Being an artist shouldn’t be a crap shoot
p2pnet news view | P2P | Music:- Last Thursday I re-ran an item by David Hahn (right) which’d been posted on his MusicianWages blog.
It`s called To a Mother Concerned About File Sharing and it’s his response to Valerie, a mother worried about her son’s online file sharing and who says, in part:
I have a teenage son who tells me his pirating music is no big deal. Since he is a musician himself, I point out to him that someday that`s going to be his money people are stealing. But he remains unphased.”
Dave also has a follow-up with different views from different people on how they felt we should deal with digital music in the digital 21st century.
“It was a really cool group project among the whole musician-blogger community,” Dave, a freelance pianist, writer and web designer originally from the Chicago area but who lives in New York City,” told me.
“We all connected over Twitter and sychronized our blogging on the same day,” he says, going on:
“It was really intriguing to see so many perspectives on file-sharing from a community that has such a unique and intimate relationship to it.
“I’ve found it really interesting to read your readers comments this week.
“File-sharing is obviously something that needs to be addressed in more innovative ways than we’ve seen so far, and I think using the internet to propel the discussion is an interesting way of using the very same technology that has created the dilemma to fix the dilemma.”
Dave, who, “makes most of his bread in musical theatre,” suggested we-all should try something similar here.
Great idea! 
For now, below are two of the contributions Dave has on his site.
The internet has irrevocably changed the face of music forever …
Vivian, “juggles backing vox duties and a career as an indie artist,” she says on her IndieStarAdventures blog, continuing »»»
File sharing and its effects on the music biz
Dear Valerie,
My name is Vivian and my husband and I are both workimg musicians.
About 8 years ago when pirating seemed to really start to catching on, I used to be completly paranoid that someone would come to our house and drag my husband out by the scruff of his neck. He pirated music day and night..
At that time, people were getting fined and arrested for pirating, there was one kid that was sued by a record company for several thousands of dollars. Their point was to try to make an example out of the poor kid.
Of course my husband kept right on downloading music and never ended up in jail or fined.. (Yet, that is..)
Just because he didn’t doesn’t make it alright.
A couple of years ago now, my husband and I independently released our own cd, and of course, our music has also been pirated along with many other recordings I’ve done for and with various artists over the years.
Ironically, this is a fact that my husband has had a bit of a hard time dealing with, while I, on the other hand have come to accept this as a way of life.
While it’s not exactly true that artists don’t make $$ from record sales, it is true that most artists, especially newer artists, do make the bulk of their $$ from touring and performing but they also make a chunk of $$ from publishing which is also drying up due to lack of record sales which is a direct result of pirating. And obviously for independent artists like ourselves, we stand to lose a bigger percentage of $$ from pirating because we get to keep the biggest percentage of $$ from record sales. This is the way independent music stores are set up, to aid the independent musician.
The internet has irrevocably changed the face of music forever and in many ways, this change is absolutely for the better. The amount of opportunites available to independent musicians, to have our music heard and sold are infinite.
The amount of work that goes with these opportunities, might also be infinite. On the one hand the internet has opened many doors for me as an artist as well as a consumer, on the other hand the internet has made stealing intellectual properties relatively easy. What we have is a double edged sword.
Seriously though, when I think back on the stranglehold record companies have had on the music industry for the last 60 years or so, I’d say all in all, I absolutely prefer things the way they are now with this much more level playing field.
I don’t now, nor have I ever believed that being an artist should be the crap shoot it has been. I’ve seen many a no talent individual reach super star status while so many truly gifted, inspired, and incredibly unique artists go unnoticed.
I’ve seen artist after artist be cheated, stolen from or treated horribly by their labels. I personally have been told by a few label execs that I need to copy the style of this or that artist if I ever wanted make it in this business or be signed to a label.
Depressing.
It’s this shift in the music business that has, without a doubt, inspired me to want to make music again.
In this arena, I actually feel like I have the ability to find my own voice, my own audience and on my own terms, and though I’d like to be paid for my music, I’m happy to know that people are listening and interested, whether they pay for it or not.
Thank you for reading..
(mama said music can change the world …)
Music shouldn’t be free …
“This is a blog about me getting to know my record collection better, adding records to it, making mixtapes, and any other musical ephemera I choose to write about,” says David Broyles on his The Mixtape Jones Report.
“I am a musician myself, as is my wife »»»
To a Mother Concerned About File Sharing
Here’s what I have to say:
Here’s my question: is EVERYTHING he is pirating on a major label? I mean, have we gone through it with a fine-tooth comb, and made sure that nothing independent or on an indie label snuck through? What if his tastes start to change and he starts to listen to a lot more indie music? Will he really be able to change the habit after he has already become so accustomed to getting all his listening material for free? I totally agree that, for the most part, most artists signed to labels, especially major labels, don’t make a very large share of their income from record sales. But pretty much EVERYONE else who is a recording artist DEPENDS on this as part of their bread & butter. I am not a big fan of the major labels … I agree that they have shown nothing but greed in their reaction(s) to the file-sharing epidemic.
Ultimately, though, it is all about the attitude, the attitude that MUSIC IS WORTH SOMETHING. I will, more than likely, always feel that when I put my blood, sweat and tears into making a record, creating something that I deem good enough to expose to the world at large, that record is worth paying for. How is anyone who is NOT on a major label ever expected to make a living creating art if the world decides that it should all be free? Indie artists don’t always have the ability to tour to offset this lack of income, either.
