You Can't Put A Price On Art

Recently, the RIAA's been stickin' its nose where it shouldn't be. It's one thing to sue file-share programs like Limewire and Kazza, but Muxtape? Where do the motherfuckers get off? Or rather, what do the motherfuckers get off on? Money? They're so worried about losing a little green or dipping into the red that they'll lash out at the audience, the ones who used to shell out money for quality (or shit) music, to make it exclusive again. There weren't Muxtapes or Limewires in 1967, or 1977, or 1987, and I don't think in 1997. Back then, you either bought the LP, the EP, the CD, or the single. NO. EXCEPTIONS.

But times have changed. The Internet has opened up the entire world and revolutionized how we (people) interact and exchange information. Pretty soon, two factions were at war. One faction (the lovely people who made programs like Napster, Limewire, and Muxtape) saw the Internet as an open highway, a way to spread information and what people wanted, such as good music for free. The second faction (RIAA, Lars Ulrich) saw the Internet as a marketing tool, a way to spread information and good music for a price. These two were natural enemies from the beginning. And who is right depends on who you ask. I say Faction One is right. Not (only) because I'm a cheap music nerd, but because you can't put a price on art.

Yes, art.

A general definition of art is a class of objects that can be aesthetically judged. But it goes deeper than that. Art is a reflection of the outer world, as well as a looking glass into the soul. Art conveys thoughts, feelings, the abstract and the known. Good art can amaze and astound you, but great art speaks to you. Reaches past all logic and reason to touch upon your very soul. That art defies all time, space, and age to reach immortality. And music does that. In fact, music does that best.

Think about it. A painting can defy time and age to become immortal, but it doesn't move. The words written in a novel can convey emotion, speak to the mind and soul, and become timeless enough to defy time, space, and age; but it doesn't move. But music moves. Music can shift, and chug, and pound, and groove, and spaz, and stomp, and erupt, and dance a pirouette upon the gossamer silk strings of a spider web. Music can scream, and whisper, and moan, and bemoan, and hum, and whistle, and croak, and wheeze, and weave a dense curtain of lush sound.

How can you price that?

How do you price that?

The business aspect of the music industry is one of the most perilous dangers an artist can face. To survive unscathed, you either need to be a shallow, conforming slave (a la the chump in "Pull My Strings" by The Dead Kennedys) or do the business aspect yourself (do I hear "In Rainbows"?). Anything in between those poles is cruising for a bruising. Artists have declared bankruptcy to escape contracts. Lou Reed went as far as recording Metal Music Machine (which isn't that bad actually. Just not...um..."authentic" enough to be a genuine foray into avant-garde noise).

The business aspect of the music industry is so ready to make a profit that it will do the cardinal sin of making music cold and distant; a hollowed out husk barely retaining its shape. Picture it. Muzak? Boy bands? Emo music? The Spice Girls? Please shudder where appropriate, or suggest any additions. So the RIAA is not only giving us a slap on the wrist, but they're trying to chain us to an archaic system and spitting in the face of art. Art was not meant to be sold. You can't expect to get rich selling art.

and So whenever you hear a story about the latest RIAA lawsuit, don't be surprised and ask yourself, "How could they?" It's just business as usual to them. And business was good until the Napsters and Muxtapes started showing up. Faction One vs. Faction Two. And its a war that won't be stopped until A) A worldwide police state is created or B) The RIAA is put six feet down.

That's not extreme. That's the truth. The RIAA won't stop until everything is set for a price. Today, it's 99 cent downloads; tomorrow, they'll have you buy the whole album for one song. Now it's pretty clear to see that greed and art do not go together well. They may gotten along during the fifties and sixties when some of the basic rules were being written, but it's clear now that a greed/art relationship can only be detrimental to a music nerd (or appreciator).

So don't be cynical enough to claim that people are just being cheap when they illegally download music or borrow it from a friend. That can be a motivation. But another motivation is that good music is an essential art form. And you can't put a price on art.