The Fingertips Q&A: Dirk Darmstaedter

THE FINGERTIPS Q&A

Dirk Darmstaedter

September 2008

For all the online discussion in recent years about the so-called "future of music," it occurs to me that we rarely if ever hear a lot about what musicians themselves have to say. And I mean work-a-day musicians who are out there seeking a living wage in the middle of the indie jungle. Fingertips would like to correct this problem, via a short, recurring Q&A feature. Here, each time, a real, working, album-making musician will answer a few direct questions about the current state of music in the 21st century, and where things may be going.

Last month we kicked off the Fingertips Q&A with an email conversation with singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke. The series continues in September with Dirk Darmstaedter, a Hamburg, Germany-based singer/songwriter who spent his formative years in Teaneck, New Jersey. He hit it big in Europe with his band The Jeremy Days in the late '80s; they remained together through 1995. Since then, Darmstaedter has released a variety of albums as a solo artist. He also co-founded Tapete Records, a record label notable for its good taste, in 2002. "We Are Waves," a song from Dirk's Our Favorite City CD, was featured on Fingertips in June 2007.

Q: Let's say you're in charge of everything, and the music industry will work, moving forward, exactly how you want it to. What would you change right away? Do digital downloads exist? Do free digital downloads exist?

A: Really, who's to say? I believe anyone who really thinks they have a clue how this whole thing is gonna work in the future is either faking it or really doesn't know what he or she is talking about. Digital downloads, yes. Free digital downloads, yes, definitely. Subscription-based services, sure. Illegal downloads, they are here to stay. Vinyl...yes, but this alone will save no one. CDs, I can live without. But if so, then in a very special, premium, artistically enhanced way.

Can you stop a moving train? I mean, people's ways of listening and living with music have changed so much in the last 10 years. We can sit around and fret that people won't take the time to listen to the album in its entirety anymore or we can just get on with things, ask our kids how they'd like to get their music in the future, be positive and try every new angle that presents itself to us. Try, fail, try again, fail...and someday, someone will find the answers.

Q: You're both a musician and a record label executive. From your unique position on both sides of the fence, which side do you think needs more sense talked into them here in the 21st century, musicians or label honchos? And why?

A: Hm. Both of course, since the lines are blurred at best, these days. I mean, lots of musicians are their own labels, and label people have their own bands. Everybody needs to be searching for new, creative ways ahead from their very own point of view, because everything is changing. Who knows who will come up with answers. Maybe the IT guy next door, or the kid flipping burgers.

Q: Ringtones: good or evil?

A: Not my thing at all, really. But, if it works for some people, why not? Right now, nothing is good or evil. Since the rules that got us here are no longer valid we should totally embrace a "no rules" ethic. The time is for trying stuff out. If things don't work, regroup and try again. Any kind of "evil" attributes just stop people from trying.

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