Hey! I think this dude is actually doing it!

[mousdrvr]

Jonathan Coulton (http://www.jonathancoulton.com/)

Interesting Articles (http://www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.asp?epk_id=72057) about this dude, including one from The NY Times. I could not seem to link to it directly but the articles are available on the "press" sub page.


Some of his tunes (http://www.jonathancoulton.com/primer/listen)

If like me you actually are a Code Monkey, make sure to check that one out.

Also if you are into the Zombie mythos, which 90% of all code monkeys are :lol: Check out Your Brains


It looks to me like this cat is actually getting it done. With a one two Live/Internet punch that I suspect would get thumbs up from both MM and Bob. Thought I'd post it see if you guys had any thoughts.



-mous

[eagan]

Hilarious but heartbreaking songs about mad scientists, robot armies and self-loathing giant squids.

Fuckin' A, Bubba! How can he miss?!


JLE

[crunch]

Man.

After I was done laughing my goddamn ass off for 20 minutes (and let me tell ya, I needed that... It can be a shitty world and I'm afraid I'm not doing much to change that, speaking mainly of my recent actions and attitude) I realized that this guy, by far, is probably the bestest, most original songwritinest handy-with-a-computer-keyboard human I have heard in a very, very long time.

There is hope for us yet.

Thank you Driver of Mice.

Thank you.

P.S. Code Monkey-Whore Need Brains...

:Thumbsup:

[Tim Armstrong]

Yeah, thanks man! Listened to a bunch of songs, this guy is funny as hell and I like his music too.

Cheers, Tim

[CaptainHook]

Oh dear..

This guy is selling his mp3's yet they're VERY easy to pull off his
site as that playback page references directly to the mp3's. :(

Guess i'll write him an email when i have a spare 5 mins..

[mousdrvr]

Oh dear..

This guy is selling his mp3's yet they're VERY easy to pull off his
site as that playback page references directly to the mp3's. :(

Guess i'll write him an email when i have a spare 5 mins..

I know a few cats who are making a comfortable living off their music and they all have two things in common. 1) They could not care less about Piracy. 2) They give a lot of shit away.

They only care about their fans and they bend over backwards for them and more or less politely ignore everybody else. [removed misquote of Bob] These guys know that their fans are essentially looking for ways to support them and that nobody else matters. If you take that view, this guy has lost nothing by giving you his mp3s.

I mean if you weren't going to buy his record, or see his show, or even give the guy free press by sending his urls to people cause you thought he was mildly clever, what did he loose by making them available to you? In an odd way he wins even if his "stupidity" annoys you enough to comment. This thread gets bumped, and maybe he catches the ear of one or 2 more Wombats and as there's no such thing as negative probability, you can't be less likely to buy his record than you were before you heard of him. At the very worst, it could be argued that you cost the guy bandwidth, but I'm going to guess that even there, any traffic is good traffic.



-mous

[Bob Olhsson]

I should clarify that when I use the word "patronage," I mean corporate or government selected "free" music rather than a situation where the fan pays an artist or their representative for the music they want to hear. At one time radio airplay reflected actual local record sales, i.e. what people wanted to hear. Today advertisers choose the music and the results are most people treating the radio as background music (assuming they even listen) as opposed to entertainment that is engaging.

Giving away samples has always been a legitimate method of obtaining exposure. My point is that this should ONLY be the artist's choice and not something that is imposed on artists by a bunch of Silicon Valley investment bankers. Quiet as it's kept, this was exactly what happened as opposed to the folksy public relations spin people endlessly cite about this issue.

This guy has been very successful at getting publicity for several years however the net has been a dismal failure for the vast majority of artists. We know this because the same Silicon Valley spin machine would be all over anybody who actually broke a major act on the net.

[mousdrvr]

I should clarify that when I use the word "patronage," I mean corporate or government selected "free" music rather than a situation where the fan pays an artist or their representative for the music they want to hear. At one time radio airplay reflected actual local record sales, i.e. what people wanted to hear. Today advertisers choose the music and the results are most people treating the radio as background music (assuming they even listen) as opposed to entertainment that is engaging.

Giving away samples has always been a legitimate method of obtaining exposure. My point is that this should ONLY be the artist's choice and not something that is imposed on artists by a bunch of Silicon Valley investment bankers. Quiet as it's kept, this was exactly what happened as opposed to the folksy public relations spin people endlessly cite about this issue.

This guy has been very successful at getting publicity for several years however the net has been a dismal failure for the vast majority of artists. We know this because the same Silicon Valley spin machine would be all over anybody who actually broke a major act on the net.

Absolutely!

