Should music be given away free?

[module]

take the £££ outta the scene, both in dj fees & album releases & see who REALLY loves the sound as opposed to LIKING the sound & makin a wedge too :)

[rhythmtech]

take the £££ outta the scene, both in dj fees & album releases & see who REALLY loves the sound as opposed to LIKING the sound & makin a wedge too :)

just because someone gets paid for a gig doesnt mean they dont love the sound!!

choosing to give music away is a totally differant ballgame to not paying people for their work. some of us rely on the extra income it generates - while some rely on it as their SOLE income. should we let them starve just to prove a point?

[TechMouse]

I think doing a gig is a vastly different thing to actually making music.

I definitely think people should get paid for gigs, though of course you're only worth what someone is willing to pay. You may rely on it as your sole income, but people aren't obliged to book you. Being a full-time musician or DJ is a privilege, not a right.

[rhythmtech]

people are never obliged to book you - same as an employer is never obliged to give you a job.. but if they do, unless you state otherwise, you would expect to be paid.

[davethedrummer]

it's not a tricky one at all in my mind.

no- you shouldn't give it away for free , people should enjoy paying for it , they should think it's totally worth it and get a buzz from paying for their favourite tracks

if all free music stopped overnight and everyone had to pay do you think there would be rioting in the streets?

no- i don't

they would just bloody pay and thats what i wish would happen.

[rhythmtech]

it's not a tricky one at all in my mind.

no- you shouldn't give it away for free , people should enjoy paying for it , they should think it's totally worth it and get a buzz from paying for their favourite tracks

if all free music stopped overnight and everyone had to pay do you think there would be rioting in the streets?

no- i don't

they would just bloody pay and thats what i wish would happen.

but yet you've given them away for free too?

i know where you're coming from - we'd all love to be able to get paid for every track but thats not always the case. and sometimes, for whatever reason, tracks get put up for free download.

[acidsaturation]

no- you shouldn't give it away for free , people should enjoy paying for it , they should think it's totally worth it and get a buzz from paying for their favourite tracks

Personally I wish that we didn't have to pay or charge for things so much.

I know this brings all kinds of politics into the debate, but actually I don't get a buzz from paying for my favourite tracks. I don't really get a buzz for paying for most things.

I get a buzz from earning something, but this is so entrenched in the idea that money is the whole be all and end all...

I don't think its fair for someone whose set up or occupation is such that they charge for a product to say that someone else should not give that product (providing it is theirs to give of course) away for free, whether that product is music, food, whatever.

As an example, would you say that people should not write free VSTis and other software for this same reason? What about free zines and music mags?

[TechMouse]

no- you shouldn't give it away for free

Are you really saying that if I make some music and I want to give it away for free, I shouldn't?

[Aratron]

no- you shouldn't give it away for free , people should enjoy paying for it , they should think it's totally worth it and get a buzz from paying for their favourite tracks

exactly the art of paying for something for some people, is more important than the product itself.
as is stealing for other people.

[BloodStar]

i think it's author's thing if he wants to give tracks for free or not.

[rhythmtech]

so what about the mixes that you do and post up for free download - are they exempt?

[Aratron]

so what about the mixes that you do and post up for free download - are they exempt?

thats an interesting point. however i am not the original artist and i don't pretend to be.
It's a bit like me buying some apples, making an apple pie and then giving everyone some free samples of it, at least i bought the apples (or grew them) myself.
Or in your argument, lots of people investing in apple orchards, and then at harvest time giving all their apples away. And then complaining they are skint. Go figure?
same with music esp, techno the whole point of it, is that it is going to be mixed. So if 100 artists all mix your tunes in their mix, thats an advertisement in itself, and aesthetically pleasing no doubt aswell.

[rhythmtech]

thats an interesting point. however i am not the original artist and i don't pretend to be.
It's a bit like me buying some apples, making an apple pie and then giving everyone some free samples of it, at least i bought the apples (or grew them) myself.
Or in your argument, lots of people investing in apple orchards, and then at harvest time giving all their apples away. And then complaining they are skint. Go figure?
same with music esp, techno the whole point of it, is that it is going to be mixed. So if 100 artists all mix your tunes in their mix, thats an advertisement in itself, and aesthetically pleasing no doubt aswell.

so what about people that A. cant get a track signed or B. arent interested in getting a track signed. should they not have the option of doing whatever they want with something that they created and own the copyright on?

c'mon.. since when does anyone have the right to tell others how to run their business.. or am i suddenly on www.freemasonery.fcukoff ???

