Hello again Everyone,

Firstly, I am very sorry that I used the term "whining" in my original
post and that I commented at all on the MANNER in which things were
expressed on this list. To all of you, I truly am very sorry. I regret
my use of that word and most of the attending paragraph. It was immature
and totally uncalled for. I won't make
that mistake again, I promise. I'd like to stick around as an Auditeer.
My anger got the best of me. I even have a little note on my monitor:
Never Post in Anger.

I came home from work today, steeling myself for another round of Rock
'em Sock 'em Auditees. I actually had a post that I composed into the
wee hours last night *returned* to me today, unposted, because it was
too long. I didn't even know that could happen! <grin> I went point to
point with Jaimie's first post in answer to my original post. I've
decided (Yay!) to just keep it in my pocket for the most part. I'll
continue to answer your posts one by one if you'd like, just say so, but
maybe I can sum it all up right here and be done with it.

I took a very hard and aggressive strictly pro-consumerist stance only
after much consideration and thought. I didn't believe (in my heart or
in practice) everything that I said, but I believed that it needed to be
said anyway to kind of even the playing field a bit after several posts
from labels/artists. I'll gladly go back in the archives to retrieve
exact quotes, but weren't we consumers being chastised for using eMusic
because it hurts the labels/artists? And wasn't it suggested that we
don't appreciate how hard it is for artists to make records? Were we not
also told that we have a responsibility to artists and labels and that
they have one to us as well? Generally, were not labels and artists
expressing their frustrations and in part blaming us or at the very
least pointing out our role in the problem as they see it? Were they not
discussing OUR role as "bad" consumers who were helping to wreck the
music business by the purchasing decisions we make? Forgive me if I've
misunderstood.

1. Blaming the consumer is just wrong on so many levels. You're blaming
us for spending our money in the wrong places and not supporting you in
the manner that you feel is appropriate. I feel this is ludicrous and
ultimately self-destructive.

2. It's condescending as hell (let alone wrong) to tell us, especially
Auditeers, that we're helping to ruin the music business. This just
plain made me angry as hell. I'm doing no such thing and neither are
MOST consumers.

3. None of this is personal, though I understand that labels/artists
truly FEEL that it is. A decision to purchase an album from eMusic (only
as one example) is not intended to hurt anyone's bottom line. It's an
economic decision, plain and simple. If I could, for example, afford to
buy every release
that I want from Not Lame, I surely would. I simply cannot afford it, so
I *sometimes* choose from the many options that are now available to me.
Man, I'd LOVE to support Bruce and crew for all the great work they do.
I'd LOVE to have a nice complete package with artwork and bonuses. I
most often can't afford it and I have to *settle* for digital downloads.
That's just the reality of the situation, not just for me, but it must
be true for HUNDREDS of people on this list, at the very minimum.

4. I understand that many labels and artists have hung it up, and that
many others are on the verge of doing so. I felt that we, as consumers,
were being blamed for at least part of this because of the buying
choices that we make and for our non-support of the hard working labels
and artists.

I wrote the things that I wrote because I disagreed very much with the
tone and content of what had been posted before I coughed up my
mini-manifesto. I just wanted to state clearly the economic reality of
the situation. I don't see how
blaming us accomplishes anything except to further alienate us and
separate this whole thing even more into a terrible us v. you situation.
I want us to come together, but everyone must understand that both sides
have legitimate points and neither of us is the devil here. I went as
far to one side as I could so that the playing field would be more
level, that's all. I may have gone too far and I'm sorry if that's true.
I'm not a bad guy who doesn't care about the wonderfully talented folks
who make the music that means so much to me. Let's just both understand
where our responsibilities to each other begin and end.

Jaimie, you've called consumers "vultures" in print for all of us
to see, ("All I see now are consumer vultures swooping in while the
industry licks its wounds and grabbing whatever they can"). I believe
that's how you really feel, and I think we both
understand how sad it is that it's come to this. We're all being
squeezed in one way or another and that really hurts *everyone* in a
most personal way. I'm sorry things are the way they are. I hope we all
survive, at least in the long run. Please understand that my stated
position was ever so slightly a Devil's Advocate position in reaction to
perceived wrongs and accusations. I saw the chance to take a big swipe
back when I saw that big swipes were being taken AT us consumers. At the
same time, I thought that I could "black and white" the economics of the
issue. I may have come across as terse and uncaring. That was not my
intention and it's never been who I am. I come from a long line of
lawyers and judges <embarrassed half-smile>, but I'm just a music fan in
the antique business.

I'm done. Thanks for your patience everyone. Lesson learned on my part,
for sure. But I'm not backing down from my main points for even a
second. Your claim that the consumer is complicit in the downfall of
the current music business model is injurious to all of us and mostly,
NOT helpful. I'll concede your point that we may play *a* role because
we often behave like most consumers do, but that's hardly reason to
label us the enemy and tell us we need lessons on how to be better
Digital Age music consumers.

jeff teez