it's like some kind of cyber hangover

When I opened iTunes this morning, I was a little surprised to find myself flinching when I started going to the Store to stare hopefully at The Fray. I mean, I get precisely why this is bothering me, and where it's coming from, but it just hit me all at once that SOPA was partially funded by every song I legally buy, every movie I legally buy, every show I legally buy. It's one thing to in general know that this happens with all purchases, but it's also the fact that if I want this show/song/program legally, my only options is to pay people to hold me in contempt for my purchase and then use it to bribe politicians to take away my rights to use the product (and um, the entire internet).

I mean, yes, it's self-evident, don't get me wrong, but--there really isn't an alternative to the entertainment industry monopoly, is there? I can't buy anything that won't be paying for the giant legal stick to beat me with later. And when worse comes, terrifyingly, I will have funded it.

And my answer still stands.

If I had to choose between music and Wikipedia, music and the internet, music and the infinite breadth of human imagination and innovation that is pretty much what the internet is all about; that's not even a choice. That's what I would call breathing.

Okay, obviously, I have not had my recommended dose of watching things blow up. It may be a Die Hard night again.

Comments

[kiezh.livejournal.com]

Have you heard of Noisetrade.com? Because that's pretty much what it does. Artists choose to make an album/EP/etc available, you download it for the price of an email address (to be placed on the artist's mailing list, from which you can unsubscribe if you want), and there's a tip jar to give as much or as little money as you choose. (They also encourage you to tweet/post to facebook/whatever, but that's optional.) This helps indie artists a lot, whose big challenge is building their fanbase and getting word of mouth.

If you like getting a constant influx of (legally-acquired) new music, it's a great site. Obviously downloading people you haven't heard of before is going to be hit-or-miss, but free samples are easy to delete, and you might find something you love.

Doesn't solve the problem of wanting to buy music from artists who are shackled to big record companies, unfortunately, but it is one way of feeding the new-music habit that isn't also feeding Big Media.

I agree with you that filesharing (legal or otherwise) is a really useful way of connecting artists and audiences; some of my favorite musicians came to my attention that way. (And they later got album sales and concert ticket sales from me and the people I enthused at about them, so it's a net gain for everyone.)

[wynddancer.livejournal.com]

cdbaby.com is another site like noisetrade where indie musicians can sell their music via cds or download. I don't know how much money my cousin's band made off the site (not much I think but don't know for sure) but they seemed happy enough their dealing w/them so I guess it's an okay site.