Steve Albini on the state of music industry

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The music producer, Shellac frontman and author of seminal 1993 essay, The Problem with Music, spoke in Melbourne about the advantages of the internet, the death of the major label system, copyright law and that ‘purple dwarf in assless chaps’

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/n ... ic-in-full

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And people who used to make a living selling records are having trouble selling downloads as substitute for records, and they no longer make records.
Finally.

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Good stuff, thanks for posting the link.

Nothing to argue with, he's right on point :)

Peace,
Andy.
... space is the place ...

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Fascinating article.
My experience has been very different. I worked my ass off in the 1990s as a teenager and young adult to get recording gear, learn it, make my own music. Recorded music was worth something.

And when I finally started achieving something along came the internet and made recorded music worthless. I cannot tell you how depressed that made me. Along with other depressing things that happened.

But it's the way things are, and one either adapts or dies. Mwa ha ha! Free it is! And on the good side, there is soooooo much quality music for free the listener in me is in complete heaven. :D

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Very interesting video.

Thanks

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Loved the way he put things into a different perspective.

Beats the whaaa mode...
Barry
If a billion people believe a stupid thing it is still a stupid thing

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Codestation wrote: along came the internet and made recorded music worthless.

I'd kind of disagree with that, except for the fact that Im not sure what it is about it you think was made worthless.
my other modular synth is a bugbrand

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whyterabbyt wrote:I'd kind of disagree with that, except for the fact that Im not sure what it is about it you think was made worthless.
Have you ever tried selling an MC Hammer CD to a used record store? :lol:

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foosnark wrote:
whyterabbyt wrote:I'd kind of disagree with that, except for the fact that Im not sure what it is about it you think was made worthless.
Have you ever tried selling an MC Hammer CD to a used record store? :lol:
Weeeell, when he said 'made worthless,' I was kinda assuming it didnt start that way in the first place....
my other modular synth is a bugbrand

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:lol: Good point.

I valued recorded music. I treasured it. Great masses of people did as well, or the stuff wouldn't have sold. As Albini pointed out, back then it was a form of "legitimacy" to record your music and I - right or wrong - accepted that model when I was a kid.

So the internet f**ked me in the soul. But it's no problem, like I said, adapt or die. :borg:

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It's about what I figured it'd say. blah blah blah

If you're not facing that fact that it sucks, you're going down w/the ship. Land ahoy, Cap'n! :ud:
The only site for experimental amp sim freeware & MIDI FX: http://runbeerrun.blogspot.com
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCprNcvVH6aPTehLv8J5xokA -Youtube jams

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Great article! :-)
I've joined Lurkers Anonymous.

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The analysis of the pre-internet era economics of the music biz for those signed to labels was pretty spot on. In Oz, bands signed to majors could run up a bill for $500K recording an album in the studio and never hope to recoup any actual money even if it was "hugely successful" in sales terms.
"I got a car battery and two jumper cables that argue different."
Rust Cohle

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For. motherfucking. reals.
I decided at some point that making a living from my music wasn't one of my goals. It didn't affect my desire to express my musical ideas and I found that sharing (or releasing) my music is a totally fulfilling experience. And people listen to it! I don't even have to mention how easy it is to make a great sounding recording with all the technology available. You don't even need to make a "great" recording to get your music heard… you just have to put it out there.

Most of the music I listen to now, comes from Bandcamp or Soundcloud and I find out about that music in forums like this. I hear new stuff all the time; some stuff I like, some I don't... but I'm now constantly exposed to stuff I wouldn't have previously considered. All because people are free to post whatever they want. It's an awesome time to be a music enthusiast.

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The argument that bands can make a living out of gigs alone has been dead-and-buried for a very, very long time, even for single-acts like DJ's. Only the top-end make a mint.
Steve has a long history of criticising the music industry, despite turning out some not-really-great mixes, and the ultra-liberal state of things probably suits him just fine. He's got money already and he basically doesn't care, is the message I get from him. But I can't agree with his conclusions.
The only non-no1. musicians I see making a living are those willing to suck up and play the web 2.0 I'm such an extrovert game. And that's fine. But I've seen the music that comes out of that non-insular process and I won't buy it. Because it's shallow.

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