GovernmentYard wrote:
It is impossible to get 90% of people to listen to anything that has a shred of artistic integrity. Joe Public doesn't want to be challenged, moved or influenced by art in any way, beyond certain boundaries of comfort.
Jesus Christ I fucking hate Joe Public. I guess my being-excellent on here is some sort of balancing act.
Also,
to most else of what you say about starving artists. Music should be about music. You can't bleet about 'integrity' and how the masses don't love you, they never will. The only way genuinely talented musicians can be loved by every music listener is when mass-shared experience goes extinct, showbiz is anhilated and every glossy trapping and gimmick and promotion is stripped away. Basically when civilisation crashes and burns, TV is no more and radio is at most pitifully short-wave and we all return to little isolated pockets where wandering folk live or find a job (or get eaten by zombies) through their own inate talent and hard-work.
Any musician who complains that they don't earn enough or aren't famous enough needs to be bopped on the head. If they're great enough then they'll earn a modest amount - maybe even enough to drop the day job. I've seen lots of little bands that are pretty wonderful and still have to hold jobs, and they don't complain, so don't peddle this bullshit crap about piracy killing music. If anything, the diversity and excellence of music is better than ever if you actually start looking yourself rather than listening to what cunts like whom John Coffey mentioned tell you to. I tend to just buy direct from band's websites and genuine indie labels. Massive record sales just lead to more bands trying to be like Coldplay.
Are your songs excellent? Then you are excellent, and people do love you for it. You have triumphed in the human game. You don't need to sell out an arena, be in a national magazine or even chart. It's supposed to be about the music, man. And giving semi-drunk people a good time. If you become a big success, well and good, but you probably won't because the public usually don't actually like music.
Note, there is music that charts well that I do like. One of my top ten songs is Aqua's Cartoon Heroes. I'm not an idiot who dismisses things that are successes. That way lies the attitude of the failed indie arsehole that Goatboy mentioned. It's just that I recognise that any mass entertainment will be largely rubbish, as according to Theodore Sturgeon's law of 90% of anything being crap.
IN SUMMARY:
People are now downloading for free crap instead of buying it.
If a band is good, enough local people will buy it to earn a nice reward for band. If band are wise people, they will be happy with this. If band is great, enough people will buy
direct from them out of loyalty and love for them to be able to commit to touring and recording, and give up the day job.
Lots of great music has been made by people holding regular jobs, and will continue to do so from now till the end of allway. Look at the American depression era bands, they were skint, and they left a catalogue of awesome. There will always be music.
Record companies are largely thieving twats, unless they are proven excellent ones like Nonesuch.
So good riddance to twats like in that debate, and to EMI. Wish I'd watched it now, mind.