Re: [microsound] microsound future

[Geoff Farina <geoff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>> thrill jockey records was the most profitable record company in th US
>> last
>> year and they deal mostly with indie rock and various forms of
>> instrumental

This is silly. Any one of hundreds of major-label artists alone generate
more net profit than TJ's entire catalog, and there are many indie labels
that sell much more accessible indie music that make much more profit each
year than TJ. Look at the sound scans and you can get a glimpse at how
labels like TJ are excited to sell 15K-20K copies of one release, while any
one MTV star (Britney Spears) alone constitutes a massive industry
supporting many small companies that and merchandising endeavors.

> it is unwise to think that rampant piracy will somehow make underground
> music more viable,on the contrary, the small time operator will never be
> able to sell anything. perhaps this is what you want? if musicians can't
> make aliving off their music they'll be more dependent than ever on big
> business or private investment or fucking day jobs which really suck! the
> little person,like always, will suffer first.

But "piracy" is only a function of our current system of music
commodification. Many people say (and I agree) that the 20th century will be
remembered as a brief point in time in which music/art was treated a as a
mere commodity in our Capitalist system, with it's little idiosyncratic
categories of "royalties" and "piracy" playing into the brief and
relatively-meaningless drama. Music/art typically had a much more social and
communal function for thousands of years before our current historical
context, and Napster hints that it may reclaim this role in the future.

I should also say that music has been my primary employment for the past
seven years and recording royalties have been my primary income, second only
to performance fees, so I (seemingly) have a lot to loose in this debate.
However, I am in full support of Napster and Gnutella because what's at
stake is the stuff that makes underground music vital in the first place,
which is far more crucial to me than my own short-term profits.

Geoff Farina

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