Well, FUD or well intended ignorance. The author didn't seem terribly knowledgeable about Linux, though he's certainly read some things about it.
He also says that Linux software is mostly
distributed in source form (pardon the gross paraphrase and omitted quote). He didn't seem to be aware of binary packages which are the way most people deal with software packages. (Personally, I reach for the source at the first sign of trouble with binaries anyway.)
The impression I get is that he just don't know a lot first-hand about Linux.
> There is simply too much music out there for any
> one artist to realistically make a living by
> trying to market themselves.
This is chief among the messages the RIAA is trying to push with their propaganda machine -- it's simply untrue. Most professional musicians make their living without the "aid" of the RIAA. The RIAA is, in fact, detrimental to most musicians. Those that do benefit are a statistically insignificant minority. And even in those cases, the record companies pocket virtually all the arbitrarily large profits. Actually, the DIY approach has never been more feasible; technically and economically. There is no longer any phase of the business that requires the services of a record company. They have long outlived their usefulness and have refused to adapt to technological and sociological advancements. They are obsolete.
Unless, of course, you want to be a star...
Naturally, if you want to win at the RIAA's game, you should be prepared to play by their rules. Of course, probabilistically speaking, it wont happen anyway. The number of stars supported by the machine is, once again, a statistically insignificant proportion of the musical community -- that's the basis of stardom.
IMO, Lars' protests can have nothing to do with artisitic concerns and can only be about greed and, possibly, ego. If you wanna be a star, commoditization of your 'art' is part of the process and that's nothing to do with mp3's and napster.
For the record, I more or less boycotted the RIAA long ago. I buy used vinyl (yeah, I have a few CDs) and support mostly local musicians and have done so since well before the mp3 crackdown. Also for the record, I can be counted among those who used to be Metallica fans
but are no longer. Though to be fair, I lost interest back around the post Ride The Lightening period -- had nothing to do with their recent shameful display.
The music industry (ugh! shouldn't this be an oxymoron?) is in desparate need of a revolution. I
only hope the musicians and their fans are able to come out, at least, somewhere near the top.
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Well, FUD or well intended ignorance. The author didn't seem terribly knowledgeable about Linux, though he's certainly read some things about it.
He also says that Linux software is mostly distributed in source form (pardon the gross paraphrase and omitted quote). He didn't seem to be aware of binary packages which are the way most people deal with software packages. (Personally, I reach for the source at the first sign of trouble with binaries anyway.)
The impression I get is that he just don't know a lot first-hand about Linux.
> There is simply too much music out there for any
> one artist to realistically make a living by
> trying to market themselves.
This is chief among the messages the RIAA is trying to push with their propaganda machine -- it's simply untrue. Most professional musicians make their living without the "aid" of the RIAA. The RIAA is, in fact, detrimental to most musicians. Those that do benefit are a statistically insignificant minority. And even in those cases, the record companies pocket virtually all the arbitrarily large profits. Actually, the DIY approach has never been more feasible; technically and economically. There is no longer any phase of the business that requires the services of a record company. They have long outlived their usefulness and have refused to adapt to technological and sociological advancements. They are obsolete.
Unless, of course, you want to be a star...
Naturally, if you want to win at the RIAA's game, you should be prepared to play by their rules. Of course, probabilistically speaking, it wont happen anyway. The number of stars supported by the machine is, once again, a statistically insignificant proportion of the musical community -- that's the basis of stardom.
IMO, Lars' protests can have nothing to do with artisitic concerns and can only be about greed and, possibly, ego. If you wanna be a star, commoditization of your 'art' is part of the process and that's nothing to do with mp3's and napster.
For the record, I more or less boycotted the RIAA long ago. I buy used vinyl (yeah, I have a few CDs) and support mostly local musicians and have done so since well before the mp3 crackdown. Also for the record, I can be counted among those who used to be Metallica fans but are no longer. Though to be fair, I lost interest back around the post Ride The Lightening period -- had nothing to do with their recent shameful display.
The music industry (ugh! shouldn't this be an oxymoron?) is in desparate need of a revolution. I only hope the musicians and their fans are able to come out, at least, somewhere near the top.