SMBC Comics Forum

The thing is, most people are only in it for the money, including the majority of artists that you and I know about. This isn't Star Trek where there is no money and everyone pulls his fair share. Good musicians expect to be given money, otherwise how will they have time to play? They'll need jobs. Unless someone starts giving them money so they don't need a real job... (and so on)

Just think of the art world! You cannot start out making any money at all being an artist, but people do it because they are enthusiastic about it. I'm sure music will still make a great deal of money from merchandising and concerts, but not enough to be millionaires. I imagine music as a modest but inspired career in the future. I'm not really faithful it will go like this, but like I keep saying, it will be more like this.

The greatest artists are those that can pursue an art for the art. They will not feel like they need to rush or appeal to the masses, merely to create something exceptional. A patron system seems to inspire better works, rather than a marketing system.

Rainbow wrote:Just think of the art world! You cannot start out making any money at all being an artist, but people do it because they are enthusiastic about it. I'm sure music will still make a great deal of money from merchandising and concerts, but not enough to be millionaires. I imagine music as a modest but inspired career in the future. I'm not really faithful it will go like this, but like I keep saying, it will be more like this.

But everyone that wants to put music out for free is not doing it. So, imagine everything we have now, with fewer musicians. That's the real change I see. Really, look at the people who play music. Now, give them less money. Why on earth would more people be attracted to less money? The people who don't want money will stick around, but everyone else will find a real job.

AHMETxRock wrote:The greatest artists are those that can pursue an art for the art. They will not feel like they need to rush or appeal to the masses, merely to create something exceptional. A patron system seems to inspire better works, rather than a marketing system.

That's a theory, and one that should not be taken for granted; what makes a better artist? Surely there are some people who love music but they are simply terrible at it (and thus ended my career, in fact!). And the "need" to create something exceptional is known in the TV business as "jumping the shark"; that is, the point where people are trying too hard, even past the point of money. Anyway, really, isn't that appeal to the masses what makes people like their music? Very little becomes popular; many people may disagree with what's popular, but my thoughts or your thoughts do not match up to the actual demand for music, and the kind of exposure that musicians get by doing what everyone wants.

But more to your point, it's true that a patron system works better than a marketing system in terms of art (well, again, it's a theory, but I like it); but what does it do for society? It costs them money. People don't like that. Their taxes shouldn't have to pay for shitty art (is what they are saying to themselves). A patron system will be criticised and stripped out (like it has been through Canadia and the United States, cutting out many artists' grants, and probably more in this so-called recession).

This debate about music and money is actually very similar to the one about how webcomics should make money. Personally I like Scott McCloud's idea of incredibly small micropayments. Perhaps this could be applied to musicians, where we cut out the record company model and songs and albums start selling for pennies.

Edminster wrote:

Asherian wrote:If possible I prefer to use Lucida Console, I've no idea why but its easier on my eyes to identify individual letters then any of the other commonly available fonts.

Whenever I write stories, I do so using Lucida Console....

Surely this is a sign I should name my child after you, and/or throw myself swooning at your feet! Another user of Lucida Console! Destiny!

Lucida wouldn't be such a bad name for a girl.

smiley_cow wrote:I think intellectual property is going to be around for a while, not because of piracy but because bands will want to control who's using their music. For example, if I were in a band and I suddenly noticed my song being played in a McDonald's commercial, I would be more than a little annoyed.

I'd like to direct your second sentence to this post. People could still control their intellectual property when it came to commercial (I don't mean commercial in the same sense you used it) use of their music, but merely being able to listen to it should be free.

And my quest to understand font snobs continues. Papyrus is apparently bad.

I was definitely thinking of this thread when I read that. This thread and the XKcd one.

I am a sower of discord!

PVPONLINE did something along the lines of a font joke.

That's great, Oldrac. Font puns are unexpectedly hilarious.

Then you'll probably love this.

On topic, it is true that some fonts are particularly overused.

Your prediction was correct, good sir.