It’s an expensive undertaking to bring a 4-piece rock band on the road (this being the ONLY reason that you have not seen a badass, monumentally awesome Dr. Pants tour … 3 out of 4 of us are married, and have bills to pay. I am going to have to figure out how to put these guys on salary if we ever hope to do this).
Music shouldn’t be free, not because a record label needs to make money, but because the majority of recording artists aren’t on labels, and their music is worth paying for. Period.
Even then, we’re only talking about ownership. We’re talking about a CD, MP3 or some other type of audio file that one can listen to anywhere, not just on these here world wide webs. When we start talking about the internet, streaming audio, online radio, the dilemma becomes more complex. I have to admit, it would be REALLY great if I could get an ASCAP royalty every time someone played my song on Blip.fm or Last.fm or any of the other online music services. It’s like, in order to have a world where people have the option of finding quality music to listen to online (as opposed to the wasteland that is terrestrial radio), we’ve had to sacrifice the possibility of helping quality artists make a living from what they do. Please don’t hear me say that I’m not grateful for these services; I am incredibly humbled by how many people have blipped Dr. Pants.
I just wish that there was some sort of way I could get paid for that. At this point, I can only hope that enough blipping, etc. occurs that people will decide to pay to download my stuff from iTunes or wherever.
I hope I am not raising a firestorm (maybe I secretly, unconsciously hope that I am, but I don’t think so). This is just the honest perspective of an independent artist who sincerely desires to make a living from it. If I do manage to make a living from it, the music will only get better … I promise. I will spend waaay more time working on it in that scenario.
Stay tuned.
Jon Newton - p2pnet
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
no big deal – `To a Mother Concerned About File Sharing`, August 6, 2009
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August 10th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Maybe David Broyles should read TechDirt and the advice from Trent Reznor. Getting paid for copies is not going to happen. Do unique things, see techdirt, and you WILL get paid, and you will collect more than just a few bucks a CD/MP3/stream.
Seriously, forget about streaming or downloads. Copies of music will be free, you can’t change that, so be open to new ideas as suggested by many creative minds. Once you start, you’ll see it is not as much work as you think it is. Push yourself and you’ll find these new ideas will work and you will be paid for your creative efforts, as I don’t like the term “intellectual property” because it sounds too business like.
Remember, you want to appeal to filesharers and you want them to purchase non-infinite goods from you and copies of your music are infinite goods. Don’t sound like you’re init for the money, don’t EVER sound that way or you won’t even be able to sell whatever unique finite goods you come up with after trying what Trent and TechDirt have suggested.
August 11th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Robert makes an excellent point. We are stuck in a rut of concept as far as making music profitable being equivalent to cd/recording sales because it it the most prevalent business model of the last half a century at least. Innovation, however, is infinite, and if we are creative enough to be an artist to begin with it is likely we can think of some way to adapt to the new environment that does not depend on outdated strategies. I am unmoved by the claim that artists are finiancially dependent upon record sales when so few artists are even permitted to produce commercial product in the first place.
I also tend to support the idea that performing is much of the way to fill the void that recording sales may leave. Isn’t performance much of the reason for becoming an artist to begin with? I know I would be nothing but ecstatic if I could be paid to sing – and I mean actually sing daily, not just paid again and agian for the few sessions I had spent in a studio… As I stated once before, I may download anything I can find that Sting released, but I also swear before God and everyone that the next opportunity to come round to see him perform live I WILL find the means to buy a ticket even at $200 for one seat. (I made a poor choice when the Police were in town; though at the time I thought I was being responsible, there are few things I regret more than missing that concert. I can live without hot water and a phone for month, but if I never see Sting live, I think a part of my heart will die forever.)
There has also been mentioned previously some success with requests for voluntary donations payable directly to the artists for recordings that are available for free. I once gave 2 of the last 5 dollars in my checking account to Joyce Meyer Ministries for a set of 5 cds simply because they were made available “for a donation of ANY amount.” More to the point though, when the account was a bit further in the black, I later donated $25 just because I admired the fact that they did that. THe internet is a tremendous opportunity for exposure to the entire world without going through the industry gatekeepers of traditional media and at much less expense. Indeed a more even playing field…
If what one wants is to be paid again and again for something they only have to do once, then one should concentrate on inventing a mass produceable good in the physical realm. Become a musician for the sake of playing music; at least then the music that you make will likely be better.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:28 am
I used to play in a band. There really is no greater feeling than the high you get while performing for a really great audience. I’ll take that feeling over cash any day.
An artist who is in it for the money is not really an artist at all in my opinion. They are nothing more than a businessman really. They push a formulaic product and thus have more in common with a used car salesman than a true musician. Only a completely narcissistic fool suffering from delusions of grandeur would expect to become rich and famous by creating recordings of their music.
True art comes from the soul and is meant to be shared with others. This is true regardless of the medium. Simply having your art appreciated is supposed to be the real reward. Somewhere along the line this simple fact was forgotten and you were all blinded by greed.
Thanks to file sharing, we are seeing a return to the natural order of how things used to be before Edison invented the phonograph and I don’t have a problem with that whatsoever. Personally I’m looking forward to a day when success is based on the merits of real musical talent and not how much cash some middleman can throw at advertising, air time on the radio, talk show interviews, etc.
August 17th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
BOO-YAH!!! Play it again, ‘Slam!