Independant Piracy....

I am not one to really chronicle much outside of my personal journey on my blog. I rarely ever discuss religion, politics or my stances on certain topics of the world at large but i have been recently been readying a lot of debates on a particular subject that is so dear to my heart.

The topic that I have been thinking a lot about is Independent Music. I muct say I am and have always been a huge fan of artists that etch a mark and form molds that are unique to their own model.

Afew weeks ago I read an article on Lily Allen speaking about music piracy . She was very articulate in response to Nick Mason from Pink Floyd and Ed O’Brien from Radiohead speaking how they thought that filesharing wasn't an issue.

No better words were spoken than by Darren Hayes in his blog in response to the article. This sparked alot of debate but sadly I found so many poeple responding that disagreed with the Indie artist all seems to have the same opinion. Critics seem to think that as a public we are "owed" or "entitle" free music and that it should be available at no charge.

Personally I claim Bullshit on this. I know many poeple who also Pirate DVD's and Movies. I will be honest and say I have watched these with such frustration at the quality and the irritation of an exit sign or someones head on the screen. I wanted to see what was so amazing about this. Well truthfully NOTHING.

The major argument is that artist's make too much money on the albums/DVD's/single's etc. The truth is that if most poeple were actually to delve into what it takes to create. market, produce, and manufacture they may be shocked by how little artists actually take home at the end of the day.

Though this is the career of choice for an artist it would be disrespectful to state that this is a reason fro not paying someone what they are worth. You can not walk into an auto shop and expect to drive off and not pay for the work that was performed. You cant go to a restauraunt, feel so good about the food you ate and then walk away without paying the waiter and staff for the work they put into your meal. We pay for the services and entertainment that we want and desire.

Modern time have twisted and morphed the way we look at art and what we "deserve". being a child of the 80's it was not uncommon to make the famous "mix tapes" to show off our fave songs or to show a crush how much he like them in some kind of cheesy romantic touchy love songs. The big difference for many is that we would hear a song and rush out to find the albums the songs were on. It was an experience of listening to full albums. I would not have survived high school if it were not for the full albums "Disintegration", "The Queen Is Dead", "Violator" or "The Innocents".

Now poeple feel they can just rip songs from file sharing never pay for the work and then never buy an album. Major labels are not made these days for quality music and quality artists. Just take a look at artists like Casey Stratton, Eric Himan, Ryan Mintz, Christopher Dallman, Aiden James, et al. These artists live by either constant touring, merchandising, or continuously releasing new music so that they don't lose the beginning momentum they have started.

I am thankful to know one of the most outspoken advocates for independent music Casey Stratton. Just take a scratch into the his blog and you will see a true artist that is constantly finding his entire albums and catalog pirated on some filesharing site. That is unbeleivable when you consider that the only income he makes is his album sales.

Many artists have even turned to some amazing tactics to try and raise funds to continue even completing an EP much less a full length album. Not all artist can afford home studios or even have the skills to do it all on their own. Many start very simple Grassroots Campaigns to raise funds to just complete a quality product. This is a way to keep their integrity and be the artist that modern radio would not allow.

This is now coming attack and how ridiculous its is to attack the way anyone markets or targets thems selves. Amanda Palmers recent blog speaks directly to this exact attack to independent artist. I have to be honest when i was trying to kick start my musical career i started a paypal simply for the purpose of raising funds to get into a professional recording environment. Noone chose to donate to my musical endeavours and that was their choice. But to attack this is ridiculous. That would be similar as to say that a politician shouldnt raise funds for their campaign.

I make a conscience choice to pay for what I can and donate to artists I want to support. I actually choose in most cases to not even order the physical CD. I much woulr prefer to havethe digital dowload knowing that it is less expensive for an Independent artist.

What it really comes down to is we make choices how we spend our money. I feel like if I cant afford to go to a movie I dont need to see it at this time. I will wait til it comes out on DVD or Netflix. If I want an album I will buy it . If I cant afford to buy an album I wait until I can afford to buy it or buy a couple songs off an album. I go to artist and watch them play shows and support in all the ways I can. Given the fact that honestly you can purchase most albums off Itunes or artist websites for $10 or less that isnt too bad honestly. Especially when an Indie artist is getting a majority of the money back in order to fund a tour or new album.

The truth is that if many of the poeple who are intensely succesful and have been for the past couple decades were to release albums now in this day and age there is a good chance they would be unsuccesful. The support needed to start a career and maintain is so challenging given the way we have allowed our society to view ART as unimportant and something that is owed and not something that is a service that we pay for.

Enough of that soapbox... but i feel that it was worth sharing my thoughts as an avid music lover and indie artist fan... this one is for the artists I love.