Introduction
I was recently approached by a graduate student who was doing a dissertation on the subject of downloading music and it’s effect on musicians. In formulating my responses I realized that I don't see my view reflected in the public debate on this subject so I decided to post it here.


Questions by Ashleigh MacLeod

1.What are your views on free downloading and what do you feel are the main threats and opportunities it holds?

I am not a fan of free downloading. Musicians need to be paid for their work just like everyone else expects to be paid for theirs. Some people claim that free downloads act as an incentive to buy or promotion for the artist. I feel that this should be my decision, not someone else's.

2.Do you think that downloading gives musicians more power and freedom than they have had in the past? If so how?

Power and freedom? Towards what? The whole "liberate the artist" thing sounds great but getting paid still seems to be the challenge. I suppose a musician can advertise themselves this way but it seems to me that free downloads ultimately take away the listeners incentive to buy, assuming that the musician wants to sell their recordings. I suppose that a sample of one's work could be a useful tool on the internet but beyond that the issue is how to get paid. The paradigm for that has been very slow to emerge. There are various web sites devoted to legal and paid downloading scenarios and while this may be advantageous for those companies that offer this service I'm not sure how effective this has been for individual artists.

3. Do you think that the availability of the web gives artists the opportunity to self market and promote themselves without the involvement of a record label?

In as much as any artist can create a website, yes, that's an increasingly important piece of the puzzle. But a website is just a needle in a haystack without other means to promote it. Record labels still have an important role in establishing artists. But then many artists can run their own record label and promote it in both via print media and on-line modes. The independent record label and do-it-yourself business model was in full swing before the internet became big. The internet has become a much more important tool in that equation now. It's never been easier to find any music, no matter how fringe. Just do a search on Google, find the web site and do mail order. That's actually been a growing mode of sales for many small labels, mail order of actual CDs. That's what I do on my own website, in addition to my record label's efforts.

4. If there is less involvement from record labels because of downloading can you visualize a situation where major labels will become obsolete?

No, and I find the idea of obsolescence in the digital age to be silly. The beauty of this technology is that it can provide MORE options, NOT less. My vision of the future is one in which all the current modes of musical dissemination (major labels, independent labels, radio, retail stores) can coexist with all the new and upcoming ones. Granted, the majors will have to scale back on their "maxim profit in the shortest possible time" scheme and realize that developing an artist over time and offering a greater variety of music will create a more successful and stable long term business plan, especially in the context of the digital revolution. But the idea of downloads wiping out all other modes of dissemination is just as crushing as the worst that corporate capitalism has to offer. We're supposed to free ourselves from that kind of fascism, right?

The other thing to remember is that there is still something of a digital divide and that there is a substantial portion of the listening public who are not served by the majors' nearly exclusive catering to the youth market nor are particularly adept at or interested in downloading. I'm thinking of the mega hit that Nora Jones had with her first record on Blue Note, a jazz label. Whether or not her music is jazz is beside the point. The lesson was that a record that was about as far from the major label corporate design of a hit as possible won so many awards and sold so many copies. The folks who bought that CD represent a segment of the public that is ignored by the corporations and ignored in the discussion on downloading as well.

5. There seems to be fewer slots on radio and television for new music. Do you believe that the situation of downloading will make it any easier or hopeful for these musicians to earn a living from their music?

It can be easier only if downloading is one of many options. If it is the only option than I fear that it will be harder on balance for most musicians to make a living at music. I'm noticing that in the wane of major corporate control over what the populace sees and hears there is a growing niche for smaller and independent business ventures. And they don't necessarily have to compete with the majors. One thing that's important to realize is that the majors have less and less idea of just what the "mainstream" is that they are supposed to be catering to. It's so fractured today and more people have more varied listening habits than ever before. That's where the beauty of the internet can help compliment that already existing independent scene. So again, my vision is of coexistence, not domination.

Personally, I earn my living in a combination of touring and recording and they each serve each other. As general (non-specialty) retail CD shops are on the wane I pick up the slack by selling CDs directly to fans at my concerts. The audience has come to expect it. I find that most listeners still have a fetish for the object they can hold in their hands, the presentation straight from the artist. I know I do. MP3 and the like are a complimentary mode, not an exclusionary one. I've been told of the impending death of the CD but personally I see no reason for that to happen. The concept of one format over all others seems kind of dated in this day and age.

6. Do you think that downloading will devalue music, i.e anybody will be able to put their tracks on websites for download.

There is that aspect of it, yes. But my experience tells me that listeners have many different needs. Some prefer CDs, others prefer MP3. Some listen at home on full playback equipment, others listen on the move with tiny headsets and an iPod. So again, I think that downloading is one ingredient in the whole mix and that if all these modes are allowed to flourish it should result in a healthier scene and place more value on music, not less.

I realize that my ideas on this subject aren't particularly revolutionary, shocking, or confrontational . They are simply sensible. Hence the reason that the press doesn't pick up on them.


Ellery Eskelin