Do you know artists first before you're fans of their music?

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Permalink Reply by john yang on August 1, 2007 at 7:07am

First things first; this tottaly belongs in the music forum thingi. S

Secondofly; Good job on the correct grammar. Looks nice from far away. you wont get that from me.

Is is nice to know an artist on a better level but its hard to do with mainstream stuff. I'll never meet half of my music people because they are broken up or dead. I actually wrote all of the bands on that MIX discussion of last albums, then went to work on downloading their discographys/greatest hits, then i give em a fair review and if they don't excite me or give me that umph, i drop em. if not i keep em. simple stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 1, 2007 at 11:30am

Since I am relatively new to this forum, I thought I posed a general question. Perhaps it isn't and your redirect is appropriate, John. Thanks for your suggestion. I shall explore this possibility further.

Regarding mainstream artists who are media driven and Aleksonder as an artist, the only major difference is the marketing budget. This does effect my rate of exposure and the velocity of developing a name for myself, however I choose to be patient and await my destiny.

In terms of availability to communicate with others, time is a precious commodity, that needs to be used wisely, so hopefully many readers can benefit simultaneously from questions posed. At this time in my musical sojourn I am preparing for CD number three, so I am inbetween commitments and have some moments to spare. Simplicity is a great thing and I appreciate your response

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 1, 2007 at 11:18am

I think you're on the right track. By "knowing" I mean to the extent of becoming absorbed with a person's mannerism, lifestyle and other similar attributes. Bt being a "fan" I mean a person who has a strong interest in or admiration for another person's art form as well the artistic individual.

This topic's question pertains to whether or not one has any prerequisites that must be met before exploring an artist's work, and your response, "I don't really care that much about the artist, if i like the song it's final." does answer the question. Thanks for your opinion, Frank. I hope to hear from others.

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Permalink Reply by natalie on August 1, 2007 at 12:13pm

no ofnest to you but when ever i like a song i buy the whole ablum. most of the time it ends up not being my favorite any more.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 1, 2007 at 4:35pm

I agree that many if not most collections batched together into albums are less appealing than a record's lead off hit single. Disappointments are commonplace after hearing other less appealing songs on a record.

IMO the artist needs to have great songs in order to make great records, and that takes time, patience and plenty of rewrites. Unfortunately, nowadays the art of songwriting has greatly diminished and streams of conciousness with sparks of intuition are prevalent, thus less and less time is being spent on crafting high quality songs. It seems that high production skills are used to create a sound and cover up many modern day artists' lackluster writing.

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Permalink Reply by MediaMisfit on August 1, 2007 at 2:22pm

Good music makes me want to know more about the artist. Same as good art. If the artists is a cool person it's just a bonus. Art and music is a dime a dozen so I don't really tend to swoon over one or another.

I Pi Rite everything. I don't see the sense is giving my money to one artist with a flooded market. I think that music should be open to the general public and should only make money of business licensing.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 1, 2007 at 5:01pm

Glad to hear that good music can inspire that type of response, with regards to the desire to know more about the artist, however in our society, as long as money is used as a medium of exchange, piracy is theft, i.e taking the right to profit away from corporations and/or entrepreneurs who sponsor and/or invest in an artist's career. If you are enjoying an artist's music and feel as thogh all the monies should go to him or her, then please do cut a check and mail it off. I'm sure any artist wouldn't mind that at all, then at least, you would not be pirating per se.

As to deciding whether or not a song is free that is up to the publisher and/or record label depending upon the circumstance. In some instances, artists are allowed to distribute some "freebies" as are promoters, managers and the like. I consider "expecting" anything for free is truly ambitious, yet I am willing to gift those who are appreciative of my work. Thanks for your reply, Media Misfit.

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Permalink Reply by john yang on August 1, 2007 at 9:03pm

I too Pi Rite everything and agree with everything you said media misfit. like everything.

And its a touchy subject with digital information, as to whether its free to use or not, would you pay 1,000 dollars to use software you have no experience with? i dont think so. or 20 bucks on a band you've never heard before but willing to give them a listen? and thus the internet was born.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 2, 2007 at 9:10am

I see nothing wrong with paying after something is explored, sampled and used instead of before. This is merely a modernized form of try it, like it or your money back. Still, taking advantage of another's generosity by not reciprocating as requested by property owner is some form of larceny.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 2, 2007 at 10:02am

I cannot speak for the pricing structure of other enterprises, yet I agree that fair market value is a concern. Since my project is self contained, I am able to offer a lower price than most other artists. The entire CD is available or $8.88 as a complete download or 89¢ for each song. There are no additional fees or hidden charges. The minimum order is .89 USD.

If interested in the limited run and actually owning your own Aleksonder CD then original units are available for a fair market price as posted on my web site: www.aleksonder.com/store.php International orders are shipped as well.

Usually, however not always, supply and demand dictate pricing in the marketplace. Other factors include customary levels of exchange, venues and geographic locations.

The bottom line, IMO, is showing repect to the creator for providing his or her work. If it is beyond ones ability to pay, then the question remains, how bad do you really want it?

Just because a product (whether a good or service) exists doesn't mean you are entitled to have it. Think about it. Until this world is a place of unconditional love, we have separation and unless you are ready to say, "All that's mine is yours!" in every moment, we will continue to live that way.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 2, 2007 at 9:16pm

Business profits can be excessive in many major corporate settings, and one can clearly agree that greed is above and beyond a fair market value. The question remains, is a fair market value...FREE? The 99 cent digital download appeared at first to be a happy compromise, however as you mentioned in your prior post, since the industry got involved a bit too late, expectations remain high for handouts.

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Permalink Reply by Aleksonder on August 2, 2007 at 10:55am

I'd just like to add that many components determine how the Artist's composition "happens", and what you end up hearing is a manufactured final product, that still has to be recreated for the live show!

An artist's sound can be enhanced by backing singers and musicians, additional effects & processing, and structured arrangements. Usually this is accomplished with a producer who keeps marketing considerations in mind, such as genre and musical direction of artist. Visuals are used as well to create an image for the artist being marketed.

Today's industry sells packaged sounds and visuals with targeted genre related messages. Typically, if an artisitic presentation is done well, it gets recreated over and over, again and again. So you can think of this as the industry's formula for success.

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