From Otto Koppius Sent Fri, Oct 31st 1997, 22:42
From Otto Koppius Sent Fri, Oct 31st 1997, 22:42
Well well well, looks like the cat's out of the bag. I can't believe there are people that are so naive to think that bootlegs don't hurt commercial sales or that it's okay to bootleg because then you rip off big labels. Or that it's all a big-label conspiracy for that matter (don't watch so many X-Files Mr. I-took-an-Economy-class-today-so-now-I-know-everything). FACT: There are no big IDM labels. No, not Warp either, they're less than peanuts compared to Sony or Time-Warner. FACT: All labels that we consider to be big in the IDM market started out *really* small and had to walk a thin line to get where they are. In most cases, they still have to. If you don't believe me, ask a few small and not-so-small labels. Go ahead. FACT: Everything that goes for labels goes even stronger for artists. How many artists still have a parttime or fulltime job next to their music? Trust me, you *don't* want to know. FACT: These artists and labels could not have gotten to where they are now if their releases were bootlegged for personal (and a friend, and a friend of a friend) use. They rely mostly on a loyal and trustworthy fanbase. That's the key issue in my never even remotely humble opinion: RESPECT. It's been said before and I'll say it again: if you respect an artist or label, buy the stuff, don't bootleg it. Otherwise you're just shooting yourself in the foot, because in the end the label will fold and the artist will get a day job, which would be a loss to all IDMers. Or you can depend on other IDMers to do the supporting and simply don't give a fuck. Your choice. Otto PS Go cspot! I'm with you all the way!