Do you feel any guilt about the cheapness of music these days?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Scott S., May 24, 2018.

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  1. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    No guilt here. Just anger. I work in the industry, and this cheapness is destroying it. Other than the owners of the master tapes, no one is making anything off of their music. Not enough to live anyway. You used to be able to live large by just being a songwriter (no live performing). That's not the case anymore. To me, the whole model of the music business has been corrupted, and it's too late to fix it.
     
  2. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    Yeah, but do you know where that advertising money goes? Not to the people who own the music. It lines the pockets of Google (who own YouTube). There's plenty left over after paying for site costs. Enough for a new Bentley in the garage at least. What does the songwriter get? Not even enough for a gas station hot dog.
     
  3. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    They can choose to remove their music from YouTube then, or they can appreciate it as free advertising world-wide. It's up to them to harness technology.
     
  4. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    Nope. You can't have copyrighted things taken down unless you join in on YouTube's blanket licensing statement. The major labels have done so, but most people haven't. It is up to the government to update policies regarding compensation for broadcasting copyrighted content. The business is trying, with only minor success, to get the streaming services to pay out more fairly to intellectual property owners. It's an uphill battle

    Songwriters, and the music business know all about the existing technology. I will never agree with posting your stuff for free just for exposure. No one had to do that before. It shouldn't have to be that way now. Copyright law needs to catch up with technology. Unless it's a benefit for a good cause, I won't perform music for free. Definitely not for exposure. That's total BS. Exposure to what? A bunch of drunk people? Record execs don't show up to any showcases, or events that are put on for free. So many performers give their music away expecting something from the exposure, or pay to play shows expecting something from that exposure. When a songwriter/artist does this, someone's getting paid. It's just not them.
     
  5. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    But if they feel sufficiently guilty, they can also feel morally superior.
     
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  6. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    So you need to get paid AND decide who is cool enough or not to have the privilege of hearing your music? Did you graduate from the Robert Fripp School of Charm?
     
  7. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    When you're at a party and someone pulls out a guitar or sits down at the piano, do they pass the hat first?
     
  8. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    That's up to them. I'm talking about public performances in a venue.
     
  9. Catfish Stevens

    Catfish Stevens Forum Resident

    Location:
    Anoka, MN
    I taped full albums in the late 70s. The local AOR station had a midnight album hour every night with a 'six-pack' on Sundays. I certainly did not record everything they played, but they got promo-ed through the day so you could have a tape ready for something you wanted.
     
  10. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    My point was that lots of artists set up and pay for a "showcase" for their music thinking that it will get them a big break (meaning music execs will attend, and they won't), when in reality, they're just spending money for nothing unless they like to pay money to entertain people. I personally don't like to play music if I have to pay, and I don't like to play for free if someone else (a venue for instance) is making money due to there being music (cover charge, more alcohol sold, more patrons in general). You have to get paid if you want to play/write music for a living. It is work that deserves compensation. I don't have an issue with letting people hear my music as a free download as long as it's my decision, and no one else is making money off it.

    FYI, Robert Fripp isn't a jerk. He just doesn't like strangers approaching him when he's trying to do normal daily things. He's eccentric, but he doesn't lack charm if you get a chance to speak with him.
     
  11. drad dog

    drad dog A Listener

    Location:
    USA
    This is why my memories of calling an AM radio station for hours and requesting a song they would never play seem really precious to me now and not negative at all. Some day people will crave that kind of passion and won't be able to get it.
     
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  12. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Given the absurd cost of concert tickets...no, I really don't. I try to buy vinyl of albums I really fall in love with, but even that has been pricing me out over the last year or two to the point where it's just not worth it most of the time. (especially since I have tons of LP's already that I still haven't really spun)
     
  13. RandelPink

    RandelPink The camel wore a nightie

    Location:
    LA
    I do have guilt for digital. Most of the time I buy physical if I already know I love the album or really want it on that format (typically vinyl, rarely CD). But, if it's a new release and digitally sourced, I admit that I usually search for a shared download before spending money on the download from iTunes. Although this is a fairly new step for me, as iTunes has probably already received 4 figures of my $ over the years :crazy:
     
  14. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    You, of all people, should know that songwriters receive very little (if anything) from concert ticket sales if they aren't the performer. BMIlive has a cap on what can be claimed for songwriters. It's actually more of a sales tool for the PRO to find new venues to license.
     
