well. So do you ask people to ditch streaming and buy CDs and vinyl? Or do you tell them to stream like crazy to help your numbers? Or both? But that’s a lot of pressure for people who are just trying to live their lives and enjoy music.
I find it frustrating, exhausting but also fascinating. I could ramble about this for a long time so I’ll stop! If you want to know more, Google ‘how much does a stream on Spotify pay’ and enjoy the many rabbit holes you’ll find.
FT: Are audiences are still buying physical music and other merch at gigs?
JB: Fewer and fewer people buy physical music these days. Some people come over to me, take a picture of the merch and say they’ll stream it. Ouch. But I don’t really blame them. You can’t fight what people want to do.
They say 10% of an audience buys merchandise. Sometimes it is more sometimes it is less. All I know is those who choose to are the only reason I’m still able to make music now.
Some people can’t afford to buy merch and I don’t want anyone to feel guilty for not buying it. People should buy music if they are able to and if buying it will enrich their lives.
FT: If fans can’t get to a show, what other way can they support you?
JB: Patreon! After that last bit, I’m excited to talk about something that is going great! I recently had a big push on my Patreon page and I now have enough monthly subscribers to enable me to hire a recording studio every single Monday. The more it grows, the more I’ll be able to do. I’m so lucky; it is literally life-changing for me.
This is an incredible example of how technology can be transformative and empowering for artists. If people aren’t familiar with it, Patreon allows people who value art (and more importantly, artists) to choose to pay for it. I do it as a monthly subscription and people can choose their tier. This isn’t a new thing: most of the great composers and musicians in history all had patrons. Art has only existed because those who appreciate it have chosen to support it so it can continue to happen.
Some music will be exclusive to Patreon, and some will go out in all the usual places. Honestly, I think this is the model that most artists will have to adopt in order to keep making their art and I have no problems with that. I think it’s a good example of technology allowing artists to be in control.
Instead of talking about how terrible streaming is, we should all be talking about how essential patronage is!
If people want to get involved, here is the link! www.patreon.com/joshuaburnell
FT: You got to play the Cropredy Festival with the band in 2023. Was it as much fun to play as it looked in the film that you recently released?
JB: Yes. It was one of the best days of my life. Having that video is so special because not only does it take me right back there in glistening 4K, but also because of all the different camera angles, it’s almost better than my memories!
FT: Tell me about ‘The Road to The Royal Albert Hall’
JB: It’s always been my dream to play a headline show at the Royal Albert Hall. If we get enough people on a mailing list who would be willing to make to the journey, I’ll try and make it happen.
We’d need to prove to the RAH that we’re serious though, so even when we get the numbers, I’ll be relying on everyone to turn out to sell out a tour beforehand.
I’m not sure the promoters at the Albert Hall would even look at my email unless they were seeing a tour poster covered in big, red SOLD OUT letters on every show.
It’s an enormously difficult dream to achieve, but I’ve only got one life, so I’m going to spend it trying to make this happen. If I manage, it won’t just be my success, or the band’s success: it’ll be shared by every single person in the building.
If people want to join the quest, they can sign up here
FT: With 2024 coming to an end how is the diary looking for 2025?
JB: It is already filling up! I can’t share all the details but there are already festivals coming in and we’re going to try something a bit different with the tour dates. Watch this space!
FT: Thanks for taking the time to chat and I’ll see you soon.
JB: It has been a pleasure as always – thank you for supporting artists such as myself!