Music v. Technology
Last night, I made some new friends that were not too dissimilar from my usual cohorts. Among them was a small contingency of neophyte “music industry” professionals who, like many, were skeptical of the interplay between technology and music. Chief among their objections were drastic losses of revenue and intellectual property violations, to which I sympathize. This got me thinking. At end of the day, whenever that day occurs, music will thank technology as it had with other forms of artistic self-expression in not just evolving, but in keeping these art forms alive.
Imagine a young Hitchcock without the technology of film. Imagine Van Gogh without the technology of inexpensive oil paint, or Mozart without the technology of the piano. What a detrimental loss society would have paid had it not been for the enabling interplay of technology with art. As they evolve, the muse and computer are catalysts of choice; providing expansion and room for the potential of difference. Technology breeds diversity, options, possibility, and freedom—which are all integral components of the artistic collective.
Imagine that Van Gogh could not spend all of his time creating masterpieces because he had to devote countless hours and dollars to ensuring hit paintings were not being copied and given away to anyone with a computer. If he could not sell his work he would not be able to afford the paints and canvas used to make them.
I agree wholeheartedly about technology making music more accessible, improving the quality, and more widespread, but to turn a blind-eye to the piracy that takes place and causes millions of dollars worth of revenue to be lost.
It cost money to make the music people are passing around for free, if artists can make the money back from the sales of the music they pay to put out that damages the market and cripples the artist.
Midninight
midnight313
December 18, 2008 at 9:59 AM