You Paid Dearly for your MP3 , You Little Modern Destroyer!

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Once, people who played an instrument could make a decent living playing it because recorded music did not yet exist. Eventually, the dj replaced the musician, or maybe the shuffle button. How many establishments and parties and clubs have live acts compared to music from the stereo? And now that the mp3 has occured it seems artists may not even be able to make a living from making recordings.
However, in reflection I think to me its worth it to own all the records I own , and to get all the mp3's I have gotten, even if it means I have to have a boring job rather than entertain people. OR IS IT!!!!!????????

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Thursday, 24 October 2002 14:58 (twenty-three years ago)

It's your call, Mike. I don't know how much you want to go into it on the forum, but I know you're a bit averse to live performance. So maybe this is the best situation given what you prefer to do?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:12 (twenty-three years ago)

And now that the mp3 has occured it seems artists may not even be able to make a living from making recordings.

HA! I believe your sentence should read:

"And now that the RECORDING INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE has occured it seems artists may not even be able to make a living from making recordings.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Thursday, 24 October 2002 21:12 (twenty-three years ago)

My interest for this question dropped a bit this year but for what I remember there is always creative solutions like for now, beside performing live you can sell your stuff directly (the music on different formats, fidjets like t-shirts etc). It is not proved people buy less records, on the contrary for what I heard mp3 allows people to get an actual musical culture and discover many artists that they would have never heard otherwise. Be sure that there is always some people who will buy "the real stuff" (some people have money and like to feel rockist having a somthin' solid, vynil cd etc, in their hands) and the earth is huge man! Eaven if people would eventually buy less records if you skip the middleman and directly sell your work world wide it is math you will make a decent living. You must get an agent to do this work.

― the Hegemon, Friday, 25 October 2002 03:29 (twenty-three years ago)

no no no live playing must continue or the planet will implode!
mp3 is fine,( and actually as hegemon said it has allowed me to listen to artists i may not have normally heard or bought ), but without live playing all will be lost! there is NOTHING like hearing someone play their stuff live.
and there is 'something' about having the album / cd in your collection, rather than just an mp3 download.
i know it is hard to make a decent living by playing live, or get anything back from selling recordings ( was married to muso 17 years = broke ), BUT dont let that stop you doing it anyway.
oh, unless of course you want to stop.
sorry, i just re-read the thread.
mmmm.
ok. going now. :-(

― donna (donna), Friday, 25 October 2002 07:34 (twenty-three years ago)

I have to have a boring job rather than entertain people
But Mike y,
You entertain me everytime you come around on my shuffle button. If it weren't for the empeefree I would have never heard you sing.

― Simeon (Simeon), Friday, 25 October 2002 08:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Question: is there any information on what percentage of musicians make their living solely by writing, performing and/or recording music? (By way of comparison years ago I read that of Screen Actors Guild members, only 2-5% made their living exclusively by acting; the rest depended on nonacting day jobs.)

― j.lu (j.lu), Friday, 25 October 2002 14:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Interesting, good food for thought. My brother recently suggested I write "Treatises" on living. Like how to best obtain a jacket, and such the like. Who knows where music will lead us all. To the ends of existance, surely. One day a messiah of contracts will come and everyone shall be a rock legend.

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Saturday, 26 October 2002 04:14 (twenty-three years ago)

(mike, ilx comp? please!!!!)

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 26 October 2002 07:26 (twenty-three years ago)

ilx comp? What do you mean by that, sir?

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Saturday, 26 October 2002 12:40 (twenty-three years ago)

the compilation of songs by people who post to ILX. I sent you an email the other day. Please!

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 26 October 2002 15:09 (twenty-three years ago)

mike I could have used a treatise when shopping for a winter coat recently

― Josh (Josh), Saturday, 26 October 2002 15:14 (twenty-three years ago)

Remember - he who fluffs goose triple fat must yet accessorise with three-cornered hat!

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Saturday, 26 October 2002 20:10 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually, I did recently rap Emily Dickinson poetry over fife and drum loop.

― Mike Hanle y (mike), Saturday, 26 October 2002 20:11 (twenty-three years ago)

I say YES! to a jacket-obtaining treatise (my beloved fake-leather jacket is really tatty and on the verge of complete destruction but I still can't find a replacement which doesn't make me look even more Widdecombesque than I actually am) and YES! to Hanle y on the comp CD and YES! to international socialism oh wait this isn't 1996 well anyway y'know. YES!~~

(I might actually have actual on-topic mp3-focused thoughts at some point but not now. Sorry.)

― Rebecca (reb), Saturday, 26 October 2002 22:17 (twenty-three years ago)

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