by rustywire » Wed Sep 13, 2017 11:17 am
Mixed feelings on this subject.
First off re: youtube videos... can be monetized by the copyright owner, even if they didn't upload the work themselves. Or do what Prince did and have *everything* taken down he didn't want on youtube.
On the one hand, I side with artists and content CREATORS having autonomy and the agency to control access to their creations.
On the other hand, I do not side with supporting intellectual property hoarding, shelving, gatekeeping by non-creators solely in it for the money...while acknowledging the need for investment in the arts.
When Napster was *the thing* I was using it to scour the net for underground Biggie, Tupac, Eminem records/collabos/live/rare shiz/ and downloaded about 3500 mp3s...on dialup... at a time when that material couldn't otherwise be found in print, if at all. Throughout this process I was still spending about $200 a month on mostly underground hiphop artists via UGHH, HHI, HHS, Sandbox Automatic [even before getting into vinyl]. I was determined to do my part to *save the music industry* as I might like to be part of it some day. CDs I was buying were about $10.50 on average and many of them were self-releases [CDR or silverback] and lucrative for the artists involved. 17 years later, some of those $10.50 CDs are worth three figures.
That was about the time I really started getting into vinyl and replacing/buying up tapes Tower Records was liquidating at 3 for $10. There was a little local record store I was *determined to support and keep in business* prior to the vinyl renaissance of the late 00s. This store had new/used and even a small section of *pro bootlegs* of various live concerts and hard to find stuff. The fella who ran the store was a guru of sorts, to me...really helped broaden my horizons [sold me many of his personal original lps when the CD remasters were released!]
I support those merchants having protection to help keep them in business. Both online and brick/mortar establishments. I also support the right for a user to make personal copies of whatever they buy or have bought, providing they do not duplicate the works for distribution without permission/artist compensation. If you like what someone does then the best way to help insure they keep doing [it] is through financial support of their efforts. Be it an artist, audio company, eatery or whatever. Unfortunately most of my favorites are RIP. 2008-9 was a rough time for American businesses of the "luxury goods" distinction as budgets and disposable income got the clamps.
While many people born after 1990 seemingly prefer spending those bucks on "experiences" and outfit type gear, some are still actively trying to outfit their crate game/gear game and become experienced. The experiences provided by the ritual of playing records are underrated and will take you places not found on a map or in a trendy travel guide. Society as a whole, by in large no longer values the individual efforts of artists as a viable expense because music is now everywhere, more disposable than ever and with many people giving it away for free. This isn't necessarily a bad thing as it helps separate the wheat from the chaff, and highlight who has genuine passion for their craft, and the craft of their faves.
[B/S/T shoutouts] Shortlist: Hollow Earth|Ct5|856|Condor|Thermae|OP-1|half track reel2reel|Prophet6 ... rfurtkamp wrote:The only transparent thing I own is a set of drinking glasses.