[NewMusic] From "Reinventing Record Deals"

[weasel walter]

 On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:44:39 -0800 (PST) Praemedia <praemedia at yahoo.com>
writes:
> more interested to hear how locals, indies and
> microlabels like my own are fairing in this mess...

well, it's interesting, that's for sure. the internet is a blessing and a
curse. 

on one hand, i'm able to bypass the increasingly obsolete middle-man
distribution network by utilizing email to sell directly, but then i have
the whole issue of people writing me emails all the time, telling me how
much they like my music that they just downloaded for free off of
soulseek! it's a conundrum. when i spend 3 years writing and recording an
album that supposedly thousands of people love so much, yet only 400
people actually paid for it, it's quite disturbing to me. disturbing
enough that i've decided to discontinue the flying luttenbachers after 16
years. nobody really bothered to water the plant, so it died . . . c'est
la vie, motherfuckers!

i don't really expect people to feel a sense of responsibility about
supporting artists, because that isn't the thrust of how our society
currently works. we're in the midst of an extremely decadent, wasteful
scenario where personal pleasure is excercised over responsibility on all
levels. (i should start learning the violin so i can play it when the USA
begins to burn.)

the statement from mr. morris sums a lot of it up: if everybody thinks
music is free and they can get it for free, why the hell *should* they
pay for it? i don't think many people are considering the consequences.

a few people do it out of a feeling of responsibility, but not enough.
i've had to be vociferous to my fan base about the concept of patronage,
i.e. "when you buy a cd directly from me, you are supporting the creation
of more music". many people have taken that plea to heart, fortunately -
at least enough people have taken it to heart to the extent that i can
afford to press cds.  

that's how i survive - direct, honest communication with my fanbase and
attention to quality.

ww