oh, for f$%@s sakes....

I won't post a link. I won't point out who it is. It's not worth it.

But someone out there in the internet is getting very very whiny about the state of the music industry, and it's implications on his releasing an album.

Summary: "People pirate music. I have an album complete, but it will just be pirated. Fuck the pirates, everyone can *suffer* having never experienced my genius creation since I refuse to release it to this cold, dead, world. If only a label could come and pay for my release, then it would be OK."

Here's my take on the current music business situation: I write music. I write music as an outlet. I work with others collaboratively to create music as an outlet and as a means to accomplish something collaboratively interesting. There's a billion other reasons why I do it, but that's a good summary.

So once it's done, it gets released, maybe online only, maybe CDR in small batches through CD Baby. I'm small potatoes. It may not be in stores outside of this here internet, and it will probably see sales in the tens to hundreds if I'm lucky. And no, I can't live off of it. I'll probably continually pump money into this money pit I call an outlet for the rest of my natural life. And people may pirate it.

You know what? GREAT! Take it all. I have enough cajones to publically state that I GET OFF KNOWING THAT PEOPLE LISTEN TO WHAT I CREATE. Those that appreciate it enough will pay for it. Those that dont and walk away having listened to a track or two for a few minutes, well that little bit of time was my chance to interest them and it didn't work. So what. I'd wrather have 10 people listening to and enjoying my songs regularly that DIG into it, than 500,000 people with it in their iPods on some playlist that they pop on once every few months.

Everyone wants to be a rockstar to a degree - we love to feel attention, to feel admired or even pitied. But the financial ramifications are pretty bleak - making a living as a musician in a band is extroardinarily hard these days and it gets worse every year. Live music is a money pit, recording is a money pit, promotion is a money pit, and signing to a label is something that could strip you of your rights to your music and leave you poor, without your creations, and with nothing to show.

My opinion is my opinion. If you're a musician and you feel like you have what it takes to make it - go for it. I am, I'm trying my damndest. I've got a day job, I've got a life, and I've got a drive to create like you wouldn't believe, and every chance I have to expose people to my creations I will gladly take.

So if you see my music on filesharing - The Wretch, Etherine, Ivilion, Sythilix, Zerodivided - STEAL IT. Listen to it. Send me an email if you like it. Do what you want. If you like it enough, it's easy to find most of my stuff on iTunes or Magnatune to pay for it. Throw it on podcasts, put it on mixtapes, make crappy skateboarding videos with the songs as soundtracks to post on Youtube.

The audience should never have become the enemy. That's not the point. The enemy is the record industry, but that's old news. I thought by now everyone realized that going outside of traditional distribution methods was the way - finding the audience means you have to follow them and they sure as hell aren't going to record stores anymore.

As one last note - noone owes you a living. Humans are adaptive, when we're hungry or cold, we are very resourceful at making sure we have those things provided. Money is a necessary evil for these things nowadays, and sometimes you have to swallow your pride and do something you hate to enable you to do something you love - that's adaptation in the modern age.

/michael