sago
join:2001-12-19
| Music and Philosophy
I understand that Canada has a surcharge attached to CD recordable media that pays out royalties to artist organizations. Correct me if I am wrong, but if you live in Canada it is fine to go over to a friend's house and copy albums that your friend has, so long as it is for personal use only. If you are selling them for a profit, then of course, that's illegal.
I wonder sometimes why there is so much frustration surrounding these types of issues. Some of the things that I grew up believing music was supposed to be include fun, relaxing,energizing, inspiring, entertaining, and the like. I never would have imagined it as being frustrating or involving fear of prosecution.
The republicans' strategy for America's success has typically been to de-emphasize the arts, and focus on core values like math, science, serving your country by joining the armed forces, and, of course, religion. Look at what happened with the museums in Iraq - the orchestrators of the military action there did not feel that preserving cultural and artistic artifacts was very important. This is the GOP's value system. Many in power in DC fail to understand the importance of the creative arts. It's rather unfortunate.
I read a very interesting opinion on slashdot where the poster was comparing the big labels, and the artists that produce "hits", and independent artists from independent labels that are in it for the long haul, and are neither interested in having radio hits, nor have A & R representatives at the labels forcing them to have radio hits.
Madonna falls into the category of artists that have radio hits. She has produced an impressive string of hits throughout her career. Artists like her, and the labels that support them, need those hits, and they need the massive record sales that hits create, in order to recoup the substantial capital that is necessary to do the promotion, to get the songs onto the radio, and to produce the videos.
Independent artists often choose to not produce videos, or produce less of them. They also avoid the expenses of having to promote a "hit" on the radio. Simply cutting out the radio promotion and the making of videos can save an artist and the artist's label hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Independent artists tend to be in it for the long haul; they will produce numerous albums and tour constantly. File sharing is not as much of a problem for these types of artists; they continue to perform because it's what they love to do, they are free from the manipulation of major labels looking for hits. Independent artists can produce they type of album they want to produce, it is not necessary for every album to contain one or more hits. To many artists who are not as well known, file trading is a way of introducing their music to new fans. In a sense, the independent artist and the audience create a lasting relationship with one another. This is significantly different from the popular music world, where the artist is idolized, the artist's style and manner of dress is imitated, and the artist has a hard time dealing with their public image because they get hounded on the streets and become the object of many rumors and much adulation. File trading tends to have an overall negative impact on major label artists, while it often tends to have a slightly positive impact on independent artists.
Along the lines of what was mentioned in the slashdot post I read, major labels are not interested in file trading as a means of free advertising; they are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars getting the artist's hits on the radio, they are spending millions of dollars on music videos, and they need to break even on THIS album, not the next one, or the one after that. The money that has been spent needs to be recouped NOW. So it's easy to understand why there is all this fuss about file sharing.
Perhaps Madonna is only planning to create one or two more albums and is not really interested in creating a new fan base for the future; it may be that she just spent lots of money for a video that was never aired; but it all boils down to the methodology used by her label. The major labels and the major artists typically want to make as much money as they possibly can on the CURRENT album. They are not looking for free advertising. That's why they don't like file sharing.
I really admire some musicians who perform well into their 80's, or to an even greater age. Maybe this is why classical music tends to be thought of as "old people's music". The more time an individual spends learning his or her instrument, the better they become. I am not under the impression that the major reason for Madonna's success is her voice. It's her sense of style, it's her looks. Sure, she has a good voice, but I don't think that that's ever really been the focus of her career.
In America, we seem to be moving away from a respect for arts and culture; and while I respect the majors labels' plight, and their need to recoup the massive outlay of capital in promoting an artist's current album, file sharing, or making copies of friend's albums, remains one of the only ways to get lots of really interesting and cool music that you can't buy at the record store. Sure, it's not for everyone. Lots of people are content with whatever music is available at the record store.
Music lovers should not be made into criminals. Sharing music with your friends is OK. One of the side effects of having lots of freedom is that it's very easy step on other people's freedoms, intentionally or unintentionally, in the process of pursuing your own freedoms. The founding fathers of America had a great interest in minority rights. It's majority rule, with minority rights. If music sharing of any kind is outlawed, the true music lovers, being the minority they are, will have their rights violated in the interest of major label artists. This would be a setback for everyone.
Record labels should have a right to protect their massive investments in the artists they have on their label, but music lovers should also be able to share their music with each other. This is the challenge we have before us.
The answers are clear and the solution is obvious, but the minute you try to "express yourself" out loud, you become a criminal. I thought expressing yourself was good! |
