Whenever I feel confused about the rights of artists in this age of freely-shared media – which is easily done, let's face it – I take a moment to revisit Pere Ubu's page of protocols. It's a beautifully written, concise series of rules which neatly explains, amongst many other things, why there are (virtually) no Ubu videos on YouTube. I used to work for David during the 1990s; the clarity of his thoughts on the music business was always inspiring, and continues to be so.
posted on Mar 2, 2007 - View this thread

Interview with David Crosby. "The people who run record companies now wouldn't know a song if it flew up their nose and died. They haven't a clue, and they don't care. You tell them that, and they go, 'Yeah? So, your point is?' Because ...they don't care. They're actually sort of proud that they don't care.... Now they're going in the tank, because the world has changed, and they did not change with it...I think the only way to sell records that I know about now that does look really, really, really promising is iTunes."
posted on May 30, 2004 - View this thread

Joni Mitchell on the state of the music business:
I just think it's a cesspool. I hope it all goes down the crapper. I would never take another deal in the record business, which means I may not record again . . . But I'll be damned if I'll line their pockets.
Also, Janis Ian on the effect of the internet on music sales.
posted on Oct 15, 2002 - View this thread