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Yeh, Billy Bragg, but what about the indies?

p2pnet news view | P2P | Music:- Seeing the p2pnet post on UK ex-alternative rock star Billy Bragg’s views on ‘illegal’ filesharing and how to stop it, “What about real independent artists whom are not part of FAC because they are not on any label?” – asks frequent poster Robert (right) in a Reader’s Write.

FAC is short for Featured Artists Coalition, a group that, “overwhelmingly” supports a, “three-strike sanction on those who persistently download illegal files, sanctions to consist of a warning letter, a stronger warning letter and a final sanction of the restriction of the infringer’s bandwidth to a level which would render file-sharing of media files impractical while leaving basic email and web access functional”.

“Say I set up a secure GNU/Linux ’server’ out of my old laptop, have it share songs I WROTE MYSELF and thus own ALL RIGHTS TO and share it, what’s to stop my account from being falsely closed down?” – Robert wonders, continuing »»»

And what happens to me, the lowly musician trying to make a living USING free distribution via the web and using Twitter/Facebook/my blog to connect with fans and arranging random live performances for only $5 a ticket if in a park, having picnics, creating random swag for dirt cheap, jamming with fans, maybe even cooking with fans for donations towards my releases? Maybe even having fans offer up $1 for two songs written but not yet recorded, kinda like Crosby Fitch’s idea of being paid first and then encouraging others to make copies, so I am not paid for copies but paid for the original creation?

I’d be SOL because of major label sub label people in the FAC organization.

Oh, and when I write a script in AWK or write some C application to parse and sort binary data files, I do NOT get paid for every copy made or every execution. Instead I get paid to create more! If I don’t create, I don’t get paid!

While reading TheCure.com’s blog by Robert Smith (oddly, nothing updated since May 2009), Robert goes on about the unfairness of a new artist with file sharing. In one paragraph he mentions for those who cannot perform live or look good (no merchandise) what will they do if all they can do is create in the studio? They keep creating! And if they have to have a part-time job to support it, then so be it!

I’d love to do Linux driver development and TCP/IP networking and firewalls, RTOS development, and finally, lots of multiprocess interprocess communication. But you know what? I don’t get paid for that because that’s not my job, so I have to work doing other things I may not like to supplement the other.

That is life!

I also try to manage music, cyclocross (which requires a LOT of training if you are just starting out and is very physically demanding, on the bike, off the bike, over the barriers without hindering momentum), work, and programming tutorials on the side.

So not everyone is going to be Radiohead or Nine Inch Nails, and not everyone can market themselves well, but maybe they can write.

So you get what we have now, some can write, some can perform only, some can market, some can manage studio equipment — WORK TOGETHER! and You’ll all get some income. You may not be rich unless you’re willing to be like the corporations, bully people and screw them over for rights and financial gains.

Why do you create in the first place? Because you need to clear your head? Because you love to create? Or because you want to be rich and famous? If the last option is you, then you’ll hate the web and filesharing. If the others are you, and you’re sincere, you CAN earn a living and you CAN embrace the web to help you!

“Think outside the box!” – Robert adds.

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