Do ya think giving yr tunes away for free de-values them?

[high rankin]

as opposed to selling mp3's

[markle]

One way of looking at it is that if you are giving it away for free you don;t value it enuff yourself to try and sell it.

Or it's good promotion. I think all music has some value. What value is up to you and the record lables.

[wascal]

I think theres a big difference between giving tunes away via AIM and literally giving them to everyone by postin a link online.

I've started trying to sell mp3's of some of the stuff thats been going down well but not picked up for 12"s because I don't see £1.01 as a lot to pay for music

[incyde]

Yeah I was thinking about this the other day actually..

There's a fine line i think, but if you're just giving them out to anyone, like posting up a link on a forum or whatever, (unless you're doin it for comments/suggestions on production, as many on the dubs forum do), then it tells me you don't respect your tunes enough to keep them close and give them to who u would like to be listening to/playing them out. nothin wrong with giving them out free, but as wascal said it's a big difference to give them out personally rather than publicly.

[rekordah]

320's for people who show nuff love for ur productions and/or for dj's who will play it at shows/on the radio.

i dont think it hurts to give the tracks away in that limited amount, and i dont think it would bother a label if they wanted to sign ur stuff.

however some producers in the dubs section seem to just give em away left right centre, sometimes even advertising "Free 320 inside" on the thread title, that, i think, would definatly bother a label who might wana put it out.

i can imagine you do get quite a sense of forfillment thinking that ur music is being listened to by so many ppl all over the world tho, maybe some ppl get addicted to the rush

[40 year old man from kent]

This is a very pertinent question.

Your question is : does " monetary value " ( or lack thereof, when the tracks are simply given ) have a direct influence on " aesthetic value " ?

I say : absolutely.

Giving away tracks for free has very specific effects in the aesthetic realm.

When tracks become available as " free 320's " ( for example ) on a forum such as this one, their immanent value as works of art becomes problematic ( here I have to quote Sydney Helland : " Because we are paying less and less for the music we listen to every day, not only is its monetary value sunken to an all time low, but its cultural value is diminishing as well " ) and this leads to what certain philosophers of culture have called " Entkunstung " : they " lose ", so to speak, their artistic specificity or " artistic character " ( this is not without affecting : 1. our enjoyment of these pieces and 2. the aesthetic worth of the genre as a whole ).

A decrease in offer price ( or the lack of an offer price ) leads, after a certain point, to a generalized decrease in the enjoyment derived from the consumption of free tracks and to a decrease in aesthetic worth.

( It's the unpopular opinion that I champion. )

So, to answer your question : YES.

[threnody]

I think that giving a couple away is good promotion...if people have 1 or 2 of your tracks on their ipod and are feeling them then they are more likely to pay ££'s when you put some up for sale (through a label or by yourself)...having said that it is only worth putting high quality (as in productionwise) stuff up as undoubtably more people will download your stuff for free than pay so you don't want the only track people have of yours to be half baked!

Difficult one as most producers surely love most of what they do and difficult to part with their tracks for nothing.....Of course labels probably won't touch something you have given away for free so giving away free remixes or tunes with uncleared sample which probably wouldn't get a release anyway is a good way to go for free publicity.

Labels are more likely to take notice anyway if you have a bit of a following or if people recognise your name and already have a couple of your tracks.

Of course it all depends on how many tracks you have produced, if you have a big body of work then you can always let or 2 go.....

Obviously virb and myspace are good promotion here as people will have a reference point for your tracks and can listen to you whenever they are at a computer!

[high rankin]

all very true.

when i say giving away for free i am refering to 'free 320 inside' style giving away rather than the odd one or 2 to dj's on aim.

My reason for thinking about this is beacause the seems to be very little money to be made selling dance music that isnt house or trance, but the money is made by playing out etc. soooooo maybe giving stuff away for free is a better way of getting ones self noticed.
On reflection i don't feel its a great idea to give all your stuff out for free, i think it takes away any feeling of exclusiveness and mystery if everyone can just get it for free.

[dirty]

I agree with people that the economic value decreases

but

for me the music value shouldn't decrease if its a good tune. It doesn't matter if I buy or tune or get it for free, if I'm feelin it then I'm feelin it, whatever.

[dirty]

On reflection i don't feel its a great idea to give all your stuff out for free, i think it takes away any feeling of exclusiveness and mystery if everyone can just get it for free.

I complete agree, I was going to mention this put couldn't find the right wording.

[thomas]

here I have to quote Sydney Helland : " Because we are paying less and less for the music we listen to every day, not only is its monetary value sunken to an all time low, but its cultural value is diminishing as well " )

I like that quote

[claw]

id never just give my tunes away to anyone as a free 320 or whatever....ill post up samples for people to hear, and then if they like it they can contact me and take it from there....and still i prefer to give away freebies to djs with radio shows and those playing out on the regular or with a decent fanbase, just better way to do business imo

[fushimi]

Depends if they're good. If they are, it doesn't. The Ohoi crew gave some away and it got them lots of buzz and (I believe) contributed to people getting on their vinyl releases in a big way.

If they're not, people start skimming over your name without stopping when you post new tunes.

[corpsey]

In the case of Corpsey, making a tune devalues it.

[spooKs]

The Ohoi crew gave some away and it got them lots of buzz and (I believe) contributed to people getting on their vinyl releases in a big way.

i agree there, definitely. definitely a good idea

[man-versus-sofa]

giving away music for free aint devaluing your music!!!!! just not money value....... music aint the only value in the world you know

[rekordah]

giving away music for free aint devaluing your music!!!!! just not money value....

i dunno mate, there is definatly some sort of physcology/sociology behind it.

[man-versus-sofa]

giving away music for free aint devaluing your music!!!!! just not money value....

i dunno mate, there is definatly some sort of physcology/sociology behind it.

maybe so....... but having one or two freebes is good thing rather then a bad thing

it gains more respect in my eyes

[rekordah]

[/quote]
maybe so....... but having one or two freebes is good thing rather then a bad thing
[/quote]

i completely agree, i think what most ppl have said here is that 1 or 2 to ppl who are gona play them on the radio or at shows, or just have been supporting u, then thats cool. but giving away links publicly on a forum such as this one devalues it.

[toxin]

One way of looking at it is that if you are giving it away for free you don;t value it enuff yourself to try and sell it.

Or it's good promotion. I think all music has some value. What value is up to you and the record lables.