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home about/contact Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways. My personal website has links to my LinkedIn and Google+ pages and you can send e-mail to david [at] thelayaways [dot] com. Support If you enjoy this site, please consider downloading a Layaways track or album from iTunes, Amazon MP3, Bandcamp, or eMusic. CDs are available from CD Baby and Amazon. links music/media/tech: Analog Industries Ars Technica AppleInsider Brad Sucks Blog Broken Record Digital Music News Duke Listens Future of Music Coalition Blog Hypebot LA Times Technology Blog The ListeNerd Medialoper Mediashift MP3 Insider Music Ally Music Machinery Music Think Tank MusicTank The Music Void New Music Strategies Online Fandom Pakman's Blog RAIN Rough Type RoughlyDrafted Swindleeeee TuneTuzer Virtual Economics economics/markets: The Big Picture Core Economics Freakonomics The Long Tail Marginal Revolution The Undercover Economist mp3/music: 17 Dots 3hive Fingertips Shake Your Fist Sounds Like the 80s Unleash the Love archives January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 August 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 June 2013 August 2013 February 2014 March 2014 September 2014 December 2014 March 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 October 2016 May 2017 |
June 29, 2012 Quick Thoughts on the NPR Blog Post, David Lowery, Etc.by David Harrell If you're a reader of this blog, then you probably saw last week's NPR blog post, David Lowery's response, and Bob Lefsetz's response to Lowery. A few (belated) quick thoughts: 1. Lowery and Lefsetz are both right -- it's a shame that more people don't pay for their music and that everyone else in the food chain, except for the artist, is making money, yet we're never going to put the free music genie back in the bottle. I'm not saying Spotify is the solution, but the compensation model/trend will never revert to what we saw in previous decades. 2. I don't get Lefsetz's contention that Lowery just needs to make better music. Whether or not you like the guy and his music, it's safe to say that Lowery has had more commercial and critical success than 99.9% of the folks who have every picked up an instrument. 3. But what I found most interesting about the NPR post was that the author makes a big deal about that fact that she didn't "illegally download" most of her music, but then lists all of the ways she has acquired free music, none of which resulted in compensation to artists. That's not to pick on Emily White -- I've made the same "no P2P" claim myself, though I've paid for the majority of my music. What's fascinating to me is how we (music fans, myself included) often condemn file sharing sites, yet generally have fewer qualms with other methods of non-compensated music acquisition such as ripping music from promo CDs, discs borrowed from a friend or public library, etc. There's obviously a difference in scale -- there's no limit to the amount of times a file can be downloaded online, while swapping hard drives with friends or making mix CDs and playlists have inherent practical limitations. And who wants to be a complete hardass and say that making a mixtape/playlist for a friend or two is a crime? I doubt that many artists complain because fans like their music so much that they feel compelled to share it with their friends in that manner. Still, in the end, should there be a moral distinction -- is all non-compensated music ownership equally wrong or does scale matter, making these other methods misdemeanors relative to the evil of file sharing? Labels: David Lowery, file sharing link 1 comments e-mail listen to the Layaways on SpotifyFollow @digitalaudio Tweet More Digital Audio Insider: Newer Posts Older Posts |
Subscribe: RSS Feed Add this blog to Del.icio.us, Digg, or Furl. Follow David Harrell on Google+. The Digital Audio Insider Twitter feed: Digital music jobs: Looking to hire? Looking for a job? Check out the digital audio insider job board. Popular Posts A Long Tail Experiment By the Numbers: Using Last.fm Statistics to Quantify Audience Devotion Lala.com Owes Me Sixty Cents An Interview with Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven Price Elasticity of Demand for McCartney Sony and eMusic: What I Missed The Digital Pricing Conundrum series: Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four THE LAYAWAYS Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album: "This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium "Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details Away In A Manger - free mp3 Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm. "...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop "Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive "...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3 January - free mp3 Keep It To Yourself - free mp3 Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster. "The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music "Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details The Long Night - free mp3 Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody. "These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover Let Me In - free mp3 Ocean Blue - free mp3 Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody. More Layaways downloads: the layaways website |