Amusing chat with guy who runs filesharing site electrobuzz

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:01 am

i think some of the filesharing kinda guys (I haven't visited that world for years and years) are friendly music lovers, but just a bit misguided, I think a lot of them don't realise the situation that music makers often make no money from it. I think they somehow have the impression that music makers earn lots of $$$ and they are doing the world a favour by sharing the music, I guess they just see the big names and the life that they lead and think all musicians are like that.

I came across a filesharing site recently though, where they encouraged people to support the artists and pay for as many releases as they can.

However, it's obviously true that a lot of guys sharing music are rude and amoral.

It's weird, I know some super friendly nice guys who earn no money and struggle day to day with $$$, and it doesn't really bother me that they downlaod their music. But I know some other people who listen to loads of music and I always see them sharing the latest stuff on facebook... they annoy me.

Kiani · Post by **Kiani** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:05 am

oblioblioblio wrote:i think some of the filesharing kinda guys (I haven't visited that world for years and years) are friendly music lovers, but just a bit misguided, I think a lot of them don't realise the situation that music makers often make no money from it. I think they somehow have the impression that music makers earn lots of $$$ and they are doing the world a favour by sharing the music, I guess they just see the big names and the life that they lead and think all musicians are like that.

mmm I doubt if they're that naive

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 1:10 am

I shared stuff on soulseek 5 or 6 years ago. It used to make me really happy if I had a rare release and someone downloaded it from me.

But then after some time making music and knowing label guys and musicians, it made me stop and think about it.

pafufta816 · Post by **pafufta816** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:16 am

oblioblioblio wrote:I shared stuff on soulseek 5 or 6 years ago. It used to make me really happy if I had a rare release and someone downloaded it from me.

ditto, i began using soulseek in 2004, and at that time it was near impossible to find the music i was downloading on cd or even vinyl. the stuff i like that was available on cd i bought, but for some genres like free improvisation, 70's and 80's industrial, ambient, there was noone in the whole kansas city area who really stocked very much of it. i fileshared back then out of sheer desperation to just HEAR this music, then 0day went from being a software phenomenon to including musical releases making 95% of all digitally released music available for free. when most of these filesharers started it was a completely different environment on the internet, there was no hosting cheap enough for mp3 blogs until perhaps 2007.

soulseek, while questionably legal, is still used by fans and lovers of electronic music, sharing and collaborating. there's still people trading the newest metallica album the first moment they can find the mp3's, but the rest of us used it to correspond with netlabels and artists. i've made most of my label connections via filesharing networks, so to antagonize it as soulless and ill-intentioned is just as naive as victims of filesharing calling it stealing and launching DoS attacks. we all love music, but there is certainly a civil war type divide between people of equal demographic and economic groups over what is acceptable behavior on the internet.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:29 am

i think balance and self restraint is totally the crucial thing.

It's true that filesharing has some positive sides. I discovered so much amazing music thru soulseek.... it completely broadened my horizons.

But if there weren't enough friendly people who respect the music enough to want to help musicians out by paying for stuff, I think I would get very depressed.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:43 am

just fyi. whilst i was using soulseek loads I couldnt actually afford to eat, cos I spent all my money on CDs and weed.

And now, when I want to sell my cd collection to buy music gear, I can't sell the CDs for decent money cos very few people pay for music anymore.

hmm

pafufta816 · Post by **pafufta816** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 7:48 am

they make good drink coasters and frisbee's. i have several spindels just full of heavily scratched/damaged cd's, i wonder if there's some use i could get out of them as most are unplayable.

oblioblioblio · Post by **oblioblioblio** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 11:02 am

fck that. i mean actual cds pressed by record companies. like I say I spent large amounts of the money I earned on these things. Now their value is quite low.

i don't actually rip/download music myself anymore. but i've watched quite a few films and tv programmes via torrents. I try not to do that so much.