The Artists Tell Their Side

I was reminded as I was looking back over my Blank Media Levy writings about a an article written by Janis Ian back in 2002. Janis, in case you don't know, is a musician who has had her share of hits, mostly back in the late 1960s and mid 1970s with her most memorable hit being "Society's Child", a song that still sends shivers up my spine when I hear it. Make sure you read her follow up which is a PDF wherein she makes "A modest proposal for an experiment that might lead to a solution" - an experiment that has not taken place yet I might add. Yes, Apple has come close - but not close enough.

Janis is web savvy and still producing music and touring. Her take on what was/is wrong with the music industry, even though written 7+ years ago, is still right on.

She also points to the Baen Free Library - a publisher actually "gets it" and notes that the free download initially put up by its proponent, Eric Flint, immediately got him feedback and sales.

Says Eric, "Word of mouth, unlike paid advertising, comes free to the author — and it's ten times more effective than any kind of paid advertising, because it's the one form of promotion which people usually trust."

You might also take a look at some of the letters and comments he's received in his "Prime Palaver" area.

More recently the Canadian Music Creators Coalition shows 209 different artists who together protest the actions of the music publishers in trying to extend copyright law in the directions taken in the US.

Please let these artists know that you support them.