I shouldn’t really be discouraging people who come to my studio to make music recordings with a view to commercialising them. Providing services is what we do here. What folks do with their work is their choice. And who the hell am I to advise against having a go at something. Any shot at success in the arts is a long shot. Always was.

But I have to say: being an unknown and releasing a music album these days makes about as much commercial sense as releasing your personal photograph album. If you proposed to do that everyone would look at you incredulously. Many think that any given music recording has a commercial value. It hardly ever did and does so even less now. The commercial recording has become an economically devalued entity.

It used to be only the elite musicians that got to record at all. The process had a fairly high bar attached which only the select few were able to reach. They were generally chosen by industry professionals, the so called gatekeepers who controlled entry to the market.

In recent years the high bar has been abolished. Anyone can record. Everyone has easy access to distribution. And although these changes are slowly becoming clear, many in the music biz still haven’t fully grasped the implications.