I don't think that's the issue. iTunes is paying better than most other deals, and so I don't think anyone is complaining about that. I think that the reason artists choose the indie "I hope I can make it without any help" route or the big5(?) "Hey, they'll help me get started. I hope I sell enough copes to keep up with their quota" is because they either don't know about alternative choices, are afriad of flying completely solo (so to speak), or they get pressured into contracts by smooth-talking salesmen. Sorry for the run on, but does it make sense?
Stupid analogy time: A smooth-talking salesman could probably talk me into buying whatever kind of car he wants me to buy, because I don't know enough about the technology and the industry. The recording industry is an enigmatic industry to outsiders, and if an artist doesn't have previous expereince or friends on the inside, he must improvise everything. Only the smart, lucky or connected artists can come out on top.
It would kill independent musicians in only the money sense. Without money, writing and performing music is almost exactly like open source coding. You create a work, you find a way to distribute it, and either you don't worry about the money or you hope to get donations.
Technically, yes. It is the bottom threshold usually. Anything slower looks choppy. As things get faster, they look more fluid and usually more lifelike. Think about it. 24 fps for games is acceptable, but uncomfortable. 60 fps is smooth and usually feels pretty natural. Of course, screen proximity has a lot to do with it. I suppose it's all personal tastes.
As an interesting side note, fighter pilots are known to spot and identify minute changes in a scene in as little as 1/200 of a second.
ARTIST: Er...can I talk to someone about my contract?
RIAA Front Desk: How much did you make for us on your last release? ARTIST: Uh...$500,000. ish. RIAA FD: In that case, no. But I feel sorry for you, so here's a buck for your next cardboard house.
I love the irony of "artists' rights." It's perfect. I'd be willing to bet Rosen's got all the money-making 'artists' locked up in a dungeon/jail, only to be let out for PR, and they probably just ignore the other artists anyway.
I can see it now.
ARTIST: Er...can I talk to someone about my contract?
RIAA Front Desk: How much did you make for us on your last release?
ARTIST: Uh...$500,000. ish.
RIAA FD: In that case, no. But I feel sorry for you, so here's a buck for your next cardboard house.
If Windows is so crappy, why do people keep using it? Same reason they listen to the crap music. It's there, it's what's pushed on them, it's what they see on MTV. It's *everything* they know. Most of us capable of finding alternatives prefer those, wether it's indie bands or Linux or whatever. The mainstream is content with what they have because it's good enough for them. Of course, "Fear is the mind killer." When I first got into Linux, I was afraid. I had no idea what I was doing or what needed to be done. I didn't know which programs were good and which were to be avoided. The same thing happens with indie groups. People don't hear them in commercials or on music videos, and while it's not exactly the same thing, many are afriad to try new things. That, I believe, is the reason why so much RIAA music is being shared.
Apologies if I rambled.
That's a good point. I don't ever watch baseball (on account of "I can't, I have to recompile my kernel" style excuses), but aren't there more officials than players on the field at any one time?
I apologize. I may have misread your comment. The musicians may not have been able to spend as much time on their music without that money, but the effort makes up for that lost time. I know that many of my friends (the musicians & artists anyway) have difficulty keeping a job. When I ask them why they got fired, it's usually something along the lines of "I kept showing up late, but my new song is coming along well."
Do you think they would have been able to devote the time and energy to developing their music if not for the potential payout? Do you think those who helped fund that development would have done so if not for that same potential payout?
Musicians: yes. The potential payout means nothing. If it comes, excellent, more money for equipiment. If not, oh well, time to look for a better-paying job.
Those that helped fund: no. The people usually funding artistic endeavours are almost always looking for either money or fame (almost all money these days). Unfortunately, they're also usually good salesmen and can whip up a nice draconian contract in no time.
Hold on a sec...If you can find that sort of information in an encyclopedia and all over the internet, how can those 'incomprehensible internals' be closed-source? Er...unless you actually *were* talking about computers...
Interesting points. You are right. Some people focus directly on the money, and the music comes second. Maybe I am naive, but I don't consider those people to be musicians, just people who are lucky enough (or talented enough) to have something acceptable come out of their instruments and mouths.
Again, this is my idealism speaking when I say "Musicians care about the music. Artists care about the art. Money, or the lack of it, is just something we have to live with, and if we can get it from our arts, so much the better."
...concert goers, home listeners, audiophiles, etc.. for them it's the music that matters, not money.
Thank you. If musicians (with business sense) ran the business, consumer costs would probably be limited to equipment, maintinence, delivery and related costs, with enough profit margins to keep up with technology. This way the musicians can concentrate on making their music and fans still have easy access to it.
Do not make yourself sound stupid by insisting that expensive equipent and studios are needed to make good music. They are not.
