I started this a few days ago, but it never got posted because I was server juggling…
Craft Economy – Toronto band staples CC-licensed CDs to phone poles – Boing Boing
This BB post stirred up some thoughts I was already dwelling on tonight.
These guys (maybe gals) are giving away CDs like handbills. The sole purpose of these CDs is to get people to come plunk down $10 (or whatever it is) to hear their live show. For some time now, people have been saying that recordings are not the money makers, they are just promotion for the live shows, which is where the money is in the new music business.
This leads to my question, (which ties in with the Tom Hull line “Ayler Records has gone almost totally to download products — evidently complete with a do-it-yourself kit for their elegant artwork. I like the label a lot, but have trouble seeing what they’re doing as real.”
Do we need something to hold in our hands to give reality to the sound in our ears?
If music has no cost, does it still have value?
Why is the music from a free download or handmade CDR not given the respect that the music from a nicely done digipak is? I think it is similar to the reason that a man in a clean suit and starched shirt is generally treated differently than a man in dirty jeans and a t-shirt. I understand that part of human nature, but it doesn’t mean that the yard guy is not as good a human as the banker. There are times when the yard guy is a better human than the banker, and the same holds true for music that is humbly presented, versus music that is slickly packaged. I don’t have the answers, I am just putting the thoughts out there. Comments welcome.
These are actually questions that we’re dealing with ourselves. I can tell you that our music has value – we put immense work into it and our live shows, despite the fact that we’re giving it away.
By the way – the show is free on the 29th ;).
It’s funny how we write about stuff sometimes without considering that the parties we are writing about will read it.
I agree that free music has value. I wish the music press would see that value and write about it, in spite of the fact that it isn’t “product.”