Feeling Entitled to Your Music

Sense of entitlement is a big problem, yes.

If it's there and I want to listen to it I will listen to it. Entitlement has nothing to do with it. If a band or label wants to deprive people or listening to their stuff then go ahead. Something else will fill the void. There will always be music, and if a band or a record company thinks it is a better idea to let a good work dwell in obscurity than to upload it or license it out, their loss.

I think people generally feel entitled to everything these days.  Sorry if that sounds cynical but in this part of the world, things changed more slowly so I still remember a time when there was no Windows PC, no internet, no CDs, no nothing. And we were quite happy, thank you.  Possibly less harried and less bombarded by information than today, as well, but that cuts both ways and I am deeply suspicious of nostalgia so I will leave it  at that that was also a way to live. 

A good cure for that, if you are a music lover, is to attend a concert of some favourite musicians, and wait in long queues for hours just to get in and then when they 'deliver', you will truly appreciate how priceless it is, how privileged you are to have been there and watched them.  I watched Shakti yesterday, after waiting an hour to collect a pass in lieu of my internet booking receipt and then to get into the arena and came back with that kind of feeling.  I can say now that I have seen McLaughlin, Zakir Hussain, U Shrinivas perform and know what it means to watch them.  I can say now that anybody who thinks youtube or DVDs are any substitute for that doesn't know what he is talking about, period.    Great live experiences hopefully put you back in touch with the original feeling of enchantment when you got into music and stop you feeling jaded and saturated, which is likely where the feeling of entitlement comes from.  How can we possibly take the presence of great musicians for granted?


Edited by rogerthat - February 12 2012 at 23:30

The Miracle wrote: The T wrote: Sense of entitlement is a big problem, yes.

Sense of entitlement amongst general populace is almost entirely a Western world phenomenon. Review the subject with large swaths of Africa and Southern Asia where just having the security of clean water and a rape free day is a triumph.

That being said, you should probably pay for music if you expect to listen to it whenever you want. But pay the artist directly whenever possible.

Blacksword wrote: Snow Dog wrote: The Miracle wrote: The T wrote: Sense of entitlement is a big problem, yes.

stonebeard wrote: If it's there and I want to listen to it I will listen to it. Entitlement has nothing to do with it. If a band or label wants to deprive people or listening to their stuff then go ahead. Something else will fill the void. There will always be music, and if a band or a record company thinks it is a better idea to let a good work dwell in obscurity than to upload it or license it out, their loss. I've stopped having a problem with downloading, even though I hardly do it anymore. It is simply because there will always be music. Downloading, the destruction of all labels everywhere, and any other formal organization doesn't mean anything now. If you have a devoted musician, digital technology, and the internet, you have access to tons of music and tons of music for free, uploaded by people without any expectation of being compensated. It is a wonderful thing, because it is all about the music, passion, and the desire to engage in a something that brings humans joy just by existing. Are we entitled to music? No. But it's a moot point anyway. Music will never go away, and should be glad and welcoming the technology that makes it easier to share music.

I think I'm entitled to get Jazz music for free, you know the hard bop 50s and 60s stuff.

Anything else I like, I'd like to purchase it.

Why? Because I'm not that into Jazz so I would never buy it anyway, also because most of the classic Jazz records are going into public domain in a few years IMO.