Ask 'They Might Be Giants'

Yes, folks, it's time for another special Slashdot music celeb interview, this time with They Might Be Giants, creators of much excellent music and the famous Dial-a-Song (which has been mentioned on Slashdot before). Anyway, TMBG is a pretty cool band, so go ahead and ask them anything you want -- about their music or Napster or their deal with eMusic or anything else. Post your questions below. Moderators will choose their favorites. Saturday afternoon we'll select 10 of the best ones, and TMBG will have their answers back in the next week or so.

Comments

Business Models

[Anonymous Coward]

The way I see it, people who make a living in music have two major business models to choose from. Under US law in particular, they can choose to (1) ban all unauthorized copying and trading or their material, and make their money off selling records, CD's, tapes, MP3's, or in general anything "materialistic" that can transfer music from one person to another. Or, they could (2) let people freely trade the music for personal use, and make their money off live shows.

I know that many artists would discount #2 right off the bat. These artists, however, are the ones that either don't want to bother with touring, or just don't have the talent to play outside a closed studio. There are loads of bands that actually do make a good living off touring, e.g. DMB, MMW, Bela Fleck, Phish, etc. It's no coincidence that these are the same bands who want their fans to trade music freely; they know that it only helps their business in the form of free publicity.

So, what stance does TMBG take on this issue?

Creative process

[Masem]

What's the process by which you come up with and create your songs, at least prior to getting to the recording studio? Certainly with a wide enough berth of unusual topics that your songs cover, there's probably numerous ways that this works, but is there some common occurence that causes these songs to be written, such as a theme you want to do, or a melody that needs to be written?

Stage Crashers

[irqzero]

I was at the Philadelphia show (day after thanksgiving) when that doofy guy jumped on stage and started flailing about. You whispered into his ear before security took him away. I was just curious what you said to him. Other than that and the few sound glitches (ouch) that was an incredible show. Thanks guys.

Digital or Analog???

[HamNRye]

As a musician myself I must ask my role models this burning question:

Digital or Analog?

Indeed I know there lurks a purist analog soul in TMBG, but who better to get the most out of digital mixing??

Also, if the boys could reccommend a good portable 4-Track I'd be much obliged.

Jason Maggard
"I might be giant, too."

Internet distributable music

[iamsure]

If music *could* be distributed securely online, would you as an artist be willing to do so INSTEAD of signing with a label?

If not, would you be willing to do so and pressure your label?

Finally, if secure transmission of music wasnt possible (as it doesnt seem to be now), are you willing to live with the possibility of people copying your music for free digitally, just to get more people to listen to it?

On Deeper Music

[tarsi210]

Part of what draws me so deep into TMBG's music is the deeper meanings that your lyrics instill in myself. Although all lyrics by any artist may be taken many ways, it has always seemed to me that TMBG's lyrics promote thinking deeper about the song, its meaning, and the feelings of the songwriter.

In a world where much of the new, "popular" music coming out (Spears, Aguilera, Martin, et al) which promotes the "party time" atmosphere and "think with your crotch, not with your mind" mentality, how does TMBG shape their mission in songwriting and performances to keep their unique, mind-intensive style going? How do you keep from falling into that "lesser-meaning-lyrics" groove?

On a side note, when are you coming back to Iowa? :) Thanks for answering!

EMusic deal limiting access?

[gorsh]

Hi guys - I've been a big fan of TMBG for some time, and a long-time subscriber to your mailing list.

Prior to the introduction of the $10 a month EMusic "TMBG Unlimited" service, TMBG frequently provided free MP3 downloads of unreleased songs and live versions not available on Dial-A-Song to those fans on the TMBG mailing list.

Now that the service has been introduced, membership seems to be a requirement for any new MP3 downloads. All the e-mails that I've received from TMBG lately have essentially been advertisements for this new service, with little or no free material offered fans. Because I don't like getting what is essentially glorified spam for Emusic in my mailbox, I've actually unsubscribed myself from your mailing list.

I understand that you guys have to make money and all, but are you concerned at all that you may be posing what could be construed a membership fee to be a member of the "official" TMBG fan community, asking fans to pay for material you had previously provided for free?

I'm perfectly willing to pay money for new TMBG albums and music, but I'm concerned that asking fans to pay $10 a month to have access to new TMBG tunes may cause you to lose more fans than you gain.

The Future

[zpengo]

Do you guys really think that online music has a chance, or are you doing this out of idealism?

I'd personally like to think that it does, but I've heard some pretty powerful arguments against it as well.

Metallica

[zpengo]

What's your take on the Metallica situation? Do you think that their actions are justified, or are they just a bunch of old men who want whatever few dollars they can squeeze out of the public?

Older

[(void*)]

Now that you are much older than you ever were when you guys started out, what would you have changed about your gig, with the benefit of hindsight?

Why the extra pieces?

[markwusinich]

I saw your concert in Philly and was surprized to see all the extra people on stage. I felt like the group did not mesh as well as when it was just the two of you. Was this a one tour thing or do you plan to keep the extra members? Besides the shake up when that one guy climbed up on stage, it felt like you guys were not as energenic as when it was just the two of you. The songs were all there, but the energy was missing. Even the croud seemed quiet.

Professional musicians

[yamla]

These days, it seems that virtually no professional musicians actually make a decent living. Courtney Love has said that she is pretty much playing for free already. TLC declared bankruptcy. And these are just two examples. Yet during this time, the record industry is reporting record sales, record profits.

What do you think the answer is? Is the day of the professional artist over? Is it still possible to make the music you love and make enough to pay the bills? If so, how? How do you see the record industry changing over the next ten years?

Tiny Toons Music Videos

[Pxtl]

Honestly, I'll bet a lot of people out there first heard you when Tiny Toons did that music video day with two of your songs (Istanbul and Particle Man, to the slashdotters who don't know).... how much do you think your carreer owes to that episode? How did that get handled, were you simply approached by WB with a proposal and a contract to sign, or was it more complicated?

Your thoughts on voluntary payments.

[mgoyer]

So far you've received $11.20 from fans through Fairtunes.com. While that isn't a huge amount, what are your thoughts on a voluntary payment system? Do you think the potential exists for a voluntary system to take off? Would you support a voluntary payment system?

Thanks, Matt

Street Performer Protocol

[joshuaos]

TMBG, do you know about the Street Performer Protocol, and if so, what do you think of it? Do you think it is a viable business model for the production of art, and if not, what changes do you think need to be made?

Joshua

Terradot

Copyright?

[joshuaos]

Do you think the concept of copyright will survive the presence of a global internet? If so, how do you see it being inforced and to what degree, and if not, what do you see replacing it?

Joshua

Terradot

good vs bad john

[ashileedo]

There are rumors that there is a "good" John and a "bad" John. Is this true? If so, would the John's care to reveal who is who?