[Xaios]

Imagine you're an artist of some sort, even a painter. You're the kind of painter who puts his soul into his work. You make some paintings that you're pretty damn proud of, and that even by critical standards are well received. So you decide to hold an expo to try and sell off your work, because you've gotta make a living, not to mention recoup the costs of materials. Someone comes to your expo, grabs a painting, sticks it under his arm, and just walks off. When you go "Hey man, what the flying fuck are you doing?!?", he turns to you and says "Well, the publicly accepted stance is that paying for music is bullshit, so I reason that this applies to your creative output as well."

Downloading is bullshit. If a band offers something up for free, that's one thing, because the people who created it have said "okay, we can give this away." If someone pirates an album and sticks it on bit-torrent, that's another, because he has no right to make that call.

If you like a band, pay for their music, because you're ensuring that they can make more of it. By not paying for it, you're saying that it's not worth paying for. And if you don't want to pay for it, you have no right to possess it.

[Zepp88]

Originally Posted by Xaios

Imagine you're an artist of some sort, even a painter. You're the kind of painter who puts his soul into his work. You make some paintings that you're pretty damn proud of, and that even by critical standards are well received. So you decide to hold an expo to try and sell off your work, because you've gotta make a living, not to mention recoup the costs of materials. Someone comes to your expo, grabs a painting, sticks it under his arm, and just walks off. When you go "Hey man, what the flying fuck are you doing?!?", he turns to you and says "Well, the publicly accepted stance is that paying for music is bullshit, so I reason that this applies to your creative output as well."

Downloading is bullshit. If a band offers something up for free, that's one thing, because the people who created it have said "okay, we can give this away." If someone pirates an album and sticks it on bit-torrent, that's another, because he has no right to make that call.

If you like a band, pay for their music, because you're ensuring that they can make more of it. By not paying for it, you're saying that it's not worth paying for. And if you don't want to pay for it, you have no right to possess it.

I pretty much agree with this. Personally as a musician I would certainly release a lot of cool stuff for free, because that's what the people want, and that's what I want them to have, I would just hope that an album sale and a fan would be the result.

[stuz719]

The Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones make far more from merchandising than they ever did from record sales.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by stuz719

The Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones make far more from merchandising than they ever did from record sales.

You're also citing two anomalies. Most bands don't get to the level those guys were at.

[stuz719]

Originally Posted by Vince

You're also citing two anomalies. Most bands don't get to the level those guys were at.

Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Metallica, GN'R, Slipknot, Slayer... they've all sold a lot of T-shirts. Even Motorhead have logo'd trainers, and their record sales are hardly stratospheric.

I dare say even DRI and COC have sold enough to, provided merchandising had/has been properly controlled, provide a steady revenue stream. It's just that the two "anomalies" I cited had better financial advice than most bands - but the principle still stands.

[newamerikangospel]

The bad thing about record labels are, some of them dont see an artist they see money. THat is why you see and hear generic bands and think "How did they get signed". Because a record company A&R guy thought they sounded like X_____X that have made a bit of money.

I dont know if I plan on getting a record label contract, but I know I will eventually get a distrubution deal. They make and (and sometimes market) CDs and get a cut from the sells, but the artist still owns the material, and no corporate head to say "That doesn't sound like it will sell, write another enter sandman".

[Crucified]

everyone needs to have read this at least once. it's by steve albini. He has engineered and produced some of the best music evar.

The Problem With Music

[darren]

That Albini article should be mandatory reading for anyone even considering making music for a living. The last line sums it up.

"Some of your friends are probably already this fucked."

[Crucified]

i'm gonna be a douchehole and repost in it's own thread. watch me.. here i go

[Ancestor]

Originally Posted by Xaios

Imagine you're an artist of some sort, even a painter. You're the kind of painter who puts his soul into his work. You make some paintings that you're pretty damn proud of, and that even by critical standards are well received. So you decide to hold an expo to try and sell off your work, because you've gotta make a living, not to mention recoup the costs of materials. Someone comes to your expo, grabs a painting, sticks it under his arm, and just walks off. When you go "Hey man, what the flying fuck are you doing?!?", he turns to you and says "Well, the publicly accepted stance is that paying for music is bullshit, so I reason that this applies to your creative output as well."

Downloading is bullshit. If a band offers something up for free, that's one thing, because the people who created it have said "okay, we can give this away." If someone pirates an album and sticks it on bit-torrent, that's another, because he has no right to make that call.

If you like a band, pay for their music, because you're ensuring that they can make more of it. By not paying for it, you're saying that it's not worth paying for. And if you don't want to pay for it, you have no right to possess it.

Yeah, but music isn't a painting. And, let's face, people are always downloading and using copyrighted (which is any original work that has been recorded to any medium) images without permission. Look at all the images people use for their avatar. A lot of them are copyright violations.

Like it or not, people copy music without permission. That genie is out of the bottle. I think it's a positive thing. It puts the power to be heard back in the hands of the musician, who can now make his music available to anyone with an internet connection. That's powerful. Look at Rusty Cooley's career as an example. The internet made that guy available, then his talent spoke for itself.