fakesens

:(

...and hope that comes across in the article. I found benefits in this; others won't; and some want nothing to do with it. Fair play. But the situation is not as black and white as some of the anti-P2P propaganda would like to make it (and nor is it as simple as some of the equally blinkered file-sharing evangelists would have it). We all need to get round the table and figure it out....and hope that comes across in the article. I found benefits in this; others won't; and some want nothing to do with it. Fair play. But the situation is not as black and white as some of the anti-P2P propaganda would like to make it (and nor is it as simple as some of the equally blinkered file-sharing evangelists would have it). We all need to get round the table and figure it out.

I've been trying and failing all night to log in as Fakesensations, eventually gave up and signed up again with a new user name. But rest assured this is actually the author of the article speaking ;)

Just wanted to address a few points made by people here (and say thanks for responding).

1. Let's be honest, I realise that of the 500 or so people who downloaded the album, maybe 1 or 2 will go on to be true fans (if that). I'm under no illusions. But that's 1 or 2 fans more than I had on Friday.

2. I am lucky enough to have a 'proper' job. So making millions is not a priority right now. But I have been making music seriously for over 6 years, I've watched the landscape change, I have struggled and scrimped and saved along the way. I'm not particularly happy that less people are willing to pay for music these days. Nor am I a great believer that T-shirt sales or ringtone sales will make up the shortfall, once I've gathered thousands (!) of fans from giving away my music for free. But right now the options are - try and sell CDs and make no money and potentially put people off even giving my stuff a listen; or give the music away and get it heard, with the remote possibility that at some point I will build up enough of a momentum to be able to tour, or make another album, or write for other more established artists, or score a film, or whatever. My goal is to do music 24/7, not to own a mansion in the country and develop a debilitating coke habit, so this is just a step towards that.

3. This route is not for everyone. There's a strong argument to be made that I'm devaluing my music by doing this. So be it. But as I said, this is a new landscape, and good luck to anyone outside the traditional industry trying to make a living solely from their recorded music. You may pull it off, and I'll be cheering from the sidelines if you do. But I don't think I can right now, so as I say, getting heard is the main priority.

4. Rhodri Marsden from the Independent has written a fantastic, if controversial, piece for Music Think Tank which adds some more aspects to this discussion. I'm not sure I wholeheartedly agree with him, but it's worth a read: http://tinyurl.com/6awfsj

5. Remember, this is just one aspect of promoting your music. I don't expect artists to just throw up their hands, give their music away, and be done with it. There are many ways of making *some* money from your music, and many other ways of building a fanbase (gigging remains the best, obviously). I talk about lots of other things I've been trying out on my blog, www.songaday.co.uk.

Thanks for all your responses. This is a crucial debate, and I don't think anyone has the ultimate answer yet.

FS