Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: Napoli on Napster

Author:Brad Pettit
Posted:7/31/2000; 12:21:22 PM
Topic:Napoli on Napster
Msg #:19316 (In response to 19311)
Prev/Next:19315 / 19317

It doesn't matter that you did; it matters that you could. It's reasonable to believe that you would have handled the development of Frontier differently had you not been able to invest the revenue from a completely different project.

The point I was attempting to make was nothing more than that although you said you didn't expect to be paid for your work, it's perfectly reasonable for other artists to expect payment from those who want to experience the art.

A big difference between software as art and music as art is that software (games aside) is also, and arguably moreso, a tool. To have an expectation that application software will perform the functions for which it was designed seems perfectly reasonable. Music doesn't need to conform to that standard. To feel as many do that one should be able to pay only for the songs they like (usually based on average price) is like saying they should be able to pay by the minute for only the action scenes of a movie or peeks of the Mona Lisa. Once the user expects the ability to screen art in its entirety before submitting payment, the user is treating the work as nothing more than a product. Companies should be able to charge what they want for a product.

But I digress...

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