Final score... RIAA: 0, Pirates: 0, Artists: 0, Lawyers: $$$

Space , I don't have any time for the RIAA for one reason.. those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones..

the majors (who I guess fund the RIAA in part) in the US turn a blind eye to sampling NONE US music, which is making US artists/labels money off others backs.

thing is copyright is worldwide? apparently not so, you'll quite happily get people chasing none US artists for not clearing samples, but if your in the US, you can sample anything from outside the US and have to go to the states to contest it...

it's a big double standard and the amount of stuff that is obscure (but still copyright) that's been used without proper clearance is a joke.

so when people were kids in the 70's and 80's they didn't make up tapes of their favourite music, even recording a TV show, your supposed to delete it after a certain time etc. I guess it's the scale in which people do things also and if they are profitting etc from it.

Lawyers will always make money, that's how it is. The world is litigious and well it's just a replacement for some peoples lack of common sense.

space.. people need to eat / pay bills.. so giving it away free.. different.. hhmm

not everyone I know gigs.. some it would cost a fortune (my friend uses 10+ musicians , violins etc.. for their setup and they rarely play live due to the expense)

licensing is a good thing if you can nail it, like moby did with his play album.. EVERY track was used in an advert / film etc. and the bonus of a free advert.

Yeah... historically musicians have been dirt poor, and that never hurt the music. I agree the pop star phenomenon is something completely different. It's sortofa hybrid between movie star, social icon and fashion model. With an ounce of music thrown in for flavor.

As far as music piracy goes, I don't think any of us grassroots musicians will ever be affected... and we'll still be able to make a modest living if we do it right. I think music piracy only becomes an issue if we're talking about millions of downloads, which is why the only complainers seem to be the RIAA and Madonna. I for one would be honored to get that much attention, paying customers or not!

Well I'm not up to date on theRIAA issue but I do understand the
issues here. Stealing as it is is just that. However the issues at hand
can become extremly complex. If somehow we could get the world
to SUPPORT artistry and respect it then hopfully theyd show that
with finacial support.

They are TAKING the music in part because sociaty tends to give
the impression that its free. I once gave a freind a cd of three of my songs and he made me take his twenty bucks for it. He valued it
and supporting me was important to him.

Now lets take an example of something. If a million people sent me
a mere ten cents a song for my stuff thats ten grand. That sure would
help me invest more in my studio upgrades.

Getting to know the person behind the music I think would go a long in helping this issue. As far as little ol me a good website and interaction
with the poteintial customers i think would be good. I like the group
Rascal Flat to use one example but I dont see me being able to send em
an email and say antyhing about this or that.

Or say Maria cary or anyone for that matter. They are big and im sure busy etc. Those of us here do interact with each other. We arnt out of
reach so to speak. Music shouldnt become a free comadity nor should
it be so big that those who do buy or steal it are treating it as just a
thing.

What I've seen from some of the artist is after it gets out of hand they
creat an uproar about it. And some percieve it as greed. Whether it is
or isnt is not for me to say. But I can say that respect and support from the writer to the buyer would be a good thing.

I could buy a nice house with the money I've spent on musicical
and recording equipment through the years. If you count the hours
I've spent in my project studio getting it up to par I'd be in the negative
and I mean way in the negative.

The general public does not realize just how much time and money
goes into us little guys efforts. they only see the end result. Some of
them arent even interested in knowing.

Again there are so many different situations so its hard to say if its
this then do that and if its that then do this. So id say its back to interation
but how would I interact with my fans one on one if there were 100
million of them?

I enjoy meeting someone who gets to know about an artist or subject.
Not just someone who throws a bunch of stuff on an ipod. I'm new
here as a member but I've got about fifty years in music. I"ve seen many
people here be extremly supportive of each other.

Some of the music is so so at best and some of it is astonishinly
remarkable. I'm impressed with some of these peoples willingness
to help share and support each other.

Now if only we could get the world to see how much we care and
do here then at least some of them would support artistry and start
to do away with the lack of whatever it is.

jimmy

i think the music industry really screwed themselves by producing "albums" based on the merits of one or two songs. look at dark side of the moon - that was a work of art in and of itself, besides the individual songs. the sum was greater than the whole of its parts. the idea of an album is not just a collection of 10 songs but to present itself as a work of art. the industry took advantage of that by turning albums into filler.

by destroying that idea, and maintaining a stranglehold on album prices through distribution rights, the industry ensured that when that stranglehold was broken they'd get a world-class backlash. not that it is their fault that people steal music, but they certainly set themselves up for a much bigger fall than was necessary.

the reality is, i would pay even more than $17 for a really great album. or more than 99 cents for a really great song. of course i'm in the minority, because a generation has been trained that music is worthless and the industry is partly to blame. and we've lost a lot more than just money.