Re: [microsound] Physical Media - aura in an age of immaterial reproduction

[Graham Miller <grahammiller@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

a business model for the future of all music artists and an age of 
infinite downloadable reproduction:

1) a live experience cannot be recorded, even if it is a recording of a 
live event. the old 'you had to be there to believe it' saying will 
continue to pay musicians. but they have to be performers and they have 
to make performance an experience worth paying for... not the usual 
laptop bullshit... the old walter benjamin idea of 'aura' will become 
even more important and intrinsic to an artist's financial well-being.

2) peripheral crap, like t-shirts, hats, pins, and limited edition 
posters... *material* souvenirs of that live experience. the rolling 
stones have got this down to a science. look at how a band like phish 
succeeds (they're millionaires) in a business paradigm that essentially 
allows the giving away of their music... see: www.phish.com and 
www.livephish.com. you might not like the music but it's a brilliant 
business model. as are the grateful dead.

3) online music (just like the radio) should be given away for free. if 
the music is good it will stimulate 1 and 2. music should be thought of 
a promotional material for other ancillary cash generating ventures. 
even though it is, it should not be rationalized as the product itself. 
this is the *number one* problem artists still seem to have. you have to 
give your art away for free in order to build a fan base that will A] 
pay large sums of money to see the said act perform B) cause them to pop 
over to cafepress.com (one of the more brilliant web services to come 
along in a long time) and buy related subcultural semiotic identifiers 
(which they will - how many of you proudly display your 'microsound' 
tees, even if the meaning is lost on the great unwashed?)

4) packaging has to be something worth buying. or at least have the 
appearance of worth buying. unconventional materials and creativity 
should be the rule here. no more plastic jewel cases that break. no more 
boring black vinyl. we need die cutouts, new fabrics, beautiful tactile 
art worth owning... high concept packaging that reflects the price of 
the CD and makes it worth having and *collecting*.

i mentioned phish before. i doubt if many of you have even heard of this 
band.  they allow free taping at all their shows. now they broadcast a 
soundboard mix within a small range so that fans can use their hi end 
tuners and DAT machines to record album quality material for free. these 
guys have operated so successfully outside the 'grid,' outside the 
mainstream channels of so-called pop super stardom under their own 
terms. no music videos, no hit singles, and still the grassroots 
following allows them a thriving business and has made each and everyone 
of them stinking rich.

it can work.

it is the future paradigm for musicians and music in an age of piracy. 
change, especially drastic change, is the catalyst of innovation. so 
instead of suing 12 year girls for downloading the latest madonna, 
musicians should view this tumultuous times as an opportunity for the new.

i'm an optimist here in a world that has no time to whine about the 
past. you either evolve or you're extinct, just the way darwin would 
have wanted it.

excelsior!

g.



will soderberg wrote:

> the impression that i am getting is that audio (by itself) will largely
> become separated from physical media... downloads, podcasts, etc...
>
> the medium that appears to my observing eye to be emergent is the dvd...
> folks seem willing to pay for something with the visual element and easter
> egg bonus items... with the home theater replacing the home stereo...
>
> i believe that this is a reaction to the excessive price of most cds...
> coupled with the convenience of pod-style drives...  for better or worse,
> most folks seem to care little if their music is encoded in a lossy
> format... as long as it is easy to 'use'...
>
> of course there will be exceptions, collectors items with packaging appeal,
> hi-def audiophile products and so on... but the market appears to be moving
> away from physical audio media pretty fast...
>
> ~will soderberg
> michigan
>
>
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