Value in Your Listening Experience

Well, my view may be hardline on this count but I think as long as music is made with the intention of finding some audience, memorability is under all circumstances an imperative and making it more memorable, except where it's achieved by rather forced and artificial constructs, makes the song better. And writing the best song possible is more important than one's artistic maxim.  When I write, I try to write the best I can. I don't know what is objectively the best and what is it that the audience would like more but I can judge if a line here or there is unwieldy or too verbose or simply not getting the point across.  A passage of music without initiative is similar to that. Maybe it flows out of the artist's style but that means the style itself needs more improvement.  If we look at Beatles here, for example, their flexibility was a great strength. They adapted and went with the flow and did not cling to 'ideals' as some artists seem to.  It may have been destiny that Beatles revolutionized rock and made an unprecedented impact on music culture but they also got a lot of things right.

 

Now, of course, if the artist makes art for himself first and foremost,  there are entirely different considerations and he may write absolutely as he pleases, aware that he does not care at all if it will find any takers. But if you desire an audience for your work, 'sharpness' is a must. The prog crowd loves to justify noodling on the grounds that 'others' don't have the patience but the fact is a lot of times, noodling doesn't really achieve much and it is just that we patiently wait for it to resolve and make way for something better while others won't. 

I have been involved in the music industry in many capacities for over two decades. I have done work directly through some bands or through their record label. In the past I mostly did album cover artwork but today I find myself in the middle of things with two released CDs and a third one on the way. Over the years I have worked with, or done work for bands such as Jethro Tull, Yes, Peter Gabriel and King's X to name a few. I have also done album covers for Atlantic records, Word records and Priority records. As a musician, I have recorded with the talents of John Goodsall (Brand X), Billy Sherwood (Yes, CIRCA) and Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson). In creating my music, I have worked with Abbey Road studios and Metropolis Mastering in the UK and Rivendell Recorders in the US.

Technology has allowed us to reach goals that seemed unobtainable before. However, technology is a double edge sword. The other side of technology is what allows people to illegally download the intellectual property of others. Unlawful downloading happens at the cost of the artist's back. Many people operate under the misconception that if a person has an album on the market, then they must have lots of money. This could not be further from the truth.

In actuality, composing, recording, producing, manufacturing and placing an album in the market still cost many thousands of dollars. Sure, the costs are much less than what they used to but to make a quality product will still run into the thousands. Independent artists have to be in-charge of budgeting their own projects. That means getting the money from somewhere. Then, they have to find the proper studio and pay studio time, the cost of a sound engineer, equipment rental, mastering studio, the artist who prepares the artwork, the manufacturing, the distribution deal, the shipping, etc.

When people download music illegally, they don't think of whatever it took the artist to create the music. They don't think (and in many cases don't care) that the artist might have sank his or her savings into the project. One CD often costs less than a cheap lunch and yet, many people are hesitant to even pay that. On top of being an artist and a musician, I am also a record collector of sorts. For example, I have all the Genesis albums on CD but also have all the new box-sets (of course, my name is on the live one listed as a photographer so I had to get that one). Most likely, I spent a small fortune on the stuff but it's not like I bought them all in one day. Besides, why wouldn't I support the band that has brought me so many good times throughout the years? I feel that is the least I can do.

We live in different times. We live in a society of instant self-gratification regardless of consequences. We do many things that in the long run will hurt us but we still do them because is the order of the day. Hacking the web is cool even though it produces nothing good and is at best, a childish accomplishment. To expect for people to understand the value that music has is not something that equates well with the current crop of consumers.

Music is not the only part of the entertaining industry that suffers but it is the major one that does. Lower music sales equal higher concert tickets costs. So, it would probably be safe to say that many of the people that have illegally downloaded any Pink Floyd or Roger Water music will not be going to see the current The Wall tour which carries ticket prices from $100 up to $300 and above. One would assume that if you are not willing to pay $15.00 for the music, then paying those astronomical prices for the concert would definitely be out of the question. So, you can thank all the pirated music for elevating the cost of seeing a concert to the point that only your parents could afford.

Greed is everywhere. Record labels are greedy, of course they are! they are run by corporations who's main purpose is to prop up their stock value. Some artists are greedy, true but many are only trying to keep up with the lifestyle that they were once used to, (and I can't blame them for that). And now, we have greedy fans too! People who want all the music they can get without paying a cent for it.

