Re: [microsound] politics of music: online labels

[Marc Hiatt <mark@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> what did they do with the musical instruments if they couldn't
> sell recorded versions of sounds made with them?!?!  gee!!!

yeah, i dunno, you've got me stumped...

>> what precisely did you mean by the word "career" here?
> 
> i purposely put it into quotes because "career" may mean anything an
> artist intends to do with his music, commercially or not... perhaps i've not
> used the best word.

mmm, that's what i thought, but it seems you fell into a probably
unavoidable trap that's becoming more common these days.  seems that in many
respects our language (along with much else with a social aspect) is
reducing itself to the purely economic. i think your use of "career" here
was a good example. you knew it wasn't quite the right word, but what other
word could you use? so you put it in quotes... but better be careful here -
the word "economic" seems to beget unpredictable results around here.

> what
> popularity really brings is a sense of recognition, whether as a
> positive response or as critique/criticism.

have you found this aspect encouraging, as far as no type goes? do the
artist get a "satisfactory" response? do you feel there's some good old
fashioned community developing? and if so, community of what sort?
[my initial positive reaction to online communities (take this list as an
example) has been muted somewhat as i've come to realise that they're no
replacement for the real thing. for one, there's not the kind responsibility
that's to be found outside the virtual domain, because if you offend someone
it doesn't matter all that much (i think the slinging matches we have
witnessed on microsound recently bear this out). but of course there are
positives... where do you stand?]

marc.