Glaringly obvious Corin
But if you were any good you'd have made a shitload of cash wouldn't you?
I feel the same way as you. I can't make a living doing what I love.
Sitting on my arse playing on the playstation and sleeping all day simply
isn't a viable career.
We've had more than a dozen bands get record deals as a result of giving
away free mp3's on our site - Now it's their turn to be freeloading buggers
- making loads of 'money for nothing' as the hideously rich Dire Straits put
it. That's the way it works isn't it?
The music industry is corrupt as fuck, it rips people off they're getting it
back a bit now.
I reckon that if somebody really likes your music they'll go out and buy a
CD - I take it your CD's are available in shops across America? If not then
maybe MP3s are the only way your public can hear you.
What's it about? Making music or making money?
If it's about the music nice one - keep on.
If it's about making money then sell your soul go and learn Perl or
something and get a well paid but soul-destroying computer job.
Apologies to your girlfriend if this causes you some grief.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: 12 April 2000 14:14
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: MP3 files (slightly long and diatribe-esque)
In a message dated 4/11/00 9:44:33 PM EST, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
writes:
<< but then you could always argue thatyou play music because you
want
to, not because you want to make money...
i book bands because I like the music and I want people to hear
it...
I don't profit from it at ALL. in fact, sometimes I lose money >>
Ahhh, see now we're getting down to the real issue-the one that
keeps me
awake at night. The question: just what the hell am I doing with my
life.
You're right, I got into music because it was a calling and
something I
really enjoy-but it's also my job. I pay taxes on it, and though I
do have a
part time day job, I spend 40 to 50 hours a week doing music. As I
get a
little bit older (but I still know how to party,ummm, dude) I am
spending an
awful lot of time thinking about the way I've lived my life so far.
Surely
there's something righteous about dedicating yourself to a faith
that's based
in making other people happy, but are certain lifestyle sacrifices
one makes
and one ends up wondering if perhaps one has made a fool of oneself.
I have been playing in clubs since I was 14 years old (bass player
syndrome:
you'll have a gig before you're even any good) and I mean for real.
When I
was 16, when everyone else was doing whatever 16 year olds
do-playing video
games or going on dates-I was playing R&B covers 4 nights a week
with guys
who were in their in their 30s. At the time it was a blast, of
course, and a
fantastic musical training for a bass player (simply put: most 16
year old
bass players don't play "Expressway To You Heart" over 500 times),
whenever I
hear people talking about being young "Remember the Prom?", "We used
to go to
football games", etc. all I think of is the smell of stale smoke and
being
afraid of coked up bikers. Ah, nostalgia.
Since then I have spent my entire young adult life in some fucking
van on the
way to some show. It would be OK if it was just the playing. I'm not
looking
for any sympathy, I'm just saying what it is. You drive 5 hours the
show
(somewhere in Upstate NY usually), you get there when they told you
to but
the soundman doesn't show up for another hour 1/2 and you have to
sit there
with all your gear while some bartender gives you the hairy eye.
Then you
soundcheck and then sit around and wait 3 or 4 hours to play with
nothing to
do but drink-and 9 times out of 10 you are paying full price for
those
drinks. Then you play your 45 minute set-except that they always cut
off your
last song- and load out and drive home. Generally speaking you will
be paid
exactly $20 less than you spent on gas-just enough to make you feel
like a
loser as you're pulling into your rehearsal space to unload and go
to work.
So yeah, it's fun, but when I'm loading my bass cabinet up the
stairs at 5 or
6 in the morning and I know that I'm going to go to work and then do
the
whole thing over again that night, and I know that the bartender got
paid
last night, the soundman got paid last night and the big dope
checking IDs
got paid last night and that they were all in bed 4 hours ago, I
feel stupid.
I feel like I've made some really foolish choices in life.
In this cycle of silliness (with it's inherent question always
tugging on my
sleeve: "How long? How long can you keep doing this?"), the one
saving grace,
the one thing that actually makes you feel like you're accomplishing
something is when you sell a few CDs at a show. When some kid drags
his buddy
over and says "I bought your CD at your last show and now he wants a
copy"
you actually feel like you are in the right spot in your life. What
could be
better than the thought of some kid listening to your music while
doing his
laundry, or driving to work or making out with his girlfriend? And
the truth
is: his $10 is going right into the gas tank to get you home that
night
because all the band members blew their personal cash buying drinks.
So, I've always been OK with this equation. But now the kid goes
home,
converts the CD to a WAV file and gives the MP3 to every fucking one
of his
friends! And so you say"Ahh, but then those kids will love your
songs too and
they'll all come to your next show"-but no they won't because it's
only one
of the 600 MP3 files that he sent them. It's not like they had to
get on the
cross-town bus and schlep all the way to the one cool store in town
to buy
the CD they read about in Magnet. In that scenario they have an
emotional
investment in the music. With an MP3 that some kid in your science
class sent
you, it's just another piece of junk mail and you might open it or
you might
just delete it. Everybody always says "MP3s-exposure, right?" You
ever try
paying your rent with fucking exposure? I told my landlord "Hey,
man, it's
good exposure for you to have me living here" He still wants his
money. You
think that those jerks who started Napster aren't getting paid?
Everybody
gets paid, except the musicians. All I'm saying is, try going to you
dayjob
for a couple of days just for the exposure and see how it feels.
I went home for Christmas and I saw my 17 year old cousin, Adam.
Adam is a
cool kid, but he's lived a pretty easy life. My uncle is kind've
loaded
(though I defy anyone in my family to tell you what he actually
does. Wears a
tie is the closest I can come to guessing), and Adam has spent an
awful lot
of time on the couch playing Playstation. So, Adam says to me "Hey,
I
ordered your CD from the website and I think it's really cool". Oh,
thanks
Adam, that's great. "So, I made an MP3 out of it and E-mailed it to
everyone
at my prep school. " Thank you.
My girlfriend say that you're all not allowed to bring up topics
that get me
worked up. I have to lie down now.
Corin
_________________________________________________________
Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15
_________________________________________________________
Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15
