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    Freddie DeBoerHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:37am

    What I find annoying is that the people who are most aggressive in arguing that digital piracy is a victimless crime are the self-same people who hate advertising, product placement, microtransactions, and "free to play" content. Of course the music industry is embracing advertising. When revenues collapse from limitless unpaid downloading, the industry is going to have to monetize elsewhere. Same thing with product placement in premium TV shows. If you torrent every episode so there's no impact on advertising revenues or cable fees, and you're one of millions to do so, what do you think is going to happen? Or people who AdBlock every site on the internet regardless of how obtrusive their ads are. That makes it more and more necessary for websites to do heinous "native advertising" or whatever. There's consequences for your behavior even when you think that what you're doing doesn't hurt anyone.

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      KunimitsuFreddie DeBoer
      1/05/15 11:44am

      I don't think that the profits from Itunes or Spotify are anywhere close to the profits Artists used to make on discs or cassettes either. I was under the impression that much of current recording artist's money came from live shows, paid appearances and soundtracks/product indorsement.

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      DolemiteFreddie DeBoer
      1/05/15 12:00pm

      Reminds me of "gamers" that feel they are owed something and freely pirate games. If a developer doesn't make enough money to support their company, they will not make games. So if you enjoy something (be it a game, book, movie), go buy it so they continue making what you enjoy. If it's something you don't enjoy...then why are you pirating it?

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    SchenkersAxeHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:37am

    On the one hand, yes, this is bad, it's disheartening, etc.

    On the other hand, who can blame artists (and yes, I'm using that term loosely) for getting as much as they can given the way things are now? How much did Pharrell make from 500 bazillion plays on Spotify? Not much.

    I interviewed excellent singer/songwriter Joe Henry about this topic many years ago — here's his take: "The whole notion of artistic purity means nothing to me. I think it's really dangerous to think in such precious terms. There's nothing pure. It's all theater."

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      SprocheteSchenkersAxe
      1/05/15 11:48am

      Yeah, I don't blame musicians for making a living. The way the industry is structured, you can't just play concerts and turn out recordings if you want to reach a wider audience and bring in some serious money. There has to be tie-ins with movies/tv, advertising, and you have to a buttload of self-promotion on social media.

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      dothedewSchenkersAxe
      1/05/15 11:49am

      How much did Pharrell make from 500 bazillion plays on Spotify? Not much.

      How much did Pharrell make from 500 bazillion plays on terrestrial radio? Zero. Yet in spite of Spotify and radio, Pharrell managed to make $22 million in one calendar year, with more estimated to come. Don't think the 500 bazillion plays on Spotify had something to do with that? Think again.

      From Forbes:

      We estimate that Williams earned $22 million between June 2013 and June 2014. We expect those earnings to go even higher next year though with a stronger touring schedule that reflects his growing popularity.

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    UncleCCClaudiusHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:34am

    Unless you try Diet Coke Nano you won't be able to hear Taylor Swift's new album! Nanotechnology-infused Diet Coke enables your nervous system to interface with Taylor's songs which are hosted in the Cloud and transmitted directly to your temporal lobe. In fact, you can't turn the music off until you try Coke Zero Nano or Diet Sprite Nano.

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      tito_swinefluUncleCCClaudius
      1/05/15 11:37am

      It's funny because it's true.

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      burlivesleftnutUncleCCClaudius
      1/05/15 12:18pm

      I would gouge out my own brain.

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    EldritchHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:36am

    When I started hearing Lou Reed and The Clash used to sell Buicks, I knew the jig was up.

    A band I saw last fall thanked their corporate sponsors before they thanked their fans. This sucks. :/

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      NJRedmanEldritch
      1/05/15 11:46am

      Which band was that?

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      Cam/ronEldritch
      1/05/15 11:49am

      The worst offense I've heard was when Target used Devo's "Beautiful World" and cleverly edited out the key lyric, "It's a beautiful world for you/NOT ME."

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    Man FeelingsHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:33am

    1. Rich people write shitty music. 2. Once someone reaches celebrity status, it becomes difficult for them to relate to the common man… Making most of their music pointless.

    Support independent music and artists.

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      Harvey Keitel's Detachable DongMan Feelings
      1/05/15 11:42am

      Counterpoint: some music is enjoyable to some people because it's just pleasing to the ear, not relatable.

      If art had to be relatable to be enjoyable, Moby Dick would have been a forgotten novel that appealed for a short time to a limited audience of whalers.

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      Man FeelingsHarvey Keitel's Detachable Dong
      1/05/15 11:50am

      True. To each his own… But I think comparing Moby Dick to Taylor Swift, et al is a bit of a stretch.

      some music is enjoyable to some people because it's just pleasing to the ear, not relatable.

      McDonalds (or BK or whatever) are the best selling burgers on the planet. People have shitty taste in most things… especially music. Its a fact that those of us who appreciate music for what it can be suffer through every day. Nothing gonna change it though. Moving along.

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    gilbertkittensHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:55am

    I know this is your job and all but don't you ever get tired of standing astride the inevitable course of our dissolution shouting, "stop!"? Newsflash: it's not going to stop. Either we are going to make it, which essentially means we will all upload ourselves to our pocket sexting devices and morph into brand-beings/human-brands, or we won't make it, which means some version of annihilation (nuclear, biological etc.). Either way it'll all be over by 2050. Maybe you'll die first, be thankful for small mercies.

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      omgoodgilbertkittens
      1/05/15 1:00pm

      Your vision assumes that brands are egalitarian in any way. It won't be "we" do this, it is more like "we" will be subject to whatever "they" (the brands, our corporate overlords, aka the 1%) decide.

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      gilbertkittensomgood
      1/05/15 1:17pm

      People willingly do this to themselves. I don't think there is anything positive about any of this, but that doesn't mean that we are not complicit in our own demise. Humans are manipulated and their options are limited, but the first company which offers the potential to upload your consciousness to a computer will not have to force itself on anyone. From there it is just a small step to corporate-owned consciousness.

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    Rom RombertsHamilton Nolan
    1/05/15 11:43am

    CLICK ON THE CHOBANI BANNER NOW TO HEAR A NEW SONG FROM PEARL JAM AND ENTER TO WIN TICKETS TO THE COCA-COLA CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE'S SUMMER SPLASH GIVEAWAY WHERE YOU COULD HAVE A SHOT AT THE MACARONI GRILL GRAND PRIZE THAT INCLUDES A THREE NIGHT STAY IN ONE OF U2'S UNUSED GULFSTREAM JETS BROUGHT TO YOU BY SAUZA TEQUILA. EVERYTHING IS FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE. EVERYTHING IS FINE.

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      North Korean Hacking TeamHamilton Nolan
      1/05/15 11:45am

      Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil. Bad example.

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        BurnerekoHamilton Nolan
        1/05/15 11:35am

        I blame Moby.

        Selling out still sucks balls.

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          bluetileBurnereko
          1/05/15 12:28pm

          questions for you:

          1. Do you mean Moby sold out by licensing his music for placement in film or advertising?

          2. Do you consider both the same level of selling out?

          3. When was the last time you paid for music?

          4. How often do you actually pay for commercially released music?

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          Burnerekobluetile
          1/05/15 6:05pm

          1. Yes

          2. Yes

          3. Last week.

          4. Haven't illegally downloaded music in a decade plus.

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        Montauk MonsterHamilton Nolan
        1/05/15 11:46am

        Miles Davis for Honda Scooters

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