simply put, i think trent/saul/radiohead should have just set some boundaries with price. i love the idea of sliding scale, obviously, but i've mostly done it face-to-face. when i started the online store, i decided for a bunch of reasons both logistical and ideological to have a range of price that didn't just start at zero. that just seems like asking for trouble. there are always going to be some people, for reasons both sensible and stupid depending on the person, that will always pay as little as they can. that's okay with me, i just need to set my bottom line at a place i can live with. if people still want to steal it, as they could have with those other artists if they didn't like the minimum price, then fine. i just believe MANY more people would have paid at least a few bucks for either record if that were the minimum price, and they could have had cool exposure AND made more money for their art. with all the illegal downloading now, no one has to buy anything, but people still do, and i really think they want to do the right thing, and have people make them a reasonable offer. we'll see how it evolves for big artists. meanwhile, i'll keep rockin my little world.

now, in person, i've definitely given stuff away. a lot. people have asked nicely, have clearly not had the money that moment, had a great story, etc. and it's been fun. it's just different in person. i really don't think that people would have looked trent/saul/thom in the eye and taken their music without paying. i'm not blaming the people that didn't pay, i'm just pointing out a different dynamic between in person and online. it's the same thing as how people are so aggressive and rude posting, etc. cos they're not actually looking at the person. anyway, i like the idea of giving people a choice, and i also like the idea of giving them a range that i think is fair, and letting us work that out together. it should be a fluid thing between the artist the people that like the art. i've always wanted that, and i always will.

i should give seminars on this shit :) i love it.