IDM Mailing Archive

Hi, I think you may have misinterpreted what I said. I was only responding to a few remarks that basically said "if an artist tries to make a living off his/her art, the content of the art is demeaned". Sorry, I don't have the whole quote in front of me anymore. I don't dispute that consumerism is bad. I'm not going to say that the companies themselves are anything less than exploitive. I never did say either of those things. It's a problem, and we are all a part of it. But that's not what I was responding to. I'm merely saying that when art changes hands, the artist may be demeaned (along with the consumer), but not the art itself. Beyond that, the way he represented all this was extremely problematic. By doing it only in terms of "indie" or "corporate", he hurts his point regarding the nature of consumerism. With record labels, it's not so black or white. This isn't a battle between good and evil (though at times it does appear that way). Many indie labels operate exactly like corporate labels. Worse than that, they use their "independent" status as a kind of advertising. A perfect example of that would be the pseudo-punk label, Epitaph. Each year thousands of kids spend millions of dollars on what they think is a revolutionary product. Epitaph employs the same tactics as most corporate labels. They have $500,000 signing bonuses for a few artists. Kids don't realize this (they probably wouldn't care that much anyway), and as a result Epitaph continues to exploit its "indie" status. That hypocrisy seems a whole lot worse to me than the blatantly commercial tactics of Columbia. I mean no disrespect to indie labels in general, so don't start flaming me. I realize that the vast majority don't operate in this fashion. I was merely trying to make a point about such broad generalizations. cheers, Sam

quoted 1 line this fails to meet matt's point - as he sez "to argue otherwise is to ignore

>this fails to meet matt's point - as he sez "to argue otherwise is to ignore

quoted 1 line the simple economic reality of such companies" - Columbia is dealing smack

>the simple economic reality of such companies" - Columbia is dealing smack

quoted 1 line it prefers it if you want the junk so you return and return and return and

>it prefers it if you want the junk so you return and return and return and

quoted 1 line return and return and return and return and return and return again and

>return and return and return and return and return and return again and

quoted 1 line again and again and again and again so the money grows and grows and grows

>again and again and again and again so the money grows and grows and grows

quoted 1 line and grows and grows and you move without motion (listening to i.e. kind of

>and grows and grows and you move without motion (listening to i.e. kind of

quoted 1 line blue) but stay right where you are

>blue) but stay right where you are

quoted 1 line in the economic reality matt mentions.

>in the economic reality matt mentions.

quoted 1 line Maybe the money and

> >Maybe the money and

quoted 1 line the company's dealings with the artists is demeaning to the individuals,

> >the company's dealings with the artists is demeaning to the individuals,

but

quoted 1 line that doesn't change the end result. Since we are all talking about Miles

> >that doesn't change the end result. Since we are all talking about Miles

quoted 1 line Davis, I'm going to go ahead and ask: when you listen to "Kind of Blue",

> >Davis, I'm going to go ahead and ask: when you listen to "Kind of Blue",

do

quoted 1 line you hear the sound of Columbia's corporate greed coming through your spe

>> you hear the sound of Columbia's corporate greed coming through your spe

quoted 1 line akers, or some of the most beautiful and amazing jazz ever recorded

>> akers, or some of the most beautiful and amazing jazz ever recorded

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