lpdeluxe said:
I don't download music: the reason isn't morality (although I certainly think I am at least not sinning in that direction) but quality. Since the record companies discovered they could make their millions by repackaging LPs as CDs, popular music has gone into the toilet. The big companies don't develop artists. They all want "sure things" that will be played on the radio. It's a symptom of the artistic bankruptcy of the industry. I'm reminded of the movies these days when the latest "blockbuster" is either going to be a remake of a GOOD movie or a ripoff of a cartoon character or TV show. These are bleak times for culture, friends, and maybe the lack of sales is due to the lack of content. I certainly think so. Music is competing with reality TV, video games, and extreme sports for dollars, and instead of doing their best they are doing their worst. I happen to love music, but I only listen to NPR any more...as long as they don't interview Brittney Spears and try to tell me she's an "artist."
Bah humbug.
For me, NPR is definitely NOT the answer. When I listen to the radio, it's talk radio almost exclusively.
There is no question that the business model has changed over the last several decades and that the majors aren't willing to take a chance that something new and different might hit it big enough to make them some money. Not to mention that I have serious doubts that there is anyone with an ounce of independent judgement in a decision making position.
These are the best of times and the worst of times for musicians (hey, that's catchy- maybe I can use that in a novel). We have unprecedented ability to create, record, produce and master extremely high quality material without leaving our bedroom studios, but, as Matthew points out, what do we do with it after we've created it? It's always been about distribution. If you can't get your creation into the hands of those who will pay you for it, then you're simply engaging in a hobby. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but if you want to survive on what you create, then you have to find a way to market it effectively.
And this is why file swapping clearly scares the music establishment to death. It's something beyond their control and they don't like that at all. Napster, et al, created a paradigm for music distribution that didn't include the major labels and it's obvious that they saw that as a threat of the highest magnitude, evidenced by their rapid and viscious response.
But, the cat is out of the bag now and I don't believe there's any way that you're going to stop the coming revolution in music distribution. As computers continue to get faster and broadband becomes ubiquitous, I think you'll see the creation of peer-to-peer databases of music "relationships" where different artists are going to get compared and related to one another by the people downloading the files. We already see some of this in e-tailers like Amazon where books and videos are suggested based on other's choices and systems such as E-pinions where people write reviews of products. Such approaches will work when, as you become a trusted reviewer, you can earn discounts or free merchandise. I think such relational databases will become increasingly sophisticated. Eventually, our computers will automatically evaluate and download music for our selection and learn from our choices.
Perhaps this will finally create a way for all of us to share our creations with the people who want to listen to them. And, more importantly, the people who will compensate us for our efforts! One can only hope.
Ted