A little close there. While none of that is needed for the music part of it, high quality equipiment is needed to make good *recordings* of music. Recordings, whatever format or legal grounds, are great ways of letting people hear new things.
Veering off to left field...
As a musician, I see no need to make money from my work. It would help, and I'd probably be able to focus on it more if money came back from it, but it is nowhere near nessecary. IMO, real artists are willing to do whatever it takes to make their creations. Work two jobs for studio time, eat nothing but ramen noodles for a month to buy a new instrument, still creating new works in their free time. whatever. Music first, money later.
Scratch that, it applies to every creative endeavour I've seen. Art first, money later.
Ah, I understand. My apologies. Mistakes all about in the political system. Shit happens, politicians sweep it under the rug, everyone forgets about it until it smells bad, then we repeat.
Hold on there bub... If you're gonna bash properly, you've got to bash the whole system, not just the half that doesn't include you. Observe:
R: TAX CUTS, GET YOUR TAX CUTS! Hey there little Jimmy, did you scrape your knee? Have a tax cut! Oh look, there's little Mohammad. Hey buddy, your daddy's a terrorist, so we're gonna arrest him. No, sorry, we don't have any evidence, but that doesn't mean anything! Don't worry, we'll bomb your family in...(Quick Jones, what's a middle-eastern country?)
D: LET THE GOVERNMENT TAKE CARE OF YOU! Good morning little Emily. Did your balloon pop? I'm sorry, let's set up a new government agency to fix that. This way we can also give Illegal Alien Juan and Convicted Felon Bob jobs to help you!
They could always make more profit by lowering their prices slightly and getting more customers...Or, another crazy idea (probably too crazy), they could use the extra profit to upgrade infrastructure or increase R&D spending...crap! That can't work...Hmm...let's think of how this will really turn out...I can see it now...(Dreamy fade)
INT. 53rd story, Board Room - Day
12 Directors are sitting in their huge leather chairs at a gargantuan marble table. In the center of the table is a cake with money drawn on it in icing. Around the room are balloons full of money, and on each director's plate is a party hat made of money.
I also have not seen any OSS game with the graphical quality of a top-selling proprietary title, but I have not seen many top-selling proprietary titles that equal the quality of games such as Nethack.;-)
Good points, but OSS developers tend to be programmers and not 'artists'. Dev studios have people dedicated to the art side of the production. In OSS, details just fall into place (not always with tetris-like efficiency, however) as people come up with useful ideas.
What I think I'm trying to say is that we need to persuade some artists to either do some free stuff or pay them out of pocket if we want studio quality artwork.
Movies: Trailers. Concerts, tours: Heard at least one song on the radio/ commercials on tv, already like the band/bands. Plays: commercials usually show a scene or at least a clip.
You got me on the phone thing tho. However, it is a utility and you usually have the experience of your friends to go off of.
My problem with the restrictions of digital copyright stems entirely from my views as a musician.
Thanks for that. You've stated almost my exact opinion a bit more eloquently than I would have. As a real artist, my primary concern is *not* profit, but making music. Music first, everything else later.
Revenues are down due at least in part to their slowing of the release schedules for the major artists. According to the statistics, they started slowing down the release schedules about 9 months before they began their attacks. Slower releases mean less revenue, and since it's usually overlooked, it can be blamed on something else, like filesharing.
Slashdot Mirror
Stupid analogy time: A smooth-talking salesman could probably talk me into buying whatever kind of car he wants me to buy, because I don't know enough about the technology and the industry. The recording industry is an enigmatic industry to outsiders, and if an artist doesn't have previous expereince or friends on the inside, he must improvise everything. Only the smart, lucky or connected artists can come out on top.
It would kill independent musicians in only the money sense. Without money, writing and performing music is almost exactly like open source coding. You create a work, you find a way to distribute it, and either you don't worry about the money or you hope to get donations.
As an interesting side note, fighter pilots are known to spot and identify minute changes in a scene in as little as 1/200 of a second.
Now now, you don't have to be that rude about it. He's just a few years off. Now, can you help me try and get Mr. McCarthy back in his time machine?
ARTIST: Er...can I talk to someone about my contract?
RIAA Front Desk: How much did you make for us on your last release?
ARTIST: Uh...$500,000. ish.
RIAA FD: In that case, no. But I feel sorry for you, so here's a buck for your next cardboard house.
There. Sorry about the formatting.
I can see it now.
ARTIST: Er...can I talk to someone about my contract?
RIAA Front Desk: How much did you make for us on your last release? ARTIST: Uh...$500,000. ish. RIAA FD: In that case, no. But I feel sorry for you, so here's a buck for your next cardboard house.
