For me it is a contradiction, or let's say it goes against their intended purpose. Other than the pleasure of having a cup of coffee, this hot beverage is an excuse to get together and socialize. The same is true when we celebrate an occasion, like a birthday -- it is a form of concourse. In a busy restaurant, the best that you can do is to talk (more like shout) to the person sitting next to you and not necessarily socialize with the crowd. Having a public love affair with a computer is at best distasteful. It seems as if in our modern lifestyle we have tried to eliminate the other person from the equation. We are with others but in our own world.

Listening to music and drinking tea have something in common -- ceremony. Ceremony has a collective significance, which city life has tried to conveniently cross out. It is obviously more time-consuming to brew tea. With a teabag you don't need to deal with the fuss. Listening to music with a headphone is also easier, albeit that it is much like that person who tried to smell the roses wearing a gas mask.

Advances in digital technology, Internet, multi-media equipment, personal music players, legal and illegal methods of acquiring music may have eased the distribution of music, but they have also created problems, so much so that we are witnessing a turn towards traditional forms of listening to music -- public performances.

Every day we hear the news of yet another record label or music store going under. The sale of music products in the past decade had decreased by half and the illegal digital music market has wasted no time to fill this empty space. Consumers don't feel like purchasing music any longer. Even those who enjoy buying may wonder what portion of the sales goes to the musicians themselves. Many assume that by purchasing a CD, they are actually filling the already rich pocket of a record company executive. Instead, they prefer to purchase the CD of their favorite musicians at one of their live concerts.

In the 1970s to 90s, music albums sold well and supported the band or ensemble's live concerts. Things changed with a new millennium. Now concerts help with the sale of records. Musicians who are deprived of taking the stage get the short end of the stick. To this must be added the pleasure of listening to live music and the effect that it has on musicians and the audiences. One cannot put a price on such an exchange. People are so isolated that they need to come together for a particular purpose and what better excuse than to listen to music.

Today, live performances are not limited to large concert halls or stadiums. The number of concerts, festivals, music clubs, etc. is growing exponentially. Rather than taking the stage twice a year in a 1000-seat hall, many groups prefer to play in small venues with 50 seats forty times a year. Turely, the pleasure they draw from smaller venues and the enjoyment they proffer to their listeners is far more subtle in this way. Listeners willingly pay the entrance fee to smaller venues. The economic wheels of music turn and become smoother with the proceeds from smaller concerts and the sale of food and beverages.

What's more, publishers and producers of music are also happyin this way, because the sale of albums at concerts are several times more than at stores. Producers and musicians alike are willing to exchange CDs rather make money through the complicated maze of royalties. For example, if the share of a musician from the sales of two thousand CDs is 2000 dollars, it is more economical for him/her to get the equivalent of 2000 dollars worth of CDs from the publisher (roughly 500 CDs). S/he would then be able to sell those CDs at 15 dollars a piece and pocket 7,500 dollars. In this scheme, the producer has not suffered and the artist has also made more money. The more the artist takes the stage the more CDs s/he can sell. An interesting new development here is the installment of fast CD burning equipment at concerts (for over 250-seat performances), which can instantly offer attendants a copy of the live performance that just ended.

The music industry throughout the world is increasingly depending and relying on public spaces. This is its only road to survival. The slump in the traditional methods of earning money will sooner or later affect Iranian musicians as well. Now let's see the situation we are facing in Tehran. We don't have the minimum requirements to deal with the impending crisis. The city of Tehran has only a handful of concert venues, which usually go to elite musicians. We don't have other venues for live performances. Now add to this the difficulty of obtaining a permit for live performances, the limitation of 2 nights only for concerts imposed by the Ministry of Culture, and you will see that the task is a Herculean one.

Society is in great need of spaces where people can socialize or share moments. No matter how modern lifestyle makes it difficult to do this, artists and their audiences will find a way to make ends meet. The truth is, however, that Tehran doesn't allow for easy solutions, nor do political decision makers realize the gravity of the situation. They speak endlessly of turning the wheels of "culture" but they fail to pave the way for it by opening public venues to the public. Music has no place in the public sphere today in Tehran, even though the future of music demands such spaces. If we are not careful, we won't even have that teabag to feed our ears soon.

-------------

Ramin Sadighi is the director of www.hermesrecords.com a writer on music and the music scene. His articles have appeared in various newspapers and magazines. He took the picture for this article at the Chatelet metro station in Paris last year when he was visiting. A full orchestra were doing their rehearsal in this metro station. People could listen, contribute, buy their CDs or just enjoy their music in passing.