Should you give your music away ?

[Microdot]

well, you're lucky to be in that position.. Myself, I don't have that privilege.. So, what are you saying exactly, that no-one else should give their music away, just because you haven't been put in that position yourself? Just interested to know...

No, people can do what they want. But everyone giving their music away for free will create more problems than it will solve.

[The_Laughing_Man]

Exactly.
IF music should be free then why not everything else.
Why pay for shoes, or groceries or anything that some amount of work has been done to produce.
To be really good at music and production takes a lot of time and hard work.
It`s not something you can do in the evening as a little hobby if you are serious about it.
I think a balance between giving stuff out for the fans and also keeping some stuff for purchase or donation is better.
Otherwise everything becomes devalued.
It`s such a complicated situation though, a simple answer isn`t possible.
These are very very frustrating times, but digital media is still young, and I think piracy protection is going to become stronger (for good or for bad) and we will see an end to piracy, on the scale it is at now anyway.
It`s a case of riding out the rough weather maybe.
Personally I have found another way doing what I enjoy in music to pay the rent, which has freed me up to release music that would have been more risky. And I can be more self indulgent (and pretentious) in what music I put out there.

**** knows basically. Do what you need to do to survive, but also, Never give up, never lose hope, never compromise and never sell out.
Impossible ey?

[DarkYoung]

yeah maybe that's the way
cos if there's a lot more people like you thinking the same thing
I could bung my stuff up with a donation button make a few quid , you all get tracks for dirt cheap
and we're all happy

aren't we ?......

totally stupid idea.

in a karmic sense you might aswell slash your own throat.

everything is worth something.

if you give it away for free, then it is worthless to you and everybody else.

[crime]

So, if I end up giving away the music I really want to get out there, because no label would release it, that's going to cause more problems than it solves? Keeping stuff on my HD and not letting anyone else hear it because we're trying to maintain some kind of monetary value on music just seems to be sticking your head into the sand to me - Personally, I'm in no way talking about giving EVERYTHING i do away for free - But I have new sounds and ideas I want to get out there - And it's not happening as far as labels are concerned - Maybe you lot who bang on so much about not giving stuff away for free would like to fund a Vinyl label for me to release the most cutting edge stuff I am making, then maybe I wound't need to give it away for free eh? It's not like I'm an unknown and it's not like my trax are shit- it's just that they don't fit into a pidgeon-hole - this is where my problem lies....

[Jay Pace]

Seth's Blog: You don't have the power

[crime]

@ Jay: Word, hit the nail on the head....

[crime]

This is why Live performance is so important now, more important than ever - Do you charge for a DJ Mix or a Live performance recording? and surely, if you're NOT charging for a live performance recording, maybe you should be seeing as it's your own original work? What's the difference between giving away a Live performance recording and an EP for free in real terms? I think we have to see the recorded music side of things as pure promo - and do any of you on here really think you can earn a living from techno music in the 21st century purely from sales of recordings? That is the old model - it's time to move on...

[clubsynthetic]

Music becomes devalued the minute you start selling your choons in tesco and start comprimising and giving comperate ****ers 75% the fee of your choon. The fact that the value of a choon is now the amount of records you can sell of it devalues it.

I agree with Crime. Old model needs new ways. Music is MORE THAN ****ING MONEY.

[DannyBlack]

You lot can give your music away free to me any time. Vinyl preferred :-)

[Microdot]

Exactly.
IF music should be free then why not everything else.
Why pay for shoes, or groceries or anything that some amount of work has been done to produce.
To be really good at music and production takes a lot of time and hard work.
It`s not something you can do in the evening as a little hobby if you are serious about it.
I think a balance between giving stuff out for the fans and also keeping some stuff for purchase or donation is better.
Otherwise everything becomes devalued.

Nail on the fcuking head mate.

Until we completely break down the structures of capitalist culture and rebuild our entire society based on some kind of Anarchist/Communist utopia, we can't afford to devalue our profession/contribution to society by giving our music away for free.
Entertainment is an important part of society as sre Blacksmiths, Greengrocers, Mechanics, Engineers etc.
None of these other dudes are expected to work for free, or are even considering it as a way of combating an economic downturn.

My heart truly bleeds for folk who are struggling to get their music heard but, if truth be told, they are in no worse situation than struggling artists of the previous few decades.

[crime]

Nail on the fcuking head mate.

Until we completely break down the structures of capitalist culture and rebuild our entire society based on some kind of Anarchist/Communist utopia, we can't afford to devalue our profession/contribution to society by giving our music away for free.
Entertainment is an important part of society as sre Blacksmiths, Greengrocers, Mechanics, Engineers etc.
None of these other dudes are expected to work for free, or are even considering it as a way of combating an economic downturn.

My heart truly bleeds for folk who are struggling to get their music heard but, if truth be told, they are in no worse situation than struggling artists of the previous few decades.

The point here though is not about giving everything away for free - of course, if you played live for free, DJed for free, yes, that would devalue the whole thing. Comparing trades like Engineering, Retail and the like and Performing arts is like comparing apples and oranges - people don't need music to live in the same way that people need food & their drains fixed - it's just that now, with so many other people giving their self made music for free the goalposts have been moved somewhat.

