Before the Music Dies

Colour, DIGIBETA
USA, 2006, 95 min
Section: 2009: A Musical Odyssey

Synopsis

Never have so few companies controlled so much of the music played on the radio and sold at retail stores. At the same time, there are more remarkable bands and more ways to discover their music than ever. Music seems to have split in two – the homogeneous corporate product which is spoonfed to consumers, and the diverse independent music that finds devoted fans online and at clubs across the country. This film tells the story of American music at this very faultline. Two friends, a filmmaker and producer, travel across the USA hoping to understand why mainstream music seems so packaged and repetitive, and whether corporations really have the power to silence musical innovation. The answers they find on this journey (ultimately signals of a promising future) are what makes the film both riveting and exhilarating. At the heart of the film are interviews with musicians, industry insiders and music critics, along with appearances and performances from dozens of musicians, ranging from The Dave Matthews Band, Erykah Badu, Elvis Costello and Calexico, to Seattle street performers and Mississippi gospel singers.

About the director

Andrew Shapter is an award-winning photographer, well known in the USA and internationally. His assignments with the music world in the past 15 years have included everything from major labels to MTV. After years of working in pop music, Shapter began to understand the increasing struggle musicians faced while maintaining their careers. He turned his lens on the industry itself, examining its current state and its future. Before the Music Dies, screened at the SXSW, Edinburgh and Boston festivals, is Shapter’s feature debut.