Good morning! My email rants last week (concerning illegal downloads) had a really unexpected result. Many of you used
my facebook page as a forum to have a discussion on the topic. Even when I was not in agreement with what some had to say, it was very interesting to have the conversation. Visit
my facebook page to get in on today's discussion. I will check regularly to post my thoughts.
Just yesterday, I received an email response to my rant from
Ulrich Schnauss. It was very cool to get a supportive email from another artist.
Ulrich: hi sam, great news about the upcoming
loveliescrushing box set! also wanted to say that i really respect your attempt at making some truths known regarding the file sharing situation - it's not gonna make any of us look cooler, but it has to be done - hats off to you!
Sam: I don't think it makes us look bad. As an artist, I am standing up and saying, "Excuse me. I am a human being. I have a son. I like to pay our rent. I need to survive just like everyone else." People gotta respect that! And it is productive to try to change a few people's mind.
What is NOT COOL is suing one guy and his grandma, to try to make a point. That will not win hearts and minds.....
Ulrich: i've heard similar points (to some of the responses you received) many times ("if you don't earn money selling records, you should compensate that by playing gigs," etc.). no one that has just the slightest interest in what's been happening in popular music in the last 50 years can deny the importance of the studio as an outlet for creativity. if we were thrown back into a situation where we'd be reduced to plain live music, we'd loose phil spector's "wall of sound," floyd's multi-layered soundscapes, ztt and trevor horn's lovingly constructed sonic mosaics, electronic music in its entirety (all areas of sequenced music really - that would include electronica, techno, drum&bass, hip hop, rnb as well as an endless list of additional genres and sub-genres) AND a million other things AND everything that's influenced by it - popular music wouldn't exist. the studio has also enabled generations of artists to create amazing music that probably would've struggled to cut through in a traditional live setting - the emancipation from the crowd's thumb, the liberation of being able to construct, develop and formulate an idea in the protected environment of the studio is undoubtedly a great achievement. a lot of important music that uses the studio in a particularly intricate way can't be played live anyway.
beyond that, playing gigs is far less lucrative than a lot of people seem to imagine - if you're touring and you consistently fill 800+ capacity venues you'll be fine of course, but once again it's the small ones and therefore cultural diversity that's being hit the hardest by the decline of the industry. a suggestion: ask a smaller american indie band how much money they loose when they set up a european tour playing 100-200 capacity venues.
Sam: Ulrich makes two points here that are worth discussing.
1. THE STUDIO IS MY TOOL
This is in response to many people who told me to accept the fact that Record Labels are outmoded, and selling CDs / digital files as a source of income is past, and bands must "grow" if they want to try to earn income from their music. People were generally pointing to playing live (and charging $40 for a Tshirt, I suppose) as the solution. But - as Ulrich points out - you are going to lose a lot of interesting fringe music, if playing live becomes the primary way musicians create.
I think Projekt fans are well aware of the fact that it is the studio that makes the majority of this music possible. Yes, Voltaire can function as a band in this new model, since his music can exist soley on the stage. But imagine Steve Roach, Black Tape For A Blue Girl, Lisa Hammer, Android Lust or Unto Ashes without a studio. Yes, it might be possible. But you would never get the quality and intricacy, without the studio permitting all those layers and meticulous crafting of sound.
2. PLAYING LIVE IS THE SOLUTION
I don't know if people realize that most bands - at best - break even when they are on tour. We certainly do not come home with sacks filled with cash. We are lucky if we come home with enough to pay the rent on our apartment for the time we were away! Touring can be fun, rewarding, exciting and beneficial for the small artist. But one thing it seldom is, is profitable.
Ulrich: would "Dark Side Of The Moon," "A Night At The Opera," "Pet Sounds," "Revolver" or "Spilt Milk" have turned out as good if all band members in question had to get a day job to subsidize their desire to create and record music? it's good to see that other artists are also realizing the importance of the issue and have the guts to address it (i know it would make me look a lot cooler if i'd talk in the usual "music should be free" platitudes) - no one's oblivious to the technical and formal difficulties of restricting illegal file sharing but to clearly express the political will to do so is a necessary and encouraging starting point.
