Anger at Prince free CD giveaway
Current Affairs, Pop Culture June 30th, 2007“The music industry has reacted angrily at a decision to give away the new album by US musician Prince with a tabloid newspaper.” BBC
Paul Quirk, co-chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association stated “It is yet another example of the damaging covermount culture which is destroying any perception of value around recorded music.”
This attitude of “nothing is worth doing if I’m not getting paid” is destructive. Not all interactions in culture are for profit (e.g. free museums). The music labels seems to think they have a right to be profitable. If an artist decides to use a different distribution channel (through a tabloid newspaper) that is their choice. And the artist is getting paid by the newspaper. What is the big deal?
Anti Citizen One
June 30th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
I thoroughly agree with you. But I don’t think you go far enough AC-1. It is not just a scourge of the modern fiscally motivated music labels, this has been going on ever since the creation of mass-entertainment. Radio, Television, Phonography and Cinematography.
An industry that was once very localised (i.e. through the theatre and music hall) has become very remote. No longer do the musicians and actors come to us (demanding that they charge reasonable fare for their wares). Instead we go to the artists, or at least to the faceless vendor of their wares… thats it… the dreaded middle man… Capitalism’s most parasitic invention.
The only answer is mass disobedience.
The Napster (pre sell-out) revolution was the first signs of it. Youtube (pre buy-out) was the next logical development. Thanks to the development and growth of entertainment technology and software, the entertainment industry will forever be fighting a losing battle as somewhere someone will be seeking to create new free-to-access means of downloading, copying, sharing entertainment media… The genie is out of the bottle and I’m not going to show him the way back in… are you?
June 30th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
[...] Anger at Prince free CD giveaway Anger at Prince free CD giveaway Posted by Anti Citizen One on June 30th, 2007 The music industry has reacted angrily at a decision to give away the new album by US musician Prince with a tabloid newspaper. BBC Paul Quirk, co-chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association stated It is yet another example of the damaging covermount [...]
June 30th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Yeah I strongly agree on your comments on culture.
I am wondering if Youtube really is an instrument of mass obedience and centralization of culture. (I have been known to create Youtube videos myself although none relevant to this blog.) I am reminded of the quote:
“What gunpowder did for war the printing press has done for the mind.” Wendell Phillips
The Internet is the next step in evolution. Now all Internet users have a printing press. This still leaves a divide for those who cannot afford Internet access of course but it is more more inclusive than the people who can afford to own a media company.
AC1