05-05-2003, 10:35 AM
Does anyone really beleive that anything about the music industry encourges creativity?
In the sense that they allow creative musicians to be heard by more people than those at the local pub or church, yes. In the sense that a good band can play for 40 years instead of growing up and getting real jobs, yes. In the sense that lyricists and songwriters can actually have that as a profession and not as a hobbey that gets neglected, and in the sense that anyone other than their husbands and wives might actually hear their songs some day, yes.
I suspect if the industry was to totaly crumble - the main result would be more people exposed to a larger variety of more original music.
How so? Suddenly in the absense of any radio or CDs, more people would start performing improv jam sessions in the street?
As a musician, my experience with the recording industry was fairly limited. Because of record contracts, I didn't have to pay for a marching uniform or some Bowl game trips. It's not much, but poor college students appreciated not having to pay that extra few thousand dollars a year to play, and our fans appreciated us actually having uniforms and making road trips, and they appreciate listening to our recordings! And since recordings of that college band are part of what inspired me to play as a kid, it goes full circle.
I also have done my share of music piracy, so I claim no moral highground on that. I don't agree with some attempts at copyright enforcement, especially when they enfringe on legitimate data transfers - but then as a pirate I have to share in the blame for the things we have forced out like regional DVD-codes, CDs that don't play in half of the drives, and so on.
But in any case, I really don't care for general bashing of the music industry. If the industry is accomplishing nothing good, then you should not be sacrificing anything to go to the local bar or concert hall and listen to musicians who never record. It seems quite similar to the people here who berate Blizzard and/or Microsoft after taking advantage of their products for many years.
In the sense that they allow creative musicians to be heard by more people than those at the local pub or church, yes. In the sense that a good band can play for 40 years instead of growing up and getting real jobs, yes. In the sense that lyricists and songwriters can actually have that as a profession and not as a hobbey that gets neglected, and in the sense that anyone other than their husbands and wives might actually hear their songs some day, yes.
I suspect if the industry was to totaly crumble - the main result would be more people exposed to a larger variety of more original music.
How so? Suddenly in the absense of any radio or CDs, more people would start performing improv jam sessions in the street?
As a musician, my experience with the recording industry was fairly limited. Because of record contracts, I didn't have to pay for a marching uniform or some Bowl game trips. It's not much, but poor college students appreciated not having to pay that extra few thousand dollars a year to play, and our fans appreciated us actually having uniforms and making road trips, and they appreciate listening to our recordings! And since recordings of that college band are part of what inspired me to play as a kid, it goes full circle.
I also have done my share of music piracy, so I claim no moral highground on that. I don't agree with some attempts at copyright enforcement, especially when they enfringe on legitimate data transfers - but then as a pirate I have to share in the blame for the things we have forced out like regional DVD-codes, CDs that don't play in half of the drives, and so on.
But in any case, I really don't care for general bashing of the music industry. If the industry is accomplishing nothing good, then you should not be sacrificing anything to go to the local bar or concert hall and listen to musicians who never record. It seems quite similar to the people here who berate Blizzard and/or Microsoft after taking advantage of their products for many years.