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Originally Posted by jester1470 Except for the fact that Steve Hogarth wasn't in the banduntil 1989 so that tag doesn't really follow him. Hogarth's best stuff is possiobly his solo stuff where he does work with some superb musicians, people from XTC, Stone Roses, Massive Attack, Porcupine Tree, Japan etc, these people don't really fall into the preconceptions you have of him. Whereas i disagree with much of what Hogarth says especially in this case, you can't deny that when it comes to the music industry Marillion have been one of the bands in the forefront of using the new medium of internet to market and sell their stuff. |
Their product is being marketed and sold. Does it matter to the consumer if this is done by the artists themselves or a company representing them? Either way, it doesn't sound much like Hogarth's belief in free music for all is being put into practice.
Surely the issue is that artists should have the opportunity to reach a mass audience and have the resources to produce their best possible material. In an ideal world, sure, musicians would be able to distribute their wares on exchange for donations and goodwill, but it's not an ideal world. Free downloads mean less royalty payments for artists and less revenue for record companies. Artists that only have a small fanbase will struggle financially, and may eventually have to find another career path. Record companies will be forced further into the mainstream, and will be less willing to take risks on unknown artists.
The Marillion solution works fine for them, but they have 20 years of publicity and record company funding behind them. What hope for the thousands of new acts hoping for a slice of the action?
Kudos on your background knowledge of the band. They really aren't my cup of tea (as you probably guessed), but I do appreciate a bit of fannish geekism
