On Thu, May 18, 2000 at 02:04:44PM -0400, alan r lucas wrote:
quoted 5 lines i can almost see what you're saying, but honestly, most of the people that
> i can almost see what you're saying, but honestly, most of the people that
> are worried about mp3 distribution (like ninja tune and smaller labels
> like that) really do rely on record sales for income. and i don't think
> there's anything wrong with that, nor do i think it compromises the
> musical integrity of the releases.
I kind of have to disagree here. Lately I've been watching the IDM scene go slowly down the tubes as more and more money is finding its way into it. People are falling into popular formulas in order to turn a profit. I mean look at Rephlex or any of the Autechre clones. Nothing shocking coming out of either- nothing groundbreaking at all.
I got into IDM because it was all about new territory- I never knew what to expect out of a new release but I was almost always pleasantly surprised.
Now it seems that before I even pick anything up I can guess that it's going to be clicky breakbeats with a happy melody or disjointed beats and very synthetic synths (i.e. Aphex Twin or Autechre clones respectively).
quoted 5 lines i'm guessing that you have other sources of income so you're obviously not
> i'm guessing that you have other sources of income so you're obviously not
> worried about people getting your mp3s. in fact, you make them readily
> available. but do you think it's right for someone to download amon
> tobin's new album when amon really wasn't approving/intending for that to
> happen?
I certainly don't think it's wrong. As the saying goes- there's no such thing as bad publicity. I only bought the new Speedy J album because I listened to the MP3s on my friend's FTP site. I would've passed it over otherwise.
For me, and a lot of people I think, MP3s are about equivalent to realaudio on forced exposure's site or the listening stations at record shops. Nobody ever gets mad at record stores that let you listen to the vinyl before you buy it and accordingly they shouldn't get so pissed about people previewing with MP3s.
Or take a look at bootlegging. You can't tell me that a band like Phish would have nearly the popularity they do if I had anything to say about it. Err, I mean, if they didn't let people tape and trade their live shows. :P
By the same token I can understand why people are offended when somebody who likes their album doesn't buy it, providing it's reasonably priced.
quoted 8 lines with metallica, things are a little bit different. they've basically
> with metallica, things are a little bit different. they've basically
> turned their backs on how they started out, etc... plus a gazillion people
> buy their shit anyway. am i saying it's cool to rip off metallica just
> because they're bigger? sort of. and obviouly that makes me look like a
> hypocrite. but then, i don't like metallica's music anymore, and
> regardless of what they might try to make people think, they aren't going
> to lose any money over a few hundred thousand mp3s. most of those people
> probably own the albums anyway.
Kind of like the recent Onion article about Kid Rock dying penniless because of Napster. :)
quoted 4 lines look at it this way - would you steal from someone you love? when you
> look at it this way - would you steal from someone you love? when you
> steal (or download or whatever you want to call it) your favorite artists'
> tracks on mp3 with no intent of ever buying the actual product, that's
> what you're doing.
I don't, and probably never will, do this. If I like a release I buy it- plain and simple. Most of the MP3s in my rather meager collection are either MP3s of music I already have on CD or vinyl or else songs that just aren't worth buying. By this I mean songs like major label singles where the rest of the album is just filler or tracks from a 3x12" that costs $27 or something.
I really think that if people release good music and a reasonable price they're not going to have any trouble selling it. The majority of MP3s are schlock like Kid Rock, Britney Spears and Atari Teenage Riot- which is about as worth paying for as TV commercials are.
I swear- most music is only made to fill the space between commercials on the radio or episodes of the Real World or Wet T-Shirt Contests live and direct from Spring Break in Cancun on MTV.
quoted 2 lines oh, and miles davis was very much concerned with his music being popular.
> oh, and miles davis was very much concerned with his music being popular.
> and it sure as hell didn't take away from anything...
There are, of course, exceptions to every rule... Aphex Twins, Led Zeppelins and John Coltranes aside I'd say it still probably works in most cases. And there is of course a difference between being concerned with people liking your music (which I still consider a bad thing- "chase after money and security, and your heart will never unclench, care about people's approval and you will be their prisoner" or "if you look to others for fulfillment, you will never be fulfilled. if your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself" --
http://www.atomly.com/tao.txt) and writing music for the point of it being popular. There is a difference between wanting peer validation and selling out- though the line between them does get blurry at times.
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