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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 4:38 pm
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Ever heard the saying "starving artist?" Well that's the whole thing in a nutshell. Yes, music is art, but artists compose, render, paint, etc., in hopes that their "art" will sell. Nobody ever ate only a painting, sheet music or a manuscript and lived.


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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:14 pm
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OK i suppose that its a matter of how you approach it. I would make sure I have a comfortable living when writing music. I wouldnt depend on the music as my job until the music was making me as much or MORE then my job is. THEN i might switch to music as a "career". By approaching it in this manner, you can retain some integrity. If I never make it big because I played what I wanted to and it didnt sell, so be it. I can live with that.

I decided to respond to you because honestly it was just getting too ugly between us and I need to put a stop to that. I know how I feel and you know how you feel and i guess we need to just agree to disagree. No harm, no foul. Anyways, like I said in another thread, I do have a weird liking for the song "Heatseeker" :D


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Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 5:26 pm
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bol316 wrote:
Well I think ppl SHOULD make music for the sake of art, not just money. If they happen to make money from said art, good! I have a problem with a band sitting down saying 'Lets write something that will sell". Just play what you feel, put it out there and see what happens. Maybe I am a schmuck or something but i have a thing for artistic integrity


This is my last post on this thread (I knew I should have stayed out of this). This thread deals not with music per se, but with the music business. If you're a do-it-yourself musician who turns out mp3's for the internet then that's fine. I'm all for artistic integrity, but if you're signed to a record contract you're expected to contribute to the label's revenue. Record companies employ more than just big shots. There are clerks and secretaries and a whole pyramid of employees scraping to make a living just like you and me. The difference is their livelihood depends on their A&R dept's ability to find marketable artists and to have those artists "write something that will sell." In return, the artists benefit from the label's promotional machine and distribution muscle. Gone are the days when A&R people had the time and budget to develop new artists.

It would be great to have both high artistic integrity and high record sales like the Beatles. Those artists are few and far between. I certainly don't think you are a schmuck for defending artistic integrity, but when records don't sell, real people with real families to support get laid off.


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Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 8:37 am
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Actually, I don't think it was getting ugly at all. You put up a very good argument and it was fun debating. On your side, I am all for musical integrity as well, as I tend to see music as a melody driven and not "rap" type of product. Stratman is right about the Beatles, the musical integrity AND ability to sell were all there. Unfortunately, there are acts such as Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, etc., that don't reach for musical immortality, but instead turned those unfortunate young ladies into money machines, at their expense. Any way, great debate, I thoroughly enjoyed it.


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Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 9:01 am
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Yes, they are performing to sold out crowds in nearly every corporately named or affiliated venue they are playing in.

They've been working for decades, how much longer can they do it at their age? There is no retirement or 401K programs/plans for musicians once they retire, unless they invested in one themselves. If people want to pay them, and people are willing to buy their stuff, more power to them.

I am not trying to personally attack anyone, but most of the people I run into who claim that this person is a "sell out" or "sold out" are just jealous cause no one wants to pay them for their talent, or perhaps were never given an chance to sell out...Or they tend to be younger in age, and have no idea of the reality of the music business. With no idea about how the music industry works and how the financially successful artists make up just 5-10% of the entire music industry and these artists revenues financially support the records labels financial losses for the other 90-95% of artists out there. Bands don't make money off of records, and if they are lucky, they break even on touring costs...most of the money to be made in music these days comes from marketing and merchandise sales...so if you have a decent enough band to get all kinds of various marketing and merchandising promotion and income, then by all means do it, because thanks to MP3s and burning CDs, bands have to resort to "clever" marketing and availability schemes when they release records to try and get those sales numbers up.

AC-DC have paid their dues...if they can hire good lawyers and marketing people to help them cash in, more power to them. AC-DC would put on a good show whether there are 10 or 10,000 people in the audience. Many of todays big artists would immediately cancel if the venue did not sell a specific amount of tickets....

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