This is one of the foulest stenches rising from the valley. You would be shocked at just how over the top this attitude is up here. Lily is approached regularly by people who want music to be "Free" so they can bundle it and have it add "value" to whatever myspace killer they're pushing this week. The hypocrisy would singe your hair. It always boils down to the same request. Basically, "Hey can you rig this up so that it's fair use when we steal it but it's ours and "protected" when we sell it?" It's not even thinly veiled.



-mous


ps

Oh, and thank you for the calcification Bob. I thought you meant it in the sense that rather than relying on a commodity ( a physical record ) artists could essentially be commissioned. I know this is not how it works mechanically but it is the attitude of a lot of independent artists and their fans. In my mind when I buy an album on CD Baby, I'm clear I'm NOT really buying that record I'm trying to make sure there will be another one.

Sorry to have misquoted you,

[Bob Olhsson]

We've all got to pull together on this one.

The RIAA is defending the labels but not those of us who create the music!

All the scumbags need to do is mutter "RIAA" and everybody cheers while failing to notice their shotgun is actually pointed at our heads and not at the mooks!

[bunnerabb]

I'm getting a lot of schoolin' here.

Thanks.

[CaptainHook]

I know a few cats who are making a comfortable living off their music and they all have two things in common. 1) They could not care less about Piracy. 2) They give a lot of shit away.

Yeah. But i think you misconstrued my entire post.
If i didn't like the guy, 1) I wouldn't be CONCERNED (not annoyed)
enough to comment that on the same page he is selling his music, you can find
the URL to download it directly. 2) I would ignore the fact that you assume he
doesn't care piracy or about people taking songs from his own website that
he sells them on.

Yes, i see he doesn't care about copy protection etc.
But giving away your music is a bit different to having it stolen.
I just think he deserves to make the decision on whether he cares about this
or not.

I also know quite a 'few cats' that make more than a comfortable living from this
and DO care about piracy and giving stuff away.
That proves nothing.

I also see a LOT of people who "steal" their favourite bands latest album
because they dont want to pay for it. There's no value in it in their eyes.
They 'support' the band by telling all their friends to download/steal the
album too.
Again, doesn't really matter cause i just think the guy should know
about this if he doesn't already.

This wasn't a call for a piracy=marketing discussion.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[mousdrvr]

Yeah. But i think you misconstrued my entire post.
If i didn't like the guy, 1) I wouldn't be CONCERNED (not annoyed)
enough to comment that on the same page he is selling his music, you can find
the URL to download it directly. 2) I would ignore the fact that you assume he
doesn't care piracy or about people taking songs from his own website that
he sells them on.

Yes, i see he doesn't care about copy protection etc.
But giving away your music is a bit different to having it stolen.
I just think he deserves to make the decision on whether he cares about this
or not.

I also know quite a 'few cats' that make more than a comfortable living from this
and DO care about piracy and giving stuff away.
That proves nothing.

I also see a LOT of people who "steal" their favourite bands latest album
because they dont want to pay for it. There's no value in it in their eyes.
They 'support' the band by telling all their friends to download/steal the
album too.
Again, doesn't really matter cause i just think the guy should know
about this if he doesn't already.

This wasn't a call for a piracy=marketing discussion.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

My fault entirely, and agreed on all points, with the exception that from what I can tell he IS giving it away intentionally. We haven't spoken but I've read half a dozen interviews with the guy and he does the administration for his site. Still I could easily be wrong, I frequently am :lol:

I guess the general point I was trying to make is that there does now seem to be more than one viable path. I wasn't trying to proove anything. In my mind that requires axioms and we have none in this discussion. In future I'll be more careful about my language. I certainly don't don't want to imply that my subjective observations are more valid than anyone else's.

I also didn't mean to imply that piracy was OK and that folks should just deal with it, not at all.

Sorry if I came off as confrontational. It wasn't my intention at all. I guess some part of me is just overjoyed that "Resist Not Evil" is actually working for this guy.

And about the folks stealing albums and propagating through theft, yeah I see that too and it's sad as hell. It also may be the case that they would indeed have purchased those albums if they had been more difficult to steal. I'm just not sure how large a percentage of folks that really represents, and again I'd be thrilled to believe it really was a minority.

Again I'm sorry if I came off snippy it was early and I posted before being fully caffeinated. But CaptinHook, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing I'd hoped we could discuss. So thank you very much for chiming in.

-mous

[CaptainHook]

No probs mousey.

I think we all enjoy in just about any success at the moment.

Such is the times... :(

[waterboy]

Talented cat, he is.
I dig those tunes .... nice change from what I am used to.
Good post, mousdrvr

:)