Re: (OT) Copyright in a Sampled World...

["Stephen P. Goodman" <spgoodman@earthlight.net>]

"Jon" <ssrndpty@hotmail.com> put forth:

> Yes, but the public are a bunch of brain dead lemmings. What makes a
stupid
> majority's opinion better than that of a few hypothetical, pretentious
> individuals? You're right, the public aren't easily fooled; look at
> politics.

That's not a very nice opinion to have of the folks who could pay you to
perform or record your music, is it?  While it's true that many folks could
have cottage cheese between their ears and you wouldn't know the 
difference,
it doesn't mean that they can't like your music or whatever other art one
produces.  If it brings them something that's even nicer, don't you think?
The contention that all people are easily swayed and otherwise manipulated
is at times exaggerated by successes in advertising/propaganda, that are
mostly confined or otherwise controlled.  This I believe is the product of
marketing statistics being used and touted by people who might have another
agenda present than telling you or me the truth about human behavior.  More
often than not such stats are used to specifically support the existence of
an advertising or marketing campaign.  Is this any way to run an airline?
(No, but the ad campaign sure worked for National back in the late 60s.
Note that National, however, is no longer with us, while the slogan
certainly is.)

> I listened to your work, and as a performer I thought,"this sucks," but
> anyone who with the skill to create this improvised, and on the fly, 
>would
> eventually make something interesting.
>
> As a critic, I listened to it and thought, "this sucks," it doesn't say
> anything that hasn't been said before; it's just filling space.
>
> As a member of the public, I would just switch the channel back to
Britney -
> that's what all the my friends listen to these days, and she just did an
> interview on MTV.

Perhaps they were just looking at her cantilevered breasts.  There's a lot
more to look at then there were some years ago, and this also was probably
due to marketing in one form or another, too.  Evil business that.

I prefer to try to find the glimmers in the mass, the bits of florescent
mica in the concrete.  Those are the folks I'm creating for from a
"positioning" standpoint.  If the rest like it, fine.  But I don't conform
my material to what I *think* people want.  Call me extremist I suppose.  
At
the moment despite relative poverty I'm still able to create.  Therefore 
God
is Good, and while the PC still works, I create.

Stephen Goodman
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