Despite my personal preference though, I’ve bought CDs from independent artists as a way of supporting them, but I usually just rip them to MP3 and then discard the discs.

As a web designer, I’m mostly interested in designing things and writing front-end code. As a small business owner I had to do everything else: marketing, paid advertising, budgeting, writing proposals, client negotiations, maintaining client relations, bill collections, you name it.

And while those things were neither fun nor easy, they were the price of having my own business and doing what I loved. That’s probably where a lot of my “suck it up” attitude comes from when telling artists of other stripes to go out there and do the hard work of creating their own business.

The costs you’re talking about, instruments, travel, recording costs, etc., have always been there, so I don’t really see the relevance. We’re talking about what’s changed, not what’s stayed the same. And what’s changed is the shift away from the extreme polarization of superstars and starving artists to a slightly richer ecosystem where more artists are able to suppor themselves financially, sort of like a burgeoning, musicial middle class.

PS I agree that nobody is arguing. This has been an awesome conversation. Especially given that it’s taking place on an internet blog and given the tone that I set in my original post. Please feel free to keep the comments coming.

chat: while i think your heart is in the right place, i don’t believe u have enough of an idea of just how easy it is (maybe it’s an english thing?) to float around trying all sorts of new things to promote your music, online or otherwise and giving away stuff (which does have a cost to making, even if not to manufacture in bulk – one studio produced mastered song can cost anywhere up to a grand depending just how u want to do it – studio for recording and mixing then mastering, possibly a producer’s and/or mixer’s fee which goes up accordingly – this is on top of astronomical running costs for gear, travel)
and it still not make a dent due to the sheer bulk of bands doing the same out there and the fact that the industry have the net sewn up in much the same way as any other media/advertising outlet when it comes to making a big splash unless u know how to make something viral which most musicians don’t. i am not saying it cant be done, just that it usually is not any easier than the old getting signed method in some ways, especially for a band who are not trend chasing and trying to make honest rebel music!
i was resisting naming my acts as i was not trying to promote my work under pretence but my band smilex had been rocking in the underground for ten years but find oursleves marginalised by trend chasing media (and as a result consumer public) and costs of everythinbg being so high and the level of sophistication in planning and scheduling. to be able to run a band and make money from it it needs to be all u do all day but with the costs of making that music one can’t afford to stop the day job as it pays for it all! i have put out records, made radio shows, written for music mags, promoted gigs and records, recorded and managed acts, done live sound, lights and more and honestly believe the artsist side to be a business of people spending loads on their dreams only to find that it takes more than they can afford to spare both time and money wise to make a dent!

i am not sure what i am even arguing about now being honest – u will think what u like and i know how it is for mine and other bands in the uk now so it’s not like anything will change! the main reason i came back on was to alert u to this billy interview on industry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w8kyfhABWug#!

i think he has some good points and maybe cares more than u think, i know it’s easy to be cynical of things but whilst misguided and egotistical, we artists do care about people!
i may not be back for a while as dont make a habit of ranting on forums but thanks for being interested enough in music to have intelligent conversation on it – this in itself means we are on the same side essentially and sets us aside from a worryingly growing number of people who don’t care much at all about what dross they listen to! peace!

if u want to keep in touch or find out what i do then go twitter.com/leechristian69 or check out http://www.smilex.co.uk – tho u will probably say we are not big cos we are shit! x

I don’t think you can completely separate the nature of the good from the price of the good. The fact that MP3s are non-rival goods presented a significant problem to the old model of over-pricing for rival goods (CDs). Once distribution and simultaneous use costs both dropped to zero, piracy skyrocketed. In part because it was easy, in part because there was no cost associated with it, but also in part because the record labels were overcharging for the music they were distributing.

Fast forward to today and the first two things are still true: it’s still easy and free to pirate music. And yet Apple has sold over 1 billion songs. They did that by pricing the music fairly and making it easier to purchase the music than pirate it. There’s still a market for selling the music, that market is just greatly diminished from what it was at music’s peak, so a smart band will find other ways to monetize their music.

In that respect the story of Misteur Valaire is an interesting story (thanks for sharing it). They couldn’t exactly just start touring and selling merchandise because they first had to establish a market. A lot of upcoming artists take a similar approach of giving away select tracks. I don’t know if many of them go the route of giving all of their music away for free.

That’s a tough row to hoe, as they say, since you have to expect little-to-no income for an extended period of time.

If I was to release an album today—and trust me, with my musical talents, nobody wants that to happen—I would probably fumble around trying to experiment with a lot of similar things. Give away select tracks for free. Allow the full album to be streamed from my website for free. Offer discounts, promotions, and early access to information via a newsletter signup. Monetize both the site and newsletter through advertising sponsorships. Get my music into as many digital distribution points as possible: Pandora, Spotify, Amazon MP3, iTunes, etc. Partner with a local artist/screen printer and blanket my local city with posters and try to get people to turn out for paid, local gigs. It basically comes down to a combination of guerilla marketing, internet savvy, and hard work.

I can imagine most artists want to focus on making music though. Record labels used to handle all the marketing and the goal as a musician was to get signed. Democratization of music means that you have a greater chance of making a living as a musician without having to get signed by a label, but you have to be smart about and you have to do a lot of work besides just making music.

But I invite you to read and understand the difference between a Rival good and a Non-Rival good : http://wp.me/PxNxB-tl

This will help you to not put everything in the same basket.

Guillaume

They had time only for 1 question at the end… too bad, I was the second one in the Q&A line up. The one just before me said in the mic “Well, Fuck You Billy Corgan…” to show his disagreement.

Honestly, if I would just have the opportunity to share my point, I would tell a quick wrap-up of this indie band marketing’s story: http://story.mv.mu

Well, maybe not “Fuck You Billy Corgan” but… just get the fuck over it. Fetch the next, complaining boy.

Guillaume (with the sexy French accent)