[QUOTE="jimmyjammer69"]
[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]
Dude, I KNOW musicians. I don't know where you are getting the idea that amateur artists of any kind don't have to actually hold real jobs, but they often do. There are people who have to work 60-70 hours a week just to pay their bills, never mind funding their art. And a few hours a week WON'T get you to the top of your game. I know people who THINK that's enough, and they also suck.
And your argument isn't even internally consistent. You talk about how the unpopular artist SHOULD be making millions of dollars (which is a weird position, seeing as how people aren't spending millions of dollars on their music). But the second that guy signs a contract with a major record company, he's somehow just another artist who is only in it for the money. Those two positions are certainly at odds with each other.
But the fact remains...if some unknown amatuer artist "should be selling millions", then why doesn't he just cut out the middle man, and make his millions without even bothering with the record companies? I mean, if the record companies actually don't do a damn thing to benefit the artist or to get the art to the consumer, then it's sort of odd that people still bother with them, isn't it?
MrGeezer
Where are you getting this stuff? When did I say amateur musicians don't need to have jobs? You KNOW musicians? Well, I guess that makes you the authority to say all amateur musicians suck... or maybe it's just your friends that suck at music. I can imagine that if they need to work 70 hour weeks to keep their heads above water, then they probably aren't going to have any energy to devote to their talents, but for those of us not living in sweat shops, life really isn't that hard.Did I say they should be making millions of dollars or SELLING millions of songs? In case you haven't worked it out yet, I believe that music is massively overpriced thanks to all the leeches attached to the musicians. Yes, I do believe that the vast majority of mainstream music is unimaginative crap, usually pumped out by people who've let go of all their artistic integrity to float at the top of the charts as they've been encouraged to do by the companies who are profiting off them. I don't get how there's any inconsistency whatsoever in there.
Seeing as this argument with you basically involves trying to explain how you've exaggerated, misrepresented or plain fabricated every view of mine that you're supposedly countering, there's really not a lot left to discuss. I think you understand perfectly what I'm saying and that in your heart of hearts, you totally agree, so let's end this little exchange of views right here :)
Pot calling the kettle black, seeing as how you repeatedly misrepresented my posts in order to say that I was claiming that you have to be rich to be good (I have never said ANYTHING of the sort). So don't you dare try to point the finger at me and accuse me of intentionally misrepresenting your posts.
And as to the "selling millions" thing, your attitude is sort of strange.
Yes, I was wrong. I reread your post and it turns out you DIDN'T say that they should be making millions of dollars. Just that they should be selling millions of songs. I'm assuming that you really mean that millions of people are BUYING the songs, since someone who is prolific enough to have millions of songs to sell is going to be making nothing but crap.
But that's sort of a strange position. If a song costs a dollar, and someone who sells millions of songs should NOT be making millions of dollars, then exactly how much money do you think should be going to the actual artist? Weren't you the one who was previously complaining about how the majority of profit made from the sales of songs doesn't go to the artist?
So hey dude, suppose that I as an artist manage to cut the record company out entirely, and get my music available to millions of people all by myself. This is a pretty unlikely scenario, but it follows that it should be attainable if the record companies truly are worthless and do not in fact benefit me as an artist. So, supposing that when someone buys one of my songs or album that all of the money goes to me, the artist, how much money should I be able to make? If a million people purchase one song from me, then how much should that song cost?
And that's the big question... to me, a thousand songs for a thousand dollars sounds like a lot of money, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Prices are only so high because each stage takes it's cut, and half those stages are now completely unnecessary. I'm sick of the record companies protecting their backs under the guise of caring for creativity, and I find the fact that legislation's being made to protect their interests thanks to their various lobbies sinister, especially when it leads to ISPs being forced to disclose private details of their customers.
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