fakesensations

It's not a question of saying "fuck it". The album's been out a year, I've promoted it as best I can with no budget and a day job. It was an experiment. I may not repeat it. This should not be seen as a 'defining' move by me as an 'artist'.

And don't envy me having a job. I envy you having time to make music. I haven't made any significant tracks since that album a year ago, because my job has taken over. Which one of us is better off, in terms of our music?

People should be rewarded for the blood, sweat and tears they put into their work. I wish I had been for the long long hours I put in creating an entire album on my own in my bedroom studio. I wasn't. So what should I do? Stop people from hearing it? Or try and get it out there any way I can? It wasn't an "easy giveaway" and I haven't been "showered in praise". It was a tough decision and I've have a few bits of (extremely welcome) positive feedback. Let's not lose our perspective here.

I wish you luck with your music. Don't give up.

So do Myspace. Do you have your music on Myspace? Do you see any of the ad revenue?

The whole system is broken in that respect. That's why the Featured Artists Coalition has been set up (www.featuredartistscoalition.com). All power to them.

Mininova have a massive audience. So does US commercial radio. You don't get paid for being played on either. It's promotion. Is that good or bad?

A lot of the people who d'loaded the Radiohead album grabbed it from their favourite torrent site. I know I did. I then went and bought the box set for my g'friend. I don't like Radiohead, but she does. I would never have bought their CD in normal cirumstances. But somehow, we've ended with me having In Rainbows on my iTunes (free), and her having a £40 box set. I listened to the album. Maybe it would have blown me away, and I'd have gone out and bought their back catalogue (it didn't, but still). You see what I'm getting at? With free you can reach people who might never usually pay attention, and maybe they'll become fans. Back that up with something of value for the true fans, and you're on your way.

And the other point is, even if you're offering stuff for free, some people want to get it from their usual vendor, e.g. Mininova or whatever. That's where they go every day, they don't even want to make the effort to go to your homepage and plug in their email address to get free stuff. Sad, perhaps - but it's the reality of the situation. So should you not try and engage with these people?

1. I would do better, possibly, by playing some gigs, and will do at some point. I'm talking about pure online promotion in this article, though.

2. And I don't give all my music away. This was an experiment with one album. Other tracks are still for sale. Indeed, the album is still for sale on iTunes, Amiestreet etc, if you do want to buy it. Not everyone knows how to use torrent sites. A lot of people don't even know what a torrent is. Nonetheless, I would like to engage with the people who do know, who will never buy my album because that's not the way - rightly or wrongly - they get their music.

3. I agree, there is no one answer - there are lots of different answers according to your situation. I am a one-man band, I record and produce everything myself, so I only have myself to answer to. If you're in a 7 piece band and everyone needs to earn a wage, then maybe embracing P2P is not for you.

4. It's hard for everyone starting out. Am I devaluing music and putting other careers in jeopardy by doing this? I don't think so. I'm adapting to the times. Things will evolve. AllofMp3 proved that people will buy music if the price is right and the service is convenient. I don't think recorded music is doomed to be free, but I also understand that we're never going back to the boom times of the '90s.