Re: Free Music

["Larry Tremblay" <ltct@concentric.net>]

Someone give Lars some Kleenex while I tune up
my sympathy violin... ;)

The record companies and the 'artists' who collaborate
with them have been ripping consumers off for decades.

This *is* the end of the major label music industry as
we know it and the star system that supports it.
Good riddens. I haven't bought any major label product
for years, anyway.

Just for the record (no pun intended), major label artists
make most of their money through concerts (another rip-off),
product endorsements and tie-ins, and merchandising.

Lars and his ilk complain that their 'Art ' is being
treated like a commodity, yet, that's exactly what it
is whenever you attempt to mass-market something. Hardly,
a News Flash.

It's the 'Barbie Principle' - giveaway the doll but
soak 'em on the clothes and the Malibu BeachHouse. :)

- Larry T

----- Original Message -----
From: "future perfect" <artmusic@gte.net>
To: <Loopers-Delight@annihilist.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 2:47 PM
Subject: RE: Free Music


> I did read an interview with Lars Ulrich from Metallica about Napster who
> was very upset it cut into his profits. It seems the music being traded 
>is
> the most popular stuff- as someone said, you can't search for 'new music'
> and get anything. I doubt Metallica or Britney Spears (2 of the most
traded
> mp3s) now need to save up for that 4th car due to Napster.
> Yes, I've installed Napster, but I can't find music I am interested in.
> Yes, Napster offers lots of free music, but the roadside fruit stand
offers
> a bucket of free fruit too, and most of it is rotten.
> It seems Napser 'hurts' the most sucessful artists. What really is 
>obscene
> is the ticket prices to a Metallica show, or the fact a new CD cost close
to
> $18USD. How about the fact that the band sees maybe $1 for every CD sold.
> And CDs cost less to make than cassettes.
> Napster seems to be a record company problem, not an artist problem.
> A portable CD player is like $50, a portable mp3 player is $250+ and 
>there
> will always be people who want to take the music with them wherever they
go.
> To top it of, Lars says: "We take our craft -- whether it be the music,
the
> lyrics, or the photos and artwork very seriously, as do most artists," 
>"It
> is therefore sickening to know that our art is being traded like a
commodity
> rather than the art that it is."
>
> oh my, maybe this is the end of the music industry as we know it.
>
> (full article here:
> http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/ptech/04/14/metallica.lawsuit.ap/index.html)
>
> Dave Eichenberger- guitars.loops.devices
> http://home1.gte.net/artmusic/dave
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tiktok [mailto:tiktok@sprintmail.com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 26, 2000 1:44 PM
> > To: Looper's Delight
> > Subject: Free Music
> >
> >
> > 1) Everyone's for free music until it's their music they're not being
> > *fairly* rewarded for.  One's definition of "fair" varies according to
the
> > perception of how much money is being personally lost.
> >
> > 2) The "music industry" is not a synonymous term for "musicians".
> > So, statements such as "Napster is a boon to the music industry, just 
>as
> > home taping was" are probably not cause for musicians to rejoice.
> > Musicians benefit when they feel transported by playing music.
> > People who are also musicians can benefit when they get paid for their
> > music, since the last time I checked there was no Napster equivalent 
>for
> > gassing up your tour van or buying recording gear.
> > Making music at anything above the dilettante/hobbyist level
> > requires a lot
> > of money.
> >
> > 3) The "rise of alternative music" was due to the Music Industry
> > deciding to
> > promote some Alternative bands, not to home taping.
> >
> >
> > TH
> >
> > --
> > "For over half a century rock 'n' roll music has acted as a kind
> > of umbrella
> > under which the noblest elements of society have gathered. Today, the
very
> > word "rock" is a synonym for everything that's most decent, honorable
and
> > moderate in Western society. The model behavior of both its stars and
fans
> > is eclipsed only by the probity and rectitude of the men and women at
the
> > business end -- that corps of managers, accountants and recording
> > companies
> > whose transparent honesty and compassion have made the industry such a
> > pleasant environment for musicians to work in."
> >
> > --John Perry, from a discussion of the Napster situation
> >
> >
>
>