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Would you still support the artist if all music was free?


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Would you still support the artist if all music was free?
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Wrao
Yarp
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Road Warrior
 
2006-02-04, 17:01

I was thinking about it all, making music, people buying it, people wanting to download it for free, people not wanting to support the labels, artists getting dicked by the labels. The internet's role in all this. Garageband and it's music communities. Myspace and its music communities. I'd like to ask some questions to the forum and hopefully get some incite. You can think of it as a little survey, but feel free to add your two cents and make some discussion about it as well.

If artists were giving their music away for free on their websites(or assisting sites like myspace..etc.):
Would you 'tip' them? If so
Would you only donate if you liked their music?
would you feel any responsibility towards them if you recognized their hard work?
would you feel guilty about only downloading music for free and never supporting them? if so, how might you justify yourself?
Would you think it is fair to give them money even if they aren't asking for it?
would you support such a system?

Also, If the artist was giving their music away for free, but actively asking for donations.
Would you be more inclined to donate?
would you feel any more guilty about not donating?
would you feel they are justified to ask for money?
are they any different, at this point, than a beggar on the street with a guitar? if so, how and why?
would you think they should just cut their hair and get a real job?
do you think it's fair of them to want money for something that no one asked them to create, even if they aren't forcing you to give them any if you share their creation?


Thanks for any input you can provide. I will withhold some of my opinions for now, but if discussion gets started on this, I have plenty to say.

also, try and be honest. It's easy to be idealistic, but I've known so many people that pay lip-service to their ideals without actually having any intentions on following thru.

Last edited by Wrao : 2006-02-04 at 17:08.
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chucker
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: near Bremen, Germany
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2006-02-04, 17:09

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrao
If artists were giving their music away for free on their websites(or assisting sites like myspace..etc.):
Would you 'tip' them? If so
Would you only donate if you liked their music?
would you feel any responsibility towards them if you recognized their hard work?
would you feel guilty about only downloading music for free and never supporting them? if so, how might you justify yourself?
Would you think it is fair to give them money even if they aren't asking for it?
would you support such a system?

Also, If the artist was giving their music away for free, but actively asking for donations.
Would you be more inclined to donate?
would you feel any more guilty about not donating?
would you feel they are justified to ask for money?
are they any different, at this point, than a beggar on the street with a guitar? if so, how and why?
would you think they should just cut their hair and get a real job?
do you think it's fair of them to want money for something that no one asked them to create, even if they aren't forcing you to give them any if you share their creation?
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, etc.pp.

Quote:
also, try and be honest. It's easy to be idealistic, but I've known so many people that pay lip-service to their ideals without actually having any intentions on following thru.
Consider this: there's multiple pieces of software that I've donated to. Not because their authors had a fee, but because, after frequently using them, I realized that they were worth my financial support.
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BarracksSi
BANNED
I am worthless beyond hope.
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Washington, DC
 
2006-02-04, 18:11

If people didn't pay for music, the music landscape would be drastically different from what it is now.

Musicians wouldn't be able to afford to pursue music full-time. There wouldn't be big stadium concert tours, for example.

Technical performance quality may decrease because they can't practice & rehearse full-time. There would also probably be less incentive to advance recording & duplication technologies.

However, you will probably see more honest musicians, who aren't whoring themselves out for a quick buck or hoping to "make it big".

Personally, I think music might be more prevalent and more fun if it weren't used for earning money.
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intlplby
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
 
2006-02-04, 18:44

Quote:
get some incite
(emphasis mine)

basically, what you are asking is "would the way software is licensed work for music"

i.e.

freeware - you can listen to the music all you like and the artist doesn't want anything back

shareware - you get a low quality version or a half-track version of the song and if you like it you buy it

donationware - you like it, you tip for it

----

as far as me:

if the artists doesnt ask for money i wouldn't give it....
if i don't like it i wouldn't give money...
if they ask for donations i'd give money relative to what i can afford and how good the music is

as far as guilt i have tried to remove that from my emotions and prefer using logic... so no i don't feel guilt

anyone truly talented will be able to make a living this way.....

if this system meant an end to the system currently peddled to society by the RIAA and bigger labels i would support it 100% - music should spread by word of mouth because it's good not by marketing because it's profit driven

i would also have to be able to get high quality recordings.... giving 128kbps recordings over the internet isn't gonna cut it..... i want at least 224kbps AAC or LAME

-----

you can't make better music through marketing

Last edited by intlplby : 2006-02-04 at 18:54.
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torifile
Less than Stellar Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Durham, NC
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2006-02-04, 22:20

Yes, I would, even if I didn't like the music. In general, I *love* live music. There have been a couple shows I've been to that I didn't dig. I've seen a couple bands play at bars (for free) that I didn't like, but thought they were having a good time playing and so I tipped. For music I listen to all the time, I'd definitely donate. For stuff I don't particularly like? Well, I'd tip some but not too much. But the world would be very different with a scheme like this. I wonder if it would work....

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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atomicbartbeans
reticulating your mom
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
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2006-02-05, 11:41

I haven't bought a CD in years. Not just because of the oppressive, greedy record labels, but because it's a hassle (going to the store, etc.), and a waste of money (what if half the tracks on the CD suck?). For music distribution, the internet is where it's at. Donation-based distribution (maybe via Paypal) would work for music much better than it does for software, since music has the power to invoke emotion... people would be much more compelled to donate if the product moves them emotionally.

You ask me for a hamburger.
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Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2006-02-05, 13:47

Unfortunately, I will be brutally honest here and say that no, I would not pay for music at all if it were free. I barely pay for music now. The reason is that I'm simply not really much of a music person. I don't get into it and while it may be worth what people are charging for it now, it's not worth nearly that much to me. It's really just something to keep me occupied when I'm shelving books. If I were unable to get music for free at all (like if by some miracle the RIAA managed to shut down all file sharing and delete all illegally-distributed music files everywhere), I'd just find something else to keep me mildly entertained.

Though I guess I should say that gaming fills that void for me. I really love gaming and I pay for my games. I should point out that I do buy nearly all of my games used, which I guess doesn't do a whole lot to help the developers, but it's not illegal by any means. Even though I get into gaming pretty heavily, I can't really justify paying $50 for a brand new game when I can just get one of hundreds of slightly older ones for somewhere in the $5-$20 range. Many old ones are so cheap that they're less expensive to buy than they are to rent. I might buy a new release maybe once a year, if it's something I've really been looking forward to and I can't wait to play. But if I'm just looking for something new to play, I don't bother spending the big bucks just to get a brand new release, I just find an older game I haven't played yet.
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ast3r3x
25 chars of wasted space.
 
Join Date: May 2004
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2006-02-05, 14:12

No, I don't pay for CD's now unless I can't get them any other way or they aren't a major label.

I buy from http://www.itownrecords.com/ and other smaller artists that I don't even know if they have a label…I just got a CD with a printed cover in a generic slim plastic case.

I'd still go to concerts, which is where the majority of money musicians make comes from, unless they are selling chart hits, where they sell millions of CD's in weeks.
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