If Windows is so crappy, why do people keep using it? Same reason they listen to the crap music. It's there, it's what's pushed on them, it's what they see on MTV. It's *everything* they know. Most of us capable of finding alternatives prefer those, wether it's indie bands or Linux or whatever. The mainstream is content with what they have because it's good enough for them. Of course, "Fear is the mind killer." When I first got into Linux, I was afraid. I had no idea what I was doing or what needed to be done. I didn't know which programs were good and which were to be avoided. The same thing happens with indie groups. People don't hear them in commercials or on music videos, and while it's not exactly the same thing, many are afriad to try new things. That, I believe, is the reason why so much RIAA music is being shared.
Apologies if I rambled.
Damn the RIAA, I'm scared and offended now! What should I do next?
Aha, thanks for the info.
That's a good point. I don't ever watch baseball (on account of "I can't, I have to recompile my kernel" style excuses), but aren't there more officials than players on the field at any one time?
I apologize. I may have misread your comment. The musicians may not have been able to spend as much time on their music without that money, but the effort makes up for that lost time. I know that many of my friends (the musicians & artists anyway) have difficulty keeping a job. When I ask them why they got fired, it's usually something along the lines of "I kept showing up late, but my new song is coming along well."
Musicians: yes. The potential payout means nothing. If it comes, excellent, more money for equipiment. If not, oh well, time to look for a better-paying job.
Those that helped fund: no. The people usually funding artistic endeavours are almost always looking for either money or fame (almost all money these days). Unfortunately, they're also usually good salesmen and can whip up a nice draconian contract in no time.
Hold on a sec...If you can find that sort of information in an encyclopedia and all over the internet, how can those 'incomprehensible internals' be closed-source? Er...unless you actually *were* talking about computers...
Again, this is my idealism speaking when I say "Musicians care about the music. Artists care about the art. Money, or the lack of it, is just something we have to live with, and if we can get it from our arts, so much the better."
I never said we can't. Like the amateurs, we don't care about the money. If money comes in, it's an added bonus/side effect.
Thank you. If musicians (with business sense) ran the business, consumer costs would probably be limited to equipment, maintinence, delivery and related costs, with enough profit margins to keep up with technology. This way the musicians can concentrate on making their music and fans still have easy access to it.
Do not make yourself sound stupid by insisting that expensive equipent and studios are needed to make good music. They are not.
A little close there. While none of that is needed for the music part of it, high quality equipiment is needed to make good *recordings* of music. Recordings, whatever format or legal grounds, are great ways of letting people hear new things.
Veering off to left field...
As a musician, I see no need to make money from my work. It would help, and I'd probably be able to focus on it more if money came back from it, but it is nowhere near nessecary. IMO, real artists are willing to do whatever it takes to make their creations. Work two jobs for studio time, eat nothing but ramen noodles for a month to buy a new instrument, still creating new works in their free time. whatever. Music first, money later.
Scratch that, it applies to every creative endeavour I've seen. Art first, money later.
Well, I never have had an 'internet' per se, but my connection still seems to be stable. Perhaps I'm in a lucky area?
Ah, I understand. My apologies. Mistakes all about in the political system. Shit happens, politicians sweep it under the rug, everyone forgets about it until it smells bad, then we repeat.
R: TAX CUTS, GET YOUR TAX CUTS!
Hey there little Jimmy, did you scrape your knee? Have a tax cut! Oh look, there's little Mohammad. Hey buddy, your daddy's a terrorist, so we're gonna arrest him. No, sorry, we don't have any evidence, but that doesn't mean anything! Don't worry, we'll bomb your family in...(Quick Jones, what's a middle-eastern country?)
D: LET THE GOVERNMENT TAKE CARE OF YOU!
Good morning little Emily. Did your balloon pop? I'm sorry, let's set up a new government agency to fix that. This way we can also give Illegal Alien Juan and Convicted Felon Bob jobs to help you!
What a scene...
Good points, but OSS developers tend to be programmers and not 'artists'. Dev studios have people dedicated to the art side of the production. In OSS, details just fall into place (not always with tetris-like efficiency, however) as people come up with useful ideas.
What I think I'm trying to say is that we need to persuade some artists to either do some free stuff or pay them out of pocket if we want studio quality artwork.
If you get to Guantanamo Bay before me, save me a cell, would you please?
You got me on the phone thing tho. However, it is a utility and you usually have the experience of your friends to go off of.
Thanks for that. You've stated almost my exact opinion a bit more eloquently than I would have. As a real artist, my primary concern is *not* profit, but making music. Music first, everything else later.
Revenues are down due at least in part to their slowing of the release schedules for the major artists. According to the statistics, they started slowing down the release schedules about 9 months before they began their attacks. Slower releases mean less revenue, and since it's usually overlooked, it can be blamed on something else, like filesharing.