[davethedrummer]

so what about people that A. cant get a track signed or B. arent interested in getting a track signed. should they not have the option of doing whatever they want with something that they created and own the copyright on?

c'mon.. since when does anyone have the right to tell others how to run their business.. or am i suddenly on www.freemasonery.fcukoff ???

i didn't say that barry , i'm not telling anyone how to do anything i'm just voicing my opinion.
you can do what you want with your music
it just pays to look at the bigger picture from time to time
and ask yourself if what you are doing is actually helpful to the scene or not.

maybe go here for a better explanation:

www.dontgetyourknickersinatwist.org

[rhythmtech]

i didn't say that barry , i'm not telling anyone how to do anything i'm just voicing my opinion.
you can do what you want with your music
it just pays to look at the bigger picture from time to time
and ask yourself if what you are doing is actually helpful to the scene or not.

maybe go here for a better explanation:

www.dontgetyourknickersinatwist.org

you should go back up there and see what qoute i was answering wasnt yours h.

[davethedrummer]

so what about the mixes that you do and post up for free download - are they exempt?

come one baz leave it out mate. there has always been a certain amount of free promotion for all music over the history of pop/rock/dance you know that.
you do it yourself mate ,
me too

I see your statement as a splitting of hairs nothing less.

because promotion is promotion, it should be used to inform people of whats going on , whats coming up and whats doing it at the moment.
so no i don't have a problem with dj mixes , they get me work and i need work same as everyone.
they are a necessity for a professional musician, but i do have a problem with people using them to cut out the tracks they like and re-edit them into playable versions which i have seen done.


thing is there is just no way to stop peopl stealing or copying
no magical answer . no special format etc etc
so we are talking about morals really right? hypothetically .

and morally people should pay for their music , end of story.

if you want to give it away fine...thats your choice of course

but i believe you undermine everyone else's hard work by doing so...
and where's it going to stop?
we aren't all as rich as radiohead you know.
if some of us didn't get stuck in and treat our music making as a job 24/7 no matter how big or small or rich or poor we are, there would be no dance music scene to speak of and thats the bottom line.

[davethedrummer]

one more thing
i rarely actually put my mixes up myself
i think i have put up about 10 in total over 10 years or so.
it's actually everyone else that does it for me
and generally i don't even know they exist until someone from this site tells me about it.

[Aratron]

one more thing
i rarely actually put my mixes up myself
i think i have put up about 10 in total over 10 years or so.
it's actually everyone else that does it for me
and generally i don't even know they exist until someone from this site tells me about it.

tbh i think too many of your mixes are about.

almost i think not another dtd mix in Belarus or whereva.

[davethedrummer]

tbh i think too many of your mixes are about.

almost i think not another dtd mix in Belarus or whereva.

not my fault

I think theres too many of my mixes about too.

[rhythmtech]

come one baz leave it out mate. there has always been a certain amount of free promotion for all music over the history of pop/rock/dance you know that.
you do it yourself mate ,
me too

I see your statement as a splitting of hairs nothing less.

because promotion is promotion, it should be used to inform people of whats going on , whats coming up and whats doing it at the moment.
so no i don't have a problem with dj mixes , they get me work and i need work same as everyone.
they are a necessity for a professional musician, but i do have a problem with people using them to cut out the tracks they like and re-edit them into playable versions which i have seen done.


thing is there is just no way to stop peopl stealing or copying
no magical answer . no special format etc etc
so we are talking about morals really right? hypothetically .

and morally people should pay for their music , end of story.

if you want to give it away fine...thats your choice of course

but i believe you undermine everyone else's hard work by doing so...
and where's it going to stop?
we aren't all as rich as radiohead you know.
if some of us didn't get stuck in and treat our music making as a job 24/7 no matter how big or small or rich or poor we are, there would be no dance music scene to speak of and thats the bottom line.

not havin a go at all m8.. just trying to gauge where you're coming from.

my thinking is that if someone owns the copyright then they're entitled to do what they like really.