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Originally Posted by The Soup Nazi
But that doesn't erase the rest of us - it's not like we're going from town to town hunting for original Polaroid instant film. New product IS there: hundreds of thousands (millions?) of artists, of all generations, getting their art (OK, I'm stretching the terms "artist" and "art", but you know what I mean) pressed on vinyl, captured on tape, digitized to CDs (yeah dude, CDs, we dig 'em  ), AND the demand is there as well - why do you think some records, even those not pressed in ultra-limited quantities, fly off the shelves and later reach degenerate prices on Discogs and eBay. |
no, i'm not trying to erase collectors, a special breed of people, who unfortunately seem to be the only ones reliably feeding non-hit musicians these days, when there should be other revenue streams (greg proposed government support... )
what i wrote was not a question of "me", the "me" was just a device to look at what is going on in the market. i was just looking at the market forces, and the capacity of musicians to make a living in the market, and i described my part in that market, in which i'm buying from the big capitalists because they really sell me what i really want: ubiquitous universal access (but be careful what you wish for...).
the collector reselling at astronomical markups is also a capitalist, just a small one, and closer to the musicians, but unfortunately i have zero use for their product. and i would venture most of the market is like that. collectors are a special breed. not everybody is one, but we all know some.
but anyway my intended focus really was on the ability of musicians to make a living under current conditions.
however, another thing to consider in such economy is that the public preference for the disembodied lifestyle might be an adaptation to having no security, no fixed home, and perhaps even no body (since everything is reduced to data now, what is a body?). this has been decades in the making now, and perhaps those not affected yet can sense it in the air anyway.
personally, i chose this nomadic lifestyle. i like it. it's genetic. my paternal line is scattered all over the world, while my maternal line is all clustered in one city--it's hilarious for me to see this. so i take after my father's family and just pick up stakes and go. anyway, mine is a choice of sorts (i did not choose my genes, but my genes get their choice).
however: not me: millions of people have no choice and are forced into dislocation by disasters like job destruction, financial stress, and private equity buying up the neighborhood. and war of course. maybe they would even like to be collectors, but just can't.
so those choiceless people are no different than the musician dislocated from markets and from the ability to make a living at their craft. which for me is the big question here. (i am actually more worried about the millions of people with insecure lives, but this thread was about bandcamp)
can collectors alone enable musicians to make a living? maybe, i don't know really, i think probably not. i'm sure they help, just not sure how much. so it seems musicians need another business model, beyond just relying on support from collectors, because streaming is the new model but the new model is clearly not enough.
i am not worried about the fate of collectors themselves. i honestly think they will be fine. they have money to spend in their delicious vice, and will get their product one way or another. but i am actually worried about the musicians who depend on those collector dollars. and i'm trying to figure out what's happening so that i can figure out what can be done. not that i will solve this problem, but i enjoy the attempt in itself. looking for choices when there are none left. because what else.
anyway, speaking of disasters and homelessness and war, i'll stop blocking the gaza relief ads which are more important than my ramblings about economics.
so here now reissued:
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Originally Posted by The Soup Nazi
Elliott Sharp covers Dylan's "Masters Of War", a great song that unfortunately does not get old. Mr. E# says:
Recorded in response to the recent events in Israel and Gaza: the barbaric attack by Hamas on innocent civilians and the brutal and disproportionate response by the Israeli military resulting in the deaths of nearly 4000 children in Gaza not to mention thousands of other Palestinian civilians as of this day.
Any proceeds from this track will be donated to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund.
www.pcrf.net
(or please donate yourself directly)
https://elliottsharp1.bandcamp.com/track/masters-of-war |
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by The Soup Nazi
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