Meanwhile, even quite relatively successful mid-level bands and artists can barely afford to tour anymore because CD sales used to put gas in vans and buy food and that's gone replaced by nothing.

Musicians will keep working harder than anyone could imagine, touring is a nightmare 24/7 slog where once a night you also have to be able to generate enough energy to make a bunch of people's night a special unique experience for them, while you are doing it for the 20th consecutive night.

They will put their youth, or their whole lives into creating these things that are so meaningful to everyone, and they will lose money, and mostly find themselves old with little in the way of job prospects once you guys are done using their ideas to give your liges meaning.

People take it for granted, and think music is an unending well of meaning you can just take and take and take from as long as it serves your needs and capitalism makes it available to you.

You will never be required to understand your role in the systems of capitalism in order to participate.

And having it pointed out that you are participating in exploitation made possible by corporate control of technology isn't a specific personal attack on you, so "yeah but I really like the..blah blah blah" response isn't good enough.

Do you think musicians should be robbed of the frankly already pitiful amount of money we have traditionally received for putting our entire lives into something that almost everyone considers massively important in their lives?

Are you willing to give yourself a little less though?

Mostly everyone is willing to pay lip service.

I like the ones who actually punch the nazis, the ones who confront the transphobes and make it awkward, I like the rifle club people who go protect the drag queen story hour, I like the people who give money directly to people who need it even when they don't have much because rich ppl wont, I like the people who confront their friends about toxic behaviour

@clowncollege You might want to look at what Obey Robots is doing. Indie band on their own self-run label, self recorded, selling CDs & vinyl & downloads from home on their own website, just made the UK Top 20 and was the #1 UK Album Downloads, knocking off Pink's just released album and beating the new Gorillaz album in launch week:

https://youtu.be/l71w6rHs5tk

It's totally possible, but requires building a very personal relationship with fans.

@syneryder @clowncollege

Laura's great - I've been following her for years - but she's a unicorn - really good at music, really good at music marketing and promotion.

But I don't want to live in a world where the only music I get to hear is made by those few people who happen to also be really good at the promotion side.