Say I have some music, as I do, that no record label currently trading sees as commercially viable to release as the amount of money made wouldn't cover the production costs as the fan base is too small - am I supposed to just leave it on my hard-drive, and not let anyone listen to it for the greater good? Surely you give away recordings of DJ mixes/Live acts as promotion in order to get bookings? How different is that to giving away a few freebies now and then to keep certain styles of music alive which would otherwise not be heard, and ultimately be buried because no-one heard them?

As I said before, I truly believe live performance is where it's at these days, and to be honest, I feel it's the creators of the tools with which to make music who are the real innovators in this day and age...

[The_Laughing_Man]

Entertainment/art is a MASSIVELY important part of culture.
It takes us away from the drudgery of toil, the horro of exchanging your time for money. It is the pleasure we have when we are not working.
I don`t like the way it is becoming devalued, it does seem very wrong.
But at the same time, I don`t like the fact it is commodified.

****ing planet sucks.

Well, struggling artists traditionally, in the uk anyway, went on the dole and got by that way.
haha, I`m not saying it`s the best way, but it is is what it is, and many great bands began that way.
I think people are less patient now, they want everything yesterday, so this is another part of the problem, and so is consumer culture, but blah

[SlavikSvensk]

money is a fact of life. people who labor for our enjoyment deserve to be compensated for it, so they can continue to do so. otherwise they starve, or cut back their time doing those things.

okay, fine...so electronic music's business model has always been more based upon gigs than record sales. but record sales, through established labels, is a tried and true way of getting said gigs. so i just see it as a slippery slope, and one that would likely produce greater and greater concentrated power in the hands of los superstars. too much democratization, too quickly, likely fuels oligarchy.

[crime]

the replies that most people are putting here are the same answers that get posted time and time again on forums broaching this subject.. yawn..

Nobody has answered my 2 main questions here - I'm not saying people shouldn't be paid for their hard work or that all music should be free -
but what are your opinions on:

1. The fact I feel the need to give material away for free as it's the only way it will be heard.

and

2. how different is giving say an EP away for free once in a blue moon different to putting a promotional live set recording online..

[SlavikSvensk]

is anyone saying you shouldn't give EPs away for free from time to time, though? i think most people are just against the general tendency to give everything away for free and totally bypass the existing consumer-label-distributor-artist system.

[crime]

I guess I just feel that the existing model stinks, just seems to me that there are a whole lot of middle men not really doing much but have got themselves in a position where they are scraping off the cream on the back of the musicians' hard work - maybe I should bite the bullet, start a paid for mp3 label, give it 6 months and actually see where the land lies... I just don't like the idea of lining others' pockets whilst getting ripped yet again...

[Microdot]

Say I have some music, as I do, that no record label currently trading sees as commercially viable to release as the amount of money made wouldn't cover the production costs as the fan base is too small - am I supposed to just leave it on my hard-drive, and not let anyone listen to it for the greater good?

Give it away online if you want but, I'd be more inclined to sell it online.
There's tons of sites you can upload your trax to and then sell them, and most pay the same commission as the established download sites, such as Juno and Beatport.

[morbid]

What if my musics so shit even I don't want to listen to it?

What do I do with it then?

[DarkYoung]

So, if I end up giving away the music I really want to get out there, because no label would release it, that's going to cause more problems than it solves? Keeping stuff on my HD and not letting anyone else hear it because we're trying to maintain some kind of monetary value on music just seems to be sticking your head into the sand to me - Personally, I'm in no way talking about giving EVERYTHING i do away for free - But I have new sounds and ideas I want to get out there - And it's not happening as far as labels are concerned - Maybe you lot who bang on so much about not giving stuff away for free would like to fund a Vinyl label for me to release the most cutting edge stuff I am making, then maybe I wound't need to give it away for free eh? It's not like I'm an unknown and it's not like my trax are shit- it's just that they don't fit into a pidgeon-hole - this is where my problem lies....

the law of supply and demand.

if you have something people want to purchase, wheter it's apples or techno they will buy it.

if people arent buying your music, then you have to ask yourself the questions. or as you say it doesn't fit into some pigeon hole you have to accept that it is never going to be a popular commercial venture. but the time and effort you have put into your music, from a karmic sense it has a value and cannot be given away for nothing; if you want to give your music away to people who do not even value your music as much as they will not pay for it in some kind of tokenistic way, then what is the point?
you may aswell make the music for yourself and be happy about it, unless your ego needs the recognition of others?
if you can't market it properly, then you need to work on that aspect of your enterprise.

[BloodStar]

i guess if you feel you dont need to sell your music, but give it free away, then do it. why should you think about other people and what your decision makes to them?? Do they ask you, if you agree with their decisions and their model? would better stick with what you think works best for you.

Old model of selling music doesnt work anymore, those who are smart find new ways, those who are scared of the future trying to keep the old, problem is the old is not working anymore,.

Greeed killed techno.