  15. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    The songwriters and performers should be the same person though, for the most part. This is why I don't understand (popular) country music. There's no good solution, really, but I just can't afford to buy every album that comes out on vinyl when prices are pushing $30 now. 5 years ago it was much more reasonable. Meanwhile, I've dropped around $500 in concert tickets this week. I barely have enough for food, let alone other stuff.
     
  16. CupOfDreams

    CupOfDreams Forum Resident

    No guilt. I've spent enough on music in my lifetime to buy a couple of new cars. Unfortunately my collection, if sold now, is barely worth a beater.

    Record companies have always funneled most of the profits back to themselves.
     
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  17. zen

    zen Senior Member

    I don't like being around the computers for too long, so I will always need a real stereo for the ((( serious ))) listening.
     
  18. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    (sidenote: even when I still had a CD player 10 years ago, about 95% of everything I bought was used, so i guess I was always part of the problem. I really don't know what the answer is here, but it will get sorted out as long as there's people listening)
     
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  19. Lownote30

    Lownote30 Bass Clef Addict

    Location:
    Nashville, TN, USA
    Here's the kicker. Most new pop is in part written by songwriters who aren't the performers. I agree that in rock music, it's preferable that the songwriters actually perform with the band, but that's not always the case.
    I totally understand not being able to afford every album that comes out on vinyl, but I have a simple solution that works for me in that way. I don't buy it on vinyl. It costs a lot more to press vinyl than it does to press CDs, or prepare a lossless download. That's why it costs so much these days.
    Also, why are you depriving yourself of money that could be used for food and other things in order to purchase $500 worth of concert tickets in one week?
     
  20. manco

    manco Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    Only in how it makes you feel. If anyone else gives another answer, they're lying.
     
  21. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    The only solution is to end media sourced music. That includes papers, videos, streaming etc. Wanna hear someone play? Go to where they are playing. Wanna buy their music? Buy it in physical format directly from them. Go back to the Goldmine / brick & mortar only days.
     
  22. walrus

    walrus Staring into nothing

    Location:
    Nashville
    Dunno, that's my thing. Saw two nights of Hornsby, and took my gf to the 2nd night. He played entirely different sets both nights, and I hadn't gotten to see him to a real (read: full band) show in 17 years. Dude doesn't seem like he's slowing down at all as a musician, but after the events of the last few years, you just never know when you're gonna get another chance to see your heroes, particularly in top form. And then U2 on Saturday, which feels a little like an obligation at this point, but we're going. Live music makes me happier than most other things. Although recent events have really put a damper on my 2018...all the stuff I'm seeing this week were tickets I bought months ago when my financial situation was more optimistic.

    I guess what I'm struggling with is, what's the point of purchasing a download that sounds more or less like crap? I mean, I'm listening to the new Spock's Beard record right now (verdict still out, but not blown away), and it's a compressed mess like all their records. Going from 256kbs Apple stream to FLAC wouldn't really offer any benefits for a compressed hard rock record (particularly one I'm kinda meh on), so not really sure what the purpose is as a product.
     
    Lownote30 likes this.
  23. drad dog

    drad dog A Listener

    Location:
    USA
    I feel much differently about various things depending on how much I had to give up to get them and other preciousness factors.
     
  24. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    Do you mean the composition or the recording?
     
  25. No. It makes up for how overpriced they were during the heyday. I mean, they were cheaper to produce than LPs but more expensive. What was up with that? I only do for the artists who probably make less than before if anything at all (unless they have a really good contract). I stopped supporting the majors a long time ago because they kept putting out (the labels that is) the same stuff again and again tweaking them in various ways. I don't want to own 10 copies of the same bloody CD.
     
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