It sounds like you need a hug.
Sending one your way. 🌺
Discussion
nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7cnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqqgru5ek5ze43da22z6rgryd6r33cd2tkvf85vd8n39keke6q5wyv5vus75gh I understand the arguments from all sides but with music, movies and books creators are spending huge amounts of money to create art that should be protected or monetizable - at minimum so creators can continue to make more art. This is the first I knew about Anna's Archive. It appears you have to be a member of Anna's Archive to access the copied content they "preserve" under the guise of a non-profit freedom hub. But I did not distribute my music to Anna's Archive or give them permission to copy it freely. So it's not emotional, it is theft. I want the music I create to be available to anyone who wants to hear it but I have to find a way to be compensated for the $12,000 US dollars I spent to make the record(s). If art is not monetizable then we will all be relegated to AI Slop for the rest of eternity. I don't know about you but I'd still love to discover and follow and support my favorite artists in the world. The issue is that we have never had a way to do that (support with money) across borders and electronically. That is what Bitcoin Fixes. It's a beautiful solution to a100 year old problem. My hope is that we see people build solutions that support the creation of art, not kill it.
> “should be protected or monetizable”
It IS protected by copyright law - that’s not the issue.
The problem is that copyright law applies within legal jurisdictions. US law doesn’t apply to someone like me in Vietnam, or to servers in jurisdictions that don’t recognise American IP law, yet we’re all connected to the same internet. The bits can be copied regardless of what any law says “should” happen. You can say “should” as much as you like, but unless you’re willing to work with reality as it is, you’re not going to make progress.
Anna’s Archive doesn’t require membership, their content is freely accessible.
And Anna’s Archive doesn’t need your permission to copy bits any more than I do. The entire internet functions through copying. When Spotify plays your song, it copies bits to the listener’s device. This note that I wrote exists as a copy on your device - can I gatekeep you from reading it? No.
This is why calling it “theft” is nonsense. For something to be theft, you have to be deprived of your property. If I take your car then you can’t drive it - ergo you have been deprived.
In the digital realm you still have your copies, they still work exactly the same, your property is unviolated. What’s on my device is my property; what’s on yours is yours. The same bits can exist in both places simultaneously. This is fundamentally different from physical goods.
You can make whatever moral arguments you’d like, but this debate has been running for 30+ years and reality keeps smashing creators who go against it. You’re not going to change how computers and the internet work.
I believe nothing will improve for artists in the digital age until they stop fighting gravity and learn to harness it. Arctic Monkeys built their career through viral sharing on MySpace. Saifedean actively encourages people to pirate “The Bitcoin Standard” and he’s still sold over a million copies. It can be done.
Because you make nothing from people who aren’t fans. The only way to get fans is exposure. Someone who pirates your album and loves it might buy merch, come to shows, tell friends, or simply pay you directly once Bitcoin makes that frictionless. Someone who never hears your music because it’s locked behind a paywall will give you nothing, forever.
It’s far better to capture 1% of a million listeners than 100% of a thousand. You’re never going to gatekeep your way to a million fans but widespread free distribution might get you there.
If you’d like to understand this topic instead of just emotionally reacting to your situations, I’d recommend Stephan Kinsella’s book on the subject:
https://annas-archive.org/md5/b8e5915a387336529c79a31baf4b5a02
nostr:nprofile1qyt8wumn8ghj7cnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqqgru5ek5ze43da22z6rgryd6r33cd2tkvf85vd8n39keke6q5wyv5vus75gh I'm not at all emotional. Not sure how many more times I'll need to tell you that. I'm just giving my perspective and you are coming after me and everyone who has commented on this thread. Discovery has been broken for over a decade. Spotify and TikTok killed real fan discovery for everyone. The Arctic Monkeys - and Taylor Swift - were both lucky to have My Space to help them build their fan bases (that was almost 25 years ago. Nostr could be the "my space" for my generation of artists. But the truth is there isn't enough traction yet. I have been one of the VERY LUCKY few who have been able to reach new people and make a lot of new friends around the world using Nostr. I have seen success in getting my music heard by new people and many here on Nostr have supported me - generously. But the 2,000 or so other artists on Nostr (many of my friends) have not seen the same results, and it's not because they don't have great art. There are just not enough people here, willing to support this new music economy with their own personal Bitcoin. I don't know how it is in Thailand, but I can tell you in the U.S. it's hard to get people to part with their sats. So, until every artist, or at least the good ones, can come to Nostr and have the same experience I have, then we have to admit we just are not there yet. Without some initial return of value (or return on investment), artists will eventually "go out of business." AI has already shown us that if you want free art, it's usually slop. So, As I said in my last message, I get it. I understand your arguments. I just don't think that the vast majority of the world wants bad art for the rest of eternity. Film, TV and books all have the same issues I'm raising here for music. It's not about wanting paywalls, it's about finding and connecting with the people willing to support the art we create. We need tools that enable that, discovery with value enabled. Value 4 Value Music has shown it can be done. We need to figure out how to scale it in a way that will help artists find a better more creatively fulling future. Peace Out! Keep on Rocking in Thailand 🤘🏻
If you’re looking to Nostr to help you with discovery you’re more lost than I thought. Nostr sucks for discovery and it will never be good at it. You’ve fundamentally misunderstood the purpose of #nostr and how it works if you thought it would do that for you.
If you want Nostr to be the “MySpace for your generation of artists” then you’re going to need to learn what it actually does well, and seek to harness that to your advantage instead of wishing for things it will never be.
> But the 2,000 or so other artists on Nostr (many of my friends) have not seen the same results, and it's not because they don't have great art.
No, likely it’s because like you, they don’t understand technical realities and instead of listening to people who do, they rather spend their time talking about how things “should” be.
You could all be harnessing Nostr and building it together towards your needs but instead you’re all just upset it didn’t materialise into what you wanted it to be and waste your time arguing about reality.
> I just don't think that the vast majority of the world wants bad art for the rest of eternity.
You’re betting on that with your livelihood as an artist. I am not.
I also understand these technologies much better than you given my entire career was built on assessing bleeding edge tech and I would not let my kids bet their future on this assumption.
But you’ve already made that bet. You’re here now.
So how about instead of arguing with someone who actually knows a whole bunch of stuff you don’t, you try learning something?
Your entire premise is wrong. What you think about IP, is wrong. What you think about distribution is wrong. What you think Nostr could help you with is wrong.
If you want Nostr to be your MySpace, you make it your MySpace. You funnel everyone to your Nostr presence. You don’t post on Xitter or Insta or anywhere else - if your fans want your stuff they get it on Nostr and you commit to that.
You funnel your fans to your Nostr presence, and your 2000 artist friends do the same, between you you can template a better experience for fans, and you commit to that flow knowing you may never make money but that you’re building the thing you want to exist for other people like you so that art isn’t all AI slop because you care about that so much.
Maybe you’re lucky and do make money, but if I was going to bet here I’d bet you’ll ignore my note, dismiss me because I didn’t affirm what you wanted to hear, spend the next years talking about what “should” be and drop off Nostr in the next year or two because you didn’t ever really understand any of this stuff even though people like me tried to explain it to you.
Of course I hope you succeed because your success will be nostr’s success. But you and Valerie both strike me as the types who will give up when reality doesn’t bend to their will even though you can’t acknowledge reality for what it is.
Don’t waste your time arguing with negative people who resort to attacking others and who think it’s ok to steal art.
He needs a hug.
Just make great music and carry on Ainsley. 🎶🌺☮️🥰
Define “steal” Valerie.
I’ll wait right here whilst you do that and try to reconcile your point with the reality of Digital bits.