Should music be given away free?

[crime]

Is that not more to do with the retaillers, and by association the labels?

well both, retailers buy from the distributors who buy from the labels, it's all the same thing.... and all the people involved in every side of that business have an effect and influence on what comes out...

Look at the hardcore scene, those boys have been running stuff there for years and years.

yes, but unless you're an absolute cainer, after 10 years + doing this stuff, maybe you don't want to be playing every weekend to a munted crowd... some do, I don't...

plus piano wailing happy hardcore is hardly at the cutting edge of electronic music, and is probably quite a safe bet compared to techno/electronica

Surely most COMMERCIAL labels? I can believe there are not people who dont want to put out stuff. Indies cant have lost their love either?

the books always have to balance, and it appears to me unless your music is either minimal, schranz or club techno, forget it...

labels, however underground have to pay the rent, simple economics.. anything more left field usually means that it's a small closed circle running a label just to release their own works.. fair enough, I wouldn't expect anyone to put their money where I wouldn't put my own regarding a vinyl release, especially in the current climate..

seriously, you listen to doomsday clock, no label would take that, and even now, trying to just get a 12" released from it, there is no interest.. maybe I'm misguided and it's actually a load of shit, but personally I think it's the best stuff I've ever done.. If all I get is people asking me to do another e.p. like my old Djax ones, I'd rather not bother, that sound just isn't me anymore, but unfortunately that's all anyone expects, I get a lot of praise for that stuff, but it's just too damn raw for me now and I feel that they were quite naive records...
I'm more interested in writing electronica now, more varied deeper stuff, and for reasons mentioned before, I'm having to start from scratch, but this is why I've decided not to care about any kind of popularity, and just to do it because I want to make that kind of music, no expectations other than pleasing myself...