It's been over a year since I started tossing around this idea, and it's starting to catch on. I've also heard people talk about "Slow Music" (a la "Slow Food")...not to be confused with the tempo!
However you name it, the concept seeks to find new definitions for artistic & musical success by looking to the environmental movement for guidance instead of the commercial entertainment industry. I thought this might be a good time to re-post the "how-to" list. It is a work-in-progress.
"The great art is to express one's vitality through the particular channels and at the particular speed that Nature foresaw for us." - Hans Selye
How to be a 100-mile artist:
Primarily perform in your own hometown or geographic region.
Draw your inspiration primarily from that place, from your life and the lives of people you know.
Support local initiatives with your songs by performing at community events, sometimes on a volunteer basis.
Write excellent songs about people and initiatives in your community.
Apply a high level of craftsmanship to every song and performance, so that your songs are as meaningful and appealing as those of well-known artists.
Share your songs with others.
Become a more conscious and selective consumer of mass-produced cultural products.
Support other local artists by buying their products and attending their shows.
Reject messages such as “you have to be famous to matter” and “only mass distributed products are worthwhile”.
Reframe your assessment of your musical success, based on community-minded goals rather than commercially-minded ones: For example, “How can I bring people together?: is a better question than “How many people can I get to come out?”
Find complementary ways of earning income so that you can live sustainably and continue to grow and mature as an artist who enriches the lives of others.
