Roots Archives Forum

MightyZ,

I appreciate LP album sleeves and liner notes. And I appreciate the job that Blood and Fire and other labels do packaging their releases. [Not just reggae-- I collect quite a bit of music and tend to buy from labels that provide good notes-- Krazy Kat (for Western Swing), Bandoleon (for Tango), etc.]

But I care much less about such things now than I used to. To be honest most all of my vinyl is in the back of my closet, the CDs are stored in books or ripped and on my computer, the booklets are... around here somewhere, and the jewel cases have all been recycled. It's a matter of space.

I used to pretend I was a stereophile and spent a lot of money buying "the best" equipment-- well, the best I could afford. But somewhere along the line I became interested in recordings from the 1920s (blues, country, jazz, fado) that had been transfered from 78s to compact disc pops, clicks, fuzz and all. And I came to believe that the quality of the recording might not be all that important in the larger scheme of things.

Anyway, I am in no position to invest money in buying up rare music on vinyl--78s, 45s, or LPs. Perhaps, I don't know what I am missing, but I'm not envious.

And I miss the LP as well. Album sequencing is a great lost art.

For me, as an artist, photographer, writer and music lover, the entire package is VERY important.

It is all art.

And like many reggae artists I nver got paid for my artwork on the MightyZ insert! The artwork was actually done about 10 million years ago and I wonder if I can actually still do that stuff?

But I did get a free copy of the CD and a lik on de challice before the last gig!

Hey Leggo - If I ever actually turn a profit from my CD (ho ho fat chance!) I'll pay you - I'm no Coxsone!

Picaraza: I agree about sound quality to a point - I'm a big Studio one fan and ska/rocksteady fan - so I have to not care too much about sound quality! Having said that I put together a nice retro hifi for £50 thanks to ebay, which makes my stuff sound much better than it used to on a £300 Sony mini system!
As for spending a lot on vinyl - well over the years I've spent a lot, but as I said in another thread, I've never spent more than £13 on single vinyl! Most of the rarities I own cost £5 or less - I bought them when they were not being sold at silly prices.

I do still love to spin the vinyl though - at home or as a dj - it has a special magic!

MightyZ
www.myspace.com/mightyzallstars

i come from a background of punk rock (heck, that's how i found reggae all those years ago!), and i can tell you that the SPIRIT of music will never die. bands come and go, fans move on - but the true believers will ALWAYS be there to press records, photocopy sleeves, bag them up and sell them at the shows to the OTHER true believers. this has happened MANY times in the punk scene, most think it's dead and move on and some weed grows up between the cracks and makes it all happen again with a new crop of people... this can happen in ANY scene - punk, electronic, reggae - you name it! it just takes dedication and love of the craft and love of ART not money...
Respect and level vibes to ALL!

Its like dat,
legal mp3 dont kill music, it gives artists oppatunity to sell own music but big label such as Virgin have to bleed and i dont care.

but is wha mash up di music is soulseek, torrent and all dat shit, dat hurt music bad.

copying of cds is not that bad still. I used to copy cds from it was possible and still i did buy nuff cd as i do nowadays sameway, i just dont buy new riddims because most of them dont last too long.

leggo rocker wrote:The record companies are bleating about how music swapping and trading is ruining their business. While some, like Universal, are releasing protection free downloads but others are running scared.

They say they can't sell enough music to make a decent return on their investment (ie: Britney Spear's wages) in such a climate.

So are we really seeing the death of music publishing?

An interesting thought occoured to me. Think about the television. Most TV channels get their revenue from advertising. You watch a show, the advertisers bombard you with messages and pay the TV channel for the servicee. The TV channel uses this revenue to make and show more stuff.

So why can't this model work for music?

Discuss...

everyone sees what they want to see,and hears what they want to hear