All in all, there is a disfunction that permeates through the entire segment. Eventually it will get hammered out somehow. In the meantime though, the recording artists pay the big portion of it.

My personal projects are titled "Plays Genesis and Other Original Stuff" and "Strangers In Strange Places". The holidays are approaching and I feel is a good time to help those who are in most need. Somewhere in this forum somebody mentioned starving children. I can't end starvation among children but I can help and all of you can help too. Form now until December 31st, I will donate a portion from the sale of any of my CDs sold through CD Baby to UNICEF. I will also match the amount with my own money to double the donation. You could help poor children across the world as well as help fight illegal downloads in one swift move. I will let people know of the proceedings through my facebook page which is listed here http://www.facebook.com/Leonplaysmusic. To may purchase the CDs here: http://https://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/LeonAlvarado Not everybody is greedy, I'm not looking to get rich out of this neither. I figure we can do something good through something we all have in common, music.

 

JDL's love of music lies mainly in the pursuit of the new. He has all the old classics, but apart from one or two long standing faves, prefers to hunt down obscurities by bands he has never heard of, usually on the strength of a review on PA and other sites. JDL has a busy life so he cannot spend inordinate amounts of time sitting in front of his computer listening to streaming from myspace etc.

 

Shock! Horror! He illegally downloads FragileOn The Edge by Scandinavian proggers Shaky so he can listen to it in his car as he drives around in his work.

 

He falls in love with the album, buys the CD from the band's website, and is pleasantly surprised at the much better sound quality than his ropey download (now relegated to his mp3 player), He also buys a t-shirt, and will undoubtedly buy their new album and has already bought their previous releases.

 

All because of one illegal download - so it's not all bad is it?

 

I suggest there are a lot of fans, particularly of obscure music, be it prog or any other genre, that have done this. Without fans like these and the delights or otherwise of the interwebby, "Shaky" and their ilk would remain a secret (which might be a good thing, but that's another story!) . On the other hand, people who illegally download music by established artists are killing the mainstream music industry it's true, but when said industry  thinks we all need a seventh version of Dark Side Of The Moon complete with all sorts of useless ephemera at a ridculously inflated price, you can't blame Joe and Jemima Public for being a bit pissed off, can you? Particularly when they discover that the thing they really want, the live concert, is split between DSOTM and WYWH. Who is being greedy here? Mason's argument boils down to "it's there if you want it" is a) wrong and b) shows how out of touch he is with the hard times we live in,

 

a) The demographic it caters to is still relatively small.

b) A good number of people who accessed these uploads would have probably never accessed the music in any other way back in the day.

 

The assumption usually made is if all the volumes of illegal downloads were converted to sales, the industry would still be doing just fine. But I think the answer to that lies in your suggestion that many of them thrill in the act of illegally downloading it. Ergo, they wouldn't have bought actual copies anyway.  On the other hand, because P2P and youtube gives much quicker access to music for many people, there are potentially more people who would buy albums.  And they do and most likely, whatever money you see is only on account of those who do buy CDs/LPs as applicable. I know of people who were not buying when they were in college but once they started earning, they began to collect.  The grim reality though is numbers of these fans for any given fragmented niche of the music industry are not huge and loyalties get further divided amongst bands.  In a more broad based musical climate, things may have been different, who knows.

 

I really don't think the industry has been wise to the changing lifestyle patterns and the steep increase in expectations of convenience of consumers in the last 10 years. I once thought of ordering GG DVDS directly off their website because I thought it would be a good idea to send the proceeds directly rather than route it through websites and possibly reduce their returns from it?  Well, the price of DVDs off their website was actually higher than say off CD Universe. Plus, most band websites don't give too many options other than paypal whereas with online portals, you can use credit cards. Maybe there are logistical difficulties with regard to this, but it is a problem for us consumers also when most obscure albums are not available in stores.  However, in the last one or two years, I think bands have started to use their websites better to promote their music and engage their fans more and also have a presence on social networks.  Perhaps, all this will bear fruit down the line but I don't see sales returning to 70s levels simply because the socio-cultural climate is in itself very different.  There are plenty options for people to spend time with and that has dented music's potency as an avenue of entertainment. 

