Aye am an Audiophile
I am a behemothic fan of music. No, that does not mean I will listen to just about any combination of instruments, but am more than thrilled to lend my ear to a track that can make me tap my feet. Be it anything between Joe Bonamassa and Children of Bodom, I'll love to give it a try. Unlike most music lovers out there, I've actually had the opportunity to manage and interact a lot of bands and let me tell you that nothing is more liberating than music as a source of expression. We can all learn a lot from the musicians out there- for one, to believe in ourselves and in what we do.
All great musicians out there were once an amalgam of shoddy ideas and expressions but they took their love for their instruments as a gospel and made it to the end. They did not give up six feet from the edge, in their summers of sixty nine and kept on riding that steel horse and knockin' on heavens door till they were the champions (for those who don't know, this one refers to Queen). Most musicians you talk to can tell you about their struggles with greenbacks, gigs and managements (both - events and theirs). Their jobs roles also include reaching out to fans (PR), getting shows, getting paid (everybody out there wants free performers), purchasing better sounding instruments and accessories and band members. Yeah, people have to get together to make a band. Finding the perfect set of people is a tedious and time consuming task. Once, bands overcome this, can they think about making it big. So, get it moving and go out, support your local acts and while you're at it, get an autograph! Who knows, they might be the metallica or One direction(pun intended) of tomorrow.
"There’s a band in a garage right now writing songs for an album that will do the same thing Nevermind did some 20 years ago. We don’t know who and where, but it will fucking happen again. All it takes is for that storm to break." - Dave Grohl.
A few other ways to show your support would be to buy their tracks and merchandise (find a cheap way which actually pays them directly). Nokia and Google play pay decently to the artists and hell, even napster pays more than services like Spotify and Myspace. Also, no matter how big or small a band is, it will mean the world to them if you showed up on their shows. I am not asking to spend a fortune towards any of the aforementioned. If you are down and out of green, use the free version of Spotify over Youtube - it'll pay more to your artists. More money to your artists mean a better sounding next album, or does it?
I call myself an audiophile and this is what I do. We know you've given up on your dreams - you pathetic loser, but atleast you can support those who went against all odds to work towards theirs. Maybe it'll inspire you, maybe it'll make you fall in love; the possibilities my friends, are endless so get up and do something to support music, and the creators behind it.