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

Re: Napster meeting today

Author:Gary Robinson
Posted:6/21/2000; 8:44:33 AM
Topic:Napster meeting today
Msg #:17981 (In response to 17969)
Prev/Next:17980 / 17982

From Brad Pettet's message:

"At some concerts, tip jars would just get peed in, even if the music was good."

But, in a world where people pay tips online for music heard through Napster or Gnutella, those who have the urge to pee will not be able to do so in a way that interferes with the collection of tips.

Think of the open-source phenomenon. Very few people are moved to go to the trouble of actually writing code to contribute to Linux. But even before the current trend of corporate sponsorships of Linux development, those few people were enough to build an entire OS to compete with Windows.

I wonder if a similar phenomenon would hold true for online tipping. Perhaps only a small percentage of listeners to freely-distributed MP3 files would tip. But perhaps that percentage would be enough to enable the musicians to earn their living.

Almost certainly, it wouldn't support Michael Jackson-style incomes. But who cares? What's needed is a way for hardworking musicians who contribute to the enjoyment of our lives to be able to make a living doing so.

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