At the end of the Thursday tarot soiree conversation turned to the internet and its effect on musicians. The prevalent file sharing culture is challenging copyrights. And if you protect and charge for your music chances are the audience will turn away from you and go to the ones that are giving out their music for free.
“Take Lady Gaga, for example,” our pianist host Richard said, “she was giving her songs out for free until she built up a large following. She makes her money from her tours.”
I think of my friend Steve Mackin, who is always generous in giving out his poems. Earlier in the year he read twenty poems in twenty minutes to commemorate his twenty years of writing poetry. That and his most recent reading were accompanied by free books that he painstakingly printed, collated and stapled together. I appreciate having the poems in my hands after a reading to savor at another time. By giving, Steve’s poems are in circulation. I don’t think anybody ever “burst” into a scene. It all takes hard work, and Steve is planting the seeds.
Thanks for this! I would feel odd selling them. They’re gifts from the gods and I offer them as such, gifts!