And now, for your thinking pleasure, The Ramblings:
Google Emily White, NPR, and follow some of the commentary about her statements. The best articles have been a couple from evolver.fm, here. Follow some of his links for more on "free" music. Eliot Van Buskirk's thoughts, and in light of me starting to use Spotify, and Pandora more, almost have me feeling guilty for buying music. I'm very intrigued by the notion of internet radio, and though it would seem a new business form, it's really just commercial radio, with a lot more individual choice. I'm more of a Pandora fan, as the music genome it uses is interesting, and the way it's algorithms work. But, I've been using them both, and they have been the so called free services. Not free, because I see and hear commercials, but they also offer subscription services. And every time I listen to a song, money is paid back into the music industry, and eventually the artists get some. But if I've purchased a song, that's it, that's all the money they are going to see from me.
Since, in spite of my railings that art needs to be viewed in person, very few have listened. 8-) The reality is, it is viewed in books and, increasingly, digitally, on the internet. Now, what if, being like Bill, (Bill Gates), we have art viewing screens in our house, and we have a selection of digital art, and when it is displayed, a small usage fee, a royalty is charged. And, because I'm getting the images streamed from a digital DB, a warehouse of art images, that subscription fee or per use fee could flow back into the arts. This would not preclude consumption of the actual art object; there will always be connoisseurs with an appreciation for the complete experience, just as live music will not disappear, and it certainly wouldn't preclude the new. I would probably have a mix of old, actual and new things. The possibility's of visual art following the model of the music industry as it molds itself to the new business model are very intriguing. And as is happening with music, some things go viral, but there is also an increasing demand for critics, those who explore the new, and can be guides to the best of the new. In the same way that I followed Ebert more than Siskel, we would have our favored critics.
Monetization is not a bad thing, by the way, and putting in the effort to write about the crafts and arts that I do, has it's own rewards, but making money off of one's efforts, is, again, not a bad thing. Some blogs are subscription, some carry ads, some have "tip jars" and a lot have the Amazon associates links. Those links cost the consumer nothing, but if you go to Amazon, make some purchases, and you went there from my link, Amazon pays me a few cents in referral fees.
Well, just some thoughts on a Sunday morning ...
Some more thoughts: I use my own images for the backdrops, the screen
images on my computer and phone, but were it available, a Pandora like
image DB, (database), small fee or ad supported, wherein I could choose
this:
St. George, Bernat Martorell
The Art Institute of Chicago
And then, like a Pandora music station, new images, based on that choice, including other Martorell images would appear as my home or lock screen images. Or, being bored, and tired of reading and games, could "listen" to my favorite art station. And the Art Institute, and more importantly, the heirs of Martorell, would have some money flowing towards them.
One comment I've read regarding "professional" artists, is that we all are capable of art, and though I'm no fan of "The Cult of Genius", I also don't make my own shoes, but I am equipped to make art, ranging from sculpted wood, gesso and gilt, to painted images. There is a place for professional artists, just as any other service or profession. I'm trying to think of an object that has not, at some point had the involvement of somebody, trained or not, who is an artist. Art is more involved, including that trash can in the corner (art trained designers were involved), than say historians. No need for a English professor, but you do need somebody trained in the arts to design that trash can. Unfortunately, our education system thinks English and History are of more import than art. and the absurd "Cult of Genius" has cut us off from art, making it into an elitist, separate thing.
Bron
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