Re: WANTED: Online music responses

[Andre LaFosse <altruist@earthlink.net>]

Matt Davignon wrote:
 
> Well, I'm responding to the group because your questions looked a little
> "official" and I don't want to wind up on another unsolicited mailing 
>list.

No spam here -- I'm an independent musician/cash register clerk (not
always in that order) trying to gather some ideas for how to go about
getting his music heard.  
 
> I have never paid for an mp3, nor have I downloaded one that the artist
> didn't want to be free. There are enough artists who actually want their
> music to be heard that the idea of paying for mp3's seems kind of
> ridiculous. 

I do have some doubts about the notion of selling MP3s online.  A lot of
labels like Rykodisc, Epitaph, TVT, etc are already offering (or about
to offer) downloadable songs for sale in conjunction with various
providers, but I'm not sure how much of it is a current fad and how much
of it has long-term potential.  That's part of what my questionaire is
designed to help determine.

> Most of the musicians I enjoy do what they do to be creative and
> to spread musical ideas, not to make money. 

Hopefully these two things aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

> Right now, there's a wonderful thing that's happening in music right now.
> With the internet, mp3 files, and affordable CD burners, the music 
>business
> is becoming less of a business. You can go to the Wherehouse or Musicland
> and pay $17 for a mediocre CD, or you can find a website where someone is
> offering their CD "free-for-trade" and find some music that actually has
> some passion to it.

I do hope that the change you're talking about doesn't result in people
writing off any mainstream retail outlet as a place to find interesting
music -- or for that matter, writing off the notion that an artist might
want to make some significant income from their work...

Thanks for the reply, and sorry for the spam scare.

--Andre 
http://home.earthlink.net/~altruist