Things are changing rapidly and old forms of distribution and promotion need to be retired. The internet’s totally taken over and the ways in which people find and hear music have evolved very suddenly. It makes me a little sad that the old forms, which are more tangible and “real”, are disappearing, but I know it’s for the best.

I really wasn’t complaining so much as explaining. I clearly said that the artists are making more money now for various reasons - exposure and more direct distribution, etc - but my point was simply that the scene is dying as a result.

i think it’s more appropriate to say the scene is moving, to myspace/last.fm/mp3 blogs. as much as that’s less personal, and less memorable, i’m a fan of anything that lowers the bar for people to find music they like.

I’m not saying that’s a particularly tragic thing, and I’m certainly not holding on to any vague notion of a romantic past: I really don’t think anything I said contradicted statistics and I’m not proposing we support a scene for its own sake if it hurts the artists in question. The artists are making more money and the people are hearing more music - the bands have access to fans and the fans have access to the bands. Sounds good to me.

no, i don’t think you’re contradicting them at all. my point was that things are moving in a good direction, and we shouldn’t be propping up the scene. i love music stores, but they are part of an old, commercial distribution method that needs to be replaced. with the bit about records (which are only relevant when things are non-digitally produced), made you seem nostalgic.

lastly, sorry for the snarky tone of my post. it was originally just a way to post the other two links, but i wound up using your post as a scapegoat, which wasn’t fair.

Thanks for the link. It’s always great to get some recognition for your work.