Music Gear and Class Privilege

The music gear community is based around music creation. But, it’s also based in capitalism.

Companies are selling products and much of the music gear space is based on demoing, displaying, or discussing music gear that you may want to buy, often with the hopes of convincing you to do so. 

This is particularly complicated right now, as the pandemic has created a space where many people have lost their jobs and are probably more likely to be selling than buying gear. (this is interesting because those who can are actually buying more gear right now… but I think that gets at the importance of music in our culture… but, I digress)

I love gear. But I also understand that there is a real privilege in having access to it. And constant #gearporn posts in music gear social media can lead those who do not have money to partake in gear culture feeling like they aren’t able to join in the conversation.

Ultimately, gear is a tool to help you achieve a particular sound or emotion through song. That isn’t something that should be exclusive. 

Personally, if I am able to, with any extra income, I buy music gear. And I have for years. I don’t spend a lot of money on clothing or much else. My husband is into bikes and builds them for a living, therefore, he gets a discount on much of the gear related to his hobby. Or if he wants a new fancy bike, he can build one. I don’t have a lot of super fancy gear other than a couple of pieces that I got pretty inexpensively years ago. I started buying and trading early when I had a discount in my guitar shop days. 

And, let’s be real, I put some of it on credit cards, which I did eventually pay off. But, it took a while. 

I am also a person with a middle-class job and a fairly low cost of living (I don’t live in New York or LA), even despite having a child. This allows enough money for a pedal or mic here or there. If I buy something, I usually sell something else. Much of what I buy, I end up getting used, sometimes even at flea markets, so I treat it like an investment or at the very least, something I can resell for cost. And the time I’ve spent researching and learning about gear helps me recognize deals. Sometimes I get a pedal or a small piece of gear from my parents for Christmas once a year, as happened this year. Not everyone has that. Since I’ve been collecting since I was about 20, all of that adds up. Even if our income means we don’t go on fancy vacations, I feel very lucky to be able to participate in gear culture.

In many ways, gear is a passion of mine. But, it brings with it some guilt. 

Am I playing into this space that glorifies fancy gear and looks down on those who use inexpensive gear? As Katy Otto mentioned in Mid-Riff Episode 021, there are many in the industry who won’t take you seriously if you don’t have the “right” gear. Or, even worse, they may encourage folks to buy gear that they can’t really afford, but feel like they have to have. Sometimes watching gear videos and walls of expensive gear and beautiful backdrops makes this even clearer.

Plus, many folks don’t have access to gear in the first place. If they don’t get a jumpstart, they may never become musicians or get to participate in the power of music and gear at all.

When I was working at RIOT RI, we ran— and it’s still running— a gear loan program where folks could borrow gear for a small deposit, like $20, which was returned when the instrument was returned. I know most other camps do this, and She Shreds is starting a gear redistribution program, as well.

Of course, one way to address issues around gear access is to help people learn to fix the gear they have— whether it’s learning set-ups or DIY fixes or mods, like switching a single-coil pickup to a rail humbucker, rewiring your guitar, or fixing your pedals. Some people learn this out of interest and some learn it out of necessity.

I also appreciate that many companies have lower priced items that can do a great job and are good quality, like the EarthQuaker Plumes, the JHS 3 Series, the Classic Vibe and Paranormal Series Squiers by Fender, or Big Baby Taylors.

So, in this season that is focused on consumption, I think it’s important to understand or at least reflect on the privilege that those of us who participate in gear culture have to be able to participate in it. 

This privilege has afforded me the ability to meet a ton of amazing people, especially over the last year. 

I feel very lucky to have been able to work with them. They are creating products that I think make the world better, more fun, and more interesting, and they are providing jobs, as well.

So, in no way am I saying that folks shouldn’t buy gear! Quite the opposite— gear is fun and if you can, you should buy it or learn to make your own!

But, I do think it’s important to acknowledge the class dynamics at play in this space and it is our responsibility as participants in it to do what we can to help make it as equitable as possible, whether through the programs I mentioned above, creating an entry-level line, building kits, paid apprenticeships for youth, providing a good, living wage to staff (with benefits!), or donating gear or money to support folks who need access.

There are many ways to address this issue and I hope folks are up to the task!

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