“Evenin’ all, says inkysmudge, an artist who’s just signed up with a2f2a.
“There is an awful lot of sense here,” he says in a comment post to ‘Artists want to be heard’, going on >>>
Just to throw my tuppenceworth in if I may, I’m a musician that no-one’s heard of 
I make music because I love to. Whether anyone else likes what I do, hey ho, that’s the eternal struggle for me to address. Likewise, whether I can make it commercially viable in a career-sense is MY responsibility.
I’ve attended the FAC meetings and heard Billy and others speak with great passion about the need to embrace radical and innovative new ideas.
They do so because quite simply, they really do give a shit, want to make this situation work for everybody and abhor the idea of people thinking about ‘rich rock stars counting their money.’
I’m in a different situation, I’m not established so I don’t have experience of the ‘old model’. I fully accept that if I want to ‘earn a living creating music’ then I will do what is necessary to make that a reality.
However, I at least need to feel there is an opportunity for remuneration (whatever form that takes) for me to consider it a viable proposition.
I know this is a massive issue and I’m not here for the sympathy vote and genuinely apologise if I’m over-simplifying things … there are certainly some very eloquent posts above.
“The direct a2f models really seem like our best hope, as long as we are respectful” adds inkysmudge.
Well said.
October 31st, 2009 at 4:05 am
Very well said indeed.
This is the exact spirit and attitude I like to support. Sadly the music isn’t to my taste, but I can pass it onto a few friends and my brother with a suggestion that they donate if they like it. This is how music sharing can work for an artist!
I loved the video to Let there be Light coincidently, was this all your work Inkysmudge? I am guessing by the name you did draw it?
October 31st, 2009 at 4:07 am
Ooops, I think the track was Lead a Horse to Water, not Let there be Light… I suck
November 8th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Thanks cqb. No, the video wasn’t me, a talented chap by the name of Mark Ranson did it. The thing is, as creators we accept that some people won’t like what we do, no problem with that at all.
The drive is always to find people that do enjoy it. That takes time, hard work & money and I’m certainly aware that the world doesn’t owe me a living ‘just’ because I make music.
My impression of the fear of p2p is that it removes the ‘possibility’ of remuneration for producing creative work, whether that’s music, books, films or what have you. That means a day job to keep a roof over your head, less time / energy to create whatever it is that you love and so on.
Without getting too arty farty (and to re-iterate that I’m not going for the sympathy vote), for some creators that’s a bitter pill to swallow. Sounds a bit hackneyed and pretentious but that is the way it is.
I read a funny piece somewhere about musicians’ work ethic and that effectively they need to ‘man up’ (or ‘woman up’ if you prefer!) and get on with it. I do agree with that but as I say, there has to be some sense that a creative work has financial value, whatever that may be.
I think taking you as an example, my music doesn’t do it for you, absolutely no problem with that, you wouldn’t buy it and so it goes. There are plenty of books I won’t read or films I won’t watch for the same reason. However, I bought Generation A by Douglas Coupland because I liked his other books. I bought The Lives Of Others dvd because I thought I would enjoy it. In neither case did I expect to be able to order them from Amazon and get them for free.
Getting off the beaten path here (apols) but I think we’re on the same page as far as supporting artists in some way goes.
Really appreciate your comments, not all of us have a deluded sense of entitlement, we know we have to work for it. I think we have one life and it’s a shame to waste it doing something that doesn’t float your boat!