The Cure

I CANT BELIEVE HOW HARD IT IS FOR SOME PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND MY POSITION IN THIS DEBATE ABOUT 'FREE' RECORDED MUSIC...

OF COURSE I APPRECIATE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COMMERCIAL VALUE AND ARTISTIC VALUE

BUT THAT DOESNT CHANGE MY ARGUMENT

AS IT ISNT THE POINT

(AND FOR FUCKS SAKE...

THIS DEBATE ISNT ABOUT ME/THE CURE!

IMAGINE IF YOU CAN SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT...

I AM NOT DEFENDING 'OLD BUSINESS MODELS'

I HAVE ARGUED AGAINST 'BIG MUSIC BUSINESS' AND THEIR MODELS FOR AS LONG AS I HAVE BEEN MAKING MUSIC... 

BUT PRE BROADBAND WEB (AND IT IS SOMETIMES EASY TO FORGET THAT IT IS STILL PRE BROADBAND WEB IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD!), PLACING MYSELF/THE CURE WITH AN INDEPENDENT LABEL DISTRIBUTED THROUGH A MAJOR LABEL HAS BEEN, ALTHOUGH OF COURSE A COMPROMISE OF DEGREE, THE BEST POSITION FOR US TO BE IN - ONE I HAVE GENERALLY BEEN ABLE TO USE TO MY/OUR ADVANTAGE - AND AS A CONSEQUENCE OF 'PRECEDENCE' - ONE THAT HAS VERY OFTEN BENEFITTED ARTISTS THAT HAVE FOLLOWED ON BEHIND US...

OF COURSE MY/OUR INDIE/MAJOR POSITION CAN ALWAYS EVOLVE AND CHANGE...

BUT ONCE AGAIN

THIS DOESNT CHANGE MY ARGUMENT EITHER

AS IT STILL ISNT THE POINT... )

WHAT I AM ESSENTIALLY SAYING IS THIS:

WHATEVER 'BRIGHT NEW WORLD' I AM EXPECTED TO ENJOY

ONE IN WHICH SONGWRITERS/MUSICIANS ARE OBLIGED TO MAKE THEIR MUSIC AVAILABLE FOR FREE

IS ONE THAT IS TOTALLY UNFAIR 

AND THAT WELL ESTABLISHED AND SUCCESSFUL (IE WELL OFF!) ARTISTS

WHO DO THIS BECAUSE THEY CAN AFFORD TO DO IT

ARE HELPING TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF EXPECTATION:

THE EXPECTATION THAT ALL MUSIC SHOULD BE 'FREE'

IT IS A DISMAL POSITION

AND I WILL (ONCE AGAIN?) TRY TO EXPLAIN WHY...

ASSUMING THIS

(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=285)

"The results of the 2008 ASHE show that median weekly pay for full-time employees in the UK grew by 4.6 per cent in the year to April 2008 to reach £479"

TO BE STILL REASONABLY ACCURATE IN THE UK...

THEN IMAGINE YOU ARE A HUGELY PROLIFIC AND HUGELY TALENTED SONG WRITER - WRITING 25 SONGS IN THE COURSE OF A YEAR (TWO A MONTH AND ONE ON CHRISTMAS DAY?), SONGS YOU FEEL ARE 'GOOD' ENOUGH FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO HEAR... (AND REALLY - WHERE IS THIS PERSON?!!)

IN ORDER TO EARN £25,000 P/A (ROUGHLY THE MEDIAN UK PAY - A PRETTY REASONABLE AMBITION I THINK?), YOU WOULD NEED TO...

AND HERE THE PERMUTATIONS ARE VIRTUALLY ENDLESS:

FROM PRICING A SONG AT £1,000 AND HOPING TO SELL ONE OF EACH...

TO PRICING A SONG AT 1 PENNY AND HOPING TO SELL 2,500,000?!!

...BOTH PRETTY UNREALISTIC?!!

SO MAYBE YOU START BY PRICING A SONG AT £1, AND SEE IF YOUR (POTENTIAL) AUDIENCE AGREES WITH YOUR VALUATION...

IF THEY DO, THEN YOU HAVE TO SET ABOUT GETTING 25,000 OF THEM IN PLACE

IF THEY DON'T, THEN...

WELL

AS I SAID

THE PERMUTATIONS ARE VIRTUALLY ENDLESS

AND THIS IS NEITHER THE TIME NOR PLACE FOR REAL NUMBER CRUNCHING SPECIFICS...

BUT PRICING A SONG AT NOTHING?

HOW DOES THAT WORK?

OH I GET IT...

SONGWRITING/MUSICIANSHIP CANT PAY FOR ITSELF

THATS THE 'OLD BUSINESS MODEL'!

NO NO NO...

SONGWRITING/MUSICIANSHIP HAS TO BE SUBSIDIZED BY OTHER MEANS...

LIKE MERCHANDISING 

(SHAME I LOOK AWFUL)

OR LIVE REVENUE

(SHAME I CANT PERFORM)

OR PATRONAGE...

PATRONAGE?

SHIT!

I HAD BETTER SIGN A DEAL WITH A MORE POWERFUL 'SOMEONE'...

WHO CAN USE MY SONGS TO MAKE MONEY IN SOME OTHER WAY

LIKE ADVERTISING OTHER PEOPLES PRODUCTS?

BUT WHY MUST I BELIEVE EARNING (INEVITABLY PERCENTAGE/SMALLER) AMOUNTS BY ALLOWING MY SONGS TO BE USED TO ADVERTISE OTHER PEOPLES PRODUCTS AN ACCEPTABLE ('NEW/MODERN'?) ALTERNATIVE TO EARNING FROM THE DIRECT SALE OF MY SONGS BASED SOLELY ON THEIR ARTISTIC MERIT?

I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS - IT IS AN IDIOT CONCEIT!

OR AM I ONCE AGAIN TO BE TOLD I AM CLINGING TO AN 'OLD BUSINESS MODEL'?

(AND THAT ENOUGH COOL NEW ARTISTS HAVE ADVERTISED ENOUGH SHIT FOR IT TO BE OK NOW...

WHO IS REALLY FOOLING WHO HERE DO YOU THINK?!!)

SO...

DESPITE THE FACT THAT I KNOW MY SONGS ARE 'GOOD'

AND THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE HAPPY TO PAY FOR THEM IF ONLY IT WAS CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE

(LIKE IN 'THE BAD OLD DAYS' WHEN RECORDED MUSIC HAD ACTUAL VALUE?!!)

IT SEEMS I HAD BETTER FIND A 'REAL' JOB

OTHERWISE I WONT BE ABLE TO AFFORD TO LIVE...

SERIOUSLY

HOW CAN THERE BE ANY OTHER CONCLUSION TO THE MISERABLE ARGUMENT THAT RECORDED MUSIC SHOULD BE 'FREE' FOR ALL?

JUST BECAUSE ITS NEW

DOESNT MEAN ITS BETTER

ONWARDS...

RSX