Loudness Wars are over

[gecko zzed]

I think it's just plain weird that the listener can demand anything. If true, then music ain't worth making because the punter shouldn't be making demands of the artist. It's like the consumer saying "I want my fish to taste like lamb !"

Hmmm . . . not sure here.

The punters are the ones that buy CDs, go to concerts, download songs for itunes and so on. They make a choice about what they like or don't like, and that choice is reflected in artists' sales. It is rare that the punter actually demands* anything; they just exercise choice. Whether the artist responds to what the prevailing choices are is another matter.

* A possible example of punters demanding something could be when Dylan played with an electric band in around 1964, and was booed. They wanted Dylan to stay as he had been. Fortunately, he didn't cave in to those demands.

 

[grimtraveller]

The punters are the ones that buy CDs, go to concerts, download songs for itunes and so on. They make a choice about what they like or don't like, and that choice is reflected in artists' sales. It is rare that the punter actually demands* anything; they just exercise choice. Whether the artist responds to what the prevailing choices are is another matter.

You're right, punters excercise choice. That's a different thing from demand. The artist can do little about a punter's choices because it's rare that sales are going to reflect all the myriad variations in buyers' tastes.