

The Gaiman Principle: piracy is advertising & why Ramen Music encourages sharing - wlll
http://blog.ramenmusic.com/post/3620247918/the-gaiman-principle-piracy-is-advertising-and-why

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ajays
The documentary "Good Copy, Bad Copy" (a must-watch, by the way) has a segment
on the Brazilian phenomenon called "Tecno Brega". You can watch it here:
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo2sv3jjJi8>

Basically, the musicians give out free CDs of their music, and make money on
live concerts. They treat the free music as advertising.

This is true, if you look at it: the experience of listening to a live music
concert is totally different from that of listening to it on a pair of cans.
The social aspect of sharing a live event has a lot of value on its own; if
the musicians can monetize it well, it's a good revenue stream. There's no
reason why the 100-year old technique of "frozen music" be the only way to
earn a living.

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pasbesoin
I don't like what's happening with IP -- meaning the draconian "enforcement"
including especially ever-expanding ownership timeframes. But when I see this
argument, I can't help thinking, "Not everyone is an extrovert." I think that
goes for both listeners (viewers, etc.) and musicians.

I'm not trying to make a big counter-argument. Just this point.

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InclinedPlane
I see your argument and think it's important. However, I think it's probably
also true that the existing and historical models for rewarding musical talent
exclude some people. The question then becomes, which models are better
overall and less exclusive.

On the whole I'm not convinced that there is much value in retaining the
horribly exploitive traditional model of the mega-powerful recording studio.

~~~
pasbesoin
No, I'm not arguing for the corrupt "record company" model. A model that,
actually, appears to me to be propelled in good part by psychopathic (in the
clinical sense), type A and often extroverted personalities.

I just don't want to see such ideas become another form of discrimination
against introverts. In many fields, introverts end up being placed at some
disadvantage by extroverts who argue that they should simply "suck it up" and
"put themselves out there".

Ultimately, I guess it's "survival of the fittest". In my perspective,
however, too much of such attitude makes for an unhealthy society. (At which
point, we have to get pissed enough to (meet and organize on Facebook, and)
rise up and kill all the lawyers, etc., etc. ;-)

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alexophile
I have thought for a while that some take on the Mixergy model would be an
excellent way to distribute music.

If you don't know, about a year ago (?), Andrew Warner initiated a system
wherein new interviews would always be free, but you would have to pay for
archival content. This seems to be working for Mixergy, but I submit that it
could be even better for a record label - it promotes long-term development of
artists, using their work as its own promotional material, and adds incentives
to maintain a working relationship. It also rewards fans the fans that are
most likely to evangelize.

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Fargren
I read American Gods for the first time after downloading it, and then I
bought it.

~~~
threepointone
Slightly OT, but if you liked American Gods, might I also suggest "Good
Omens", a book he wrote with Terry Pratchett. Easily one of the funniest books
I've read, and a brilliant storyline.

[Coincidentally, I read a downloaded version of this, and have since bought
about 10 copies and gifted to people.]

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elptacek
Two words: "mix tape"

(Also, we've really come a long, long way from a bunch of inky-fingered
hunchbacks in a scriptorium, huh?)

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ALee
I usually don't like to cite any popular tech books, but there is a great
chapter in "Free" by Chris Anderson on examples where piracy is being
monetized in China, Brazel, etc.

It's probably one of the best parts of the book.

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ZoFreX
Great article. It's Neil, by the way!

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lotusleaf1987
"No big studio picked up the film [Ink] for theatrical and home distribution.
Double Edge Films pitched the movie directly to independent cinemas and to the
DVD, Blu-ray and online distribution by themselves. After the release it
became the most downloaded movies in file sharing torrent sites more
accurately 400,000 times in a single week and exposed the film to a large
audience, leading to higher DVD and Blu-ray sales in return. The independent
filmmakers wrote in their newsletter that they had "embraced the piracy" and
are "happy Ink is getting unprecedented exposure." :
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1071804/trivia>

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dgouldin
I think Neal Gaiman is the only one calling it "The Gaiman Principle" ...

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zck
This article isn't written by Neal Gaiman, but by Sudara Williams, one of the
founders of Ramen Music.

