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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Re: eMusic |
| Date | Thu, 10 May 2007 17:29:36 -0400 |
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At Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 20:54:19 Bob wrote:
>All I meant by my final comments was that some of the best music I have in
>my collection was made by people for whom it was not their primary source
>of income - possibly not even a source of income at all in some cases! On
>the other hand I also own many great albums by people who have CHOSEN to
>make music their career. Again that is their choice. But if they can't
>make an honest living with their music alone, am I really meant to feel
>sorry for them?
No...but aiding and abetting the machinery that will, ultimately, put many
of these musicians who COULD make a living at it out of business becomes
short sighted. It was like the Napster craze....which killed a good portion
of the rat-bastards in the major label heirarchal con game, but also took a
shitload of indies with it as well. E-music threatens to do the same by
offering next-to-free downloads. Again...the music is devalued so that
anyone trying to sell their music at a fair market price are going to be
passed over by consumers just looking for a bargain first...and not
necessarily great music first.
>There are many other ways to make money. I'd love to make a living out of
>making or selling music, but I have neither the raw talent nor the business
>acumen, so I chose to do something different instead.
But you're denying those who do have the raw talent the ability to make it
their bread and butter. It'd be like all the hospitals hiring waitresses as
nursing staff and paying them waitress wages while the REAL nurses who need
a larger salary to pay for the schooling and years of experience can't get
work. You've devalued the worth of the nurse.
[okay, I'm stretching the analogy here...]
>I've supported independent music plenty in the past, perhaps more so than
>many contributors to this list. I have bought CDs galore from Bruce
>Brodeen, including almost all his NotLame label stuff (when NotLame was a
>label as well as a store). I've been to loads of IPO shows (including one
>Canadian night in Chicago, where I reckon I was about the sole paying
>customer there) and bought CDs at merch tables. However the simple fact is
>that I choose now to avail myself of cheaper ways of getting my music,
>where possible, now that these cheaper avenues exist for me. eMusic is the
>cheapest legal way of getting music I like, possibly music I wouldn't have
>purchased otherwise. What's your beef about that, Jaimie?
See above. You indicate all the ways you've supported the indies, but you've
already stated you do not care about the musicians making a living from it
-- which is it? You've also shown it with your wallet NOW that Not Lame is
no longer a label. That's your prerogative. But sure as shit there will be
whining and griping on this very list in a year or two because Michael
Carpenter has thrown in the towel or Fountains Of Wayne has split up because
they've had to go back to flipping burgers or driving taxis for a
living...instead of doing what they love (and are so much better at
doing)...which is make music.
As I stated in another email....the personal gains the listeners get are
unprecedented now -- bargains galore and more music than Stewart Mason can
listen to in a lifetime. But the bigger picture is bleak. Companies like
mine are now scaling back while the majors thrive because they have more
money than God....to release bigger piles of shit...and the ONLY thing
you'll be able to buy on E-music in the not so distant future.
Oh...and the six labels who are disgruntled about the eMusic set up?
Linus Entertainment, Borealis Recording Company, Distort Entertainment,
Justin Time Records, Last Gang Records, and Nettwerk Productions. They've
set up their own digital coalition and become shareholders in a new company
that stands to profit from smaller indie labels who become members. Out of
the shark tank and into the pirranha pool.
See their manifesto here: http://www.idla.ca/
Jaimie Vernon,
Bullseye
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