Its ethicaly a problem that the music are stolen from its owners, just like stealing from Mcdonnalds is not ok, even if they do make too much money, but i dont actualt think its bad for "music" in itself.

 

Bingo ... and the answer is NO.

 

The thing that riles me, though is people thinking that just because it is a "business" or a "company" that it is any more honest than you and I are. And from the experiences that I was next to ... I'm going to tell you that ... it's not even close!

 

There used to be a saying ... where there is money there is corruption and there are liars and thiefs.

 

But we have this image that because someone is rich or a label is big ... they are honest.

 

Times change ... and the American way that was defined by the movie "stars" in the 50's created a system that basically promotes "stars" and is discussed more fully in the Tom Dowd DVD which has the greatest history of American music you will ever find ... if you are progressive enough to want to check it out! And there it is ... your example highlighting the "millions" ... not discussing the music itself!

 

Basically, they turned their actors into singers and then made everything look bigger and better as a way to sell more and get results ... and it was against this that the 60's started fighting back.

 

So it took 30 more years and the Internet was finally the last piece that killed the star ... but we still have not gotten rid of the top ten thing ... which kinda tells you that we're still "guided" (or "controlled") by the Star or Chart thing ... which you and I really do not have any idea is actually true or not! 

 

rogerthat wrote: ... There is no doubt that illegal copies take away from the income of labels and artists but it is the major record labels who pretty much destroyed music culture as far as the mainstream goes and professional critics have played along like third rate conmen.

 

This used to be the discussion in the 70's about the bootlegs.

 

But what made Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead and many other bands famous in concert? ... you got it ... their bootlegs showed a band that was far and above superior in concert ... than it was on album ... which always suggested that there was a measure of control around them, and in a situation like this, they had more control than the record company would want you to have.

 

In the end, the band that sold the most bootlegs, is one of the richest ever ... The Grateful Dead. The 2nd most important number of bootlegs belonged to Bob Dylan, and you already know why ... there was never a same version fo the same song, and many times he changed lyrics on purpose and came up with something different. His "Basement Tapes" is still considered one of the best selling and picked up bootleg ever in the business, and I remember someone at _____________ in Berkely one time saying ... we can't keep enough of them! I don't see Bob complaining about not getting his money.

 

In the end, it was the "greed is good" generation that came up with this lawyer thing that made you and are familiar with became really famous on the Napster thing that Metallica tried to kill. You know what they did? ... they made downloading and mp3's famous instead. It was all about greed and Hammett on the "Behind the Music" once replied to the comment "... you have sold out ... " and the answer was ... "yeah. every night!". So you know they are happy about the money and have enough to allow lawyers to go around and get it for them .. why? ... because these guys can pay for themselves? ... I doubt it ... but when you are bringing in so much everyday ... who cares, right? Now you know why I do not respect Metalica ... music is fine but it is not a person, or entity I wish to meet or know.

 

Of course, this is also another problem ... you do know that Gong, Tangerine Dream, and a bunch of other bands have been trying to sue Branson/Virgin for some serious millions that he did not pay them yet on, right? But he can go fly his balls ... and we think it's great ... of the backs of how many other slaves, right?

 

rogerthat wrote: ... challenging music when Radiohead, Tool, Mars Volta have all done well? ...

 

It can be done now, because you can sell hundreds of thousands of records and only a stupid record company would not show up at Dream Theater, or Radiohead's door and say ... can we distribute your records? ... so they can also gain a dime from it! This is the main difference today ... the distribution conglomerates canalso make 50 cents per CD if they distribute it. But they also set their own price, because you sold them an X number of CD's out front, and what they (or K-Mart for example) charge on the disk is not your concern!

 

It was always there, and very visible in Europe that had a much more vibrant and outspoken attitude towards these things, because in those countries there is (still) a reasonable respect for the arts ... there is NONE in America and in England it is also almost NONE as well, as it is starting to fall into that commercial side and banter of things again ... there is no alternative media and too many internet sites are simply kissybum star things that do not help the arts or the artists ... it's become YouTube or Facebook ... and no one knows, or cares what the quality of the stuff is anymore.