Comments on: Joss Stone: “Music should be shared”

By: mathewi

mathewi — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:25:11 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Helen. I realize that not everyone can be as
successful as Joss Stone, and her comments may stem — at least in
part — from being financially well off. But I still believe that for
many artists, resting all of your hopes on CD sales is probably not
wise (if it ever was) and not just because of file-sharing. If
anything, I think that having people swapping your songs can
*increase* your chances of becoming successful, rather than the
opposite.

By: Helen

Helen — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 16:57:21 +0000

pls don't encourage this — she can't speak for everyone — I've spent $20,000 making my CD at home and now I'm selling it — I'm not performing in big concert arenas and making tons of money — it's hard enough to get people to stop sharing/stealing music — and now a big star making these comments will make it even harder — people want to use every excuse to justify it — bottom line: you can't go into a store, buy one item and expect to walk out with a second one for free — it's stealing, plain and simple — it's irresponsible and reckless for her to speak for all musicians - especially when she is very wealthy and successful and the rest of us are not in the same boat

By: scrawledinwax

scrawledinwax — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:27:36 +0000

I'm not suggesting it invalidates what she says. It's just that there needs to be an acknowledgment of the dynamic at work where it's only Stone's participation in the music biz's 'old model' and reaching a sort of critical mass of fame/success that resulted in you writing this post. I agree with what she's saying. I just also believe that the new model will mean that there will be no Joss Stones in the future as the mechanisms of marketing/distribution etc. becoming radically fragmented i.e. Rex's idea about microfame will become the only sort of fame there is for musicians.

By: mathewi

mathewi — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:21:17 +0000

Well obviously her comments — which she might just as easily have made even before becoming successful — are more likely to be heard now that she is well-known. But I don't see how that invalidates what she's saying.

By: scrawledinwax

scrawledinwax — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:06:33 +0000

This is hardly original, but how would Joss Stone be in a position to even had her comments about downloading heard if it wasn't for the sales of her records? Isn't there something a bit specious about an already established artist saying something like this? It seems kinda' like she's arguing *now* you can steal my music. I'm rich, what do I care?