(written by ashleigh j. and given to the public domain.)

I am not a political guru. There are lots of other people here who can tell you what's going on in that part of the universe, but I'm not one of them. I'm much better at making stuff up. Decide for yourself if this is all valid or not.

Music has been around nearly as long as talking. If I recall correctly, many of the stories in Greek mythology were told as songs. During the Renaissance, when many of the world's greatest masterpieces of classical music were written, audiences would gather in the amphitheaters and hear the sounds as they naturally floated in the air without the aid of modern microphones and amplifiers. Certainly, much has changed. Still, even with all of our electronics and flashing lights, music is the tradition of humankind, and traditions are hard to change.

Historically speaking, the recording of music is a new phenomena. Where, throughout most of our known history, listeners had but two options -- to either sing or to listen to someone else sing; to play the drums, or to listen to someone else play them. To the people of those times, it would be absolutely unimaginable that at any given moment, I have over 3,000 songs stored in my back pocket to listen to any time and any place I choose. It would be the most insane and unbelievable notion!

The record industry came to exist after great minds found ways to replicate sounds. The music lovers of the day were the first generation to enjoy listening to a song at any time they chose. The record industry was indeed necessary in order to bring this revolution about. Even with all these computers and gadgets and gizmos, I lack the means to personally make a groove in a disc that a needle can ride in and produce musical notes. Certainly the same held true 100 years ago or so.

As the ability for people to record music became less and less cumbersome through the years, the record industry was faced with the additional task of seeking out what music people would enjoy, and presenting that music to them. Whether or not they were ever good at it is largely a matter of opinion, but who can claim that they never released a classic?

Technology, however, continued lowering the barriers between the people and the music. Seemingly basic today, the dual-deck cassette recorders of the 1980s made it easier than ever before for us to duplicate music. We used it to make mix tapes, collecting favourite songs and passing them to friends. In short, we were taking over the record industry's job of searching through the available music and hand-picking the best.

Today, the options seem limitless. We can make our own cd's. We can send songs through the phone lines using a computer. We can still make tapes. And tomorrow, those options may seem like a small number. For many of us, the barriers to finding the music we deem best are simply nonexistent. The barriers to reproducing that music are surpassed with ease. The record industry can continue to survive only by again doing it better than we can.

Each of us only has so much time. There is an incredible ammount of music in the world. How to sort through it? How to find the best of it all? The record industry has the resources to do so, yet they fail. Why they fail is a completely different discussion, but suffice it to say that their offerings are homogenous.

This is why the record industry is dying, and will continue to do so. They have lost sight of their job. They forget who their master is. And even with our limited resources, we are beginning to wake up and realize that we can do it better ourselves. So many of us do. More will soon.

Recorded music has already become inexpensive. Today, I have 3.000 songs in my back pocket. Next year, maybe I'll have 30,000. Even 100,000 isn't out of the question. And so the question becomes, how expensive can one of one hundred thousand things in your pocket possibly be?

The future is the past, only better.

Each of us are our own record industries. We filter the music according to our tastes and we find the best. We present it to others when we find overlapping interests. And the recorded songs, themselves, become the posters and flyers of the artists. They will be the advertisement that draws us to the amphitheater, the club, the outdoor stage, the coffee shop, etc. They are the new word of mouth that attracts the audicence to the latest symphony.

And once again, the music will be live, and the experience will be unreplicable. No DRM needed.

great article.... i think so too. that songs will be the flyers of tomorrow..

If you watched yesterday's hearings, Mary Bono recommended that, instead of giving or sending songs to our friends, we give or post lists of songs we think they would like. And if we do make a compilation cd, each artists should be compensated. Aren't these artists worth $.99, she asked, for creating something?

Let's see, Sonny Bono created it, but you still want the royalites. Tell me Mary, what did you create?

I saw that Bono comment as well. She quite clearly wants the pay-per-use model.

She was saying this to Mr. Swift who kept telling her in response, "why should I pay for music I already own and can legally share with my friends under the AHRA." She then claimed he was guilty of infringement because of this and he just laughed at her. Someone PLEASE tell me how she got elected. Oh ya that's right...she represents California.

She got appointed because Sonny died. Then she got re-elected. Rich people from Palm Springs.

Mary Bono... Yoko Ono.

No, no, she's not the same as Yoko. Yoko has political savvy and supports leftist causes. She is an artist (maybe not everyone's cup of tea) in her own right. What is Mary Bono except derivative?
Info from the congressional website:
Congresswoman Bono was born in 1961 in Cleveland, Ohio. Two years later her family moved to South Pasadena, California, where she enjoyed a warm family upbringing. Bono's father, Clay Whitaker, is a retired physician and surgeon. Her mother, Karen, is a retired chemist.

As a youth Mary pursued her first love, gymnastics. With her family's support, Mary became an accomplished gymnast while training with the team Gymnastics Olympica. Her dedication to physical fitness continues to this day.

A 1984 graduate of the University of Southern California, Mary earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art history. Mary worked her way through college, sometimes working two jobs at once. Following college, Mary wed Sonny Bono, and resided with him and their two children, Chesare Elan, now 14, and Chianna Marie, now 12, in Palm Springs, until Sonny's tragic death in 1998.

On November 24, 2001, Congresswoman Bono married businessman Glenn Baxley, and they continue to reside in Palm Springs. In addition to time spent with her family, Mary's interests range from outdoor activities to a passion for computer technology.

More interesting info on Mary:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/scientology/celebrities/celebrities2.html

She's a conservative Republican and votes anti-choice.

Give me Yoko any day.

ready for a shocker? when it comes to politics, i'm anything but a leftist.

as much as i disagree with the left wing on most things, they've at least got their shit together. i've gotta give them that one. conservatives, particularly republicans, just keep self-destructing by trying to dictate morality. it sickens me.

mary bono and her hatred of fair use is an embarassment, among many other embarassments. (not that any artist is going to see much of that 99 cents, mind you.)

Ashleigh, I appreciated your thoughts. I especially liked the line "They have lost sight of their job." By going directly artist-to-artist or public-to-artist we can send a strong message to the major labels that they are missing the point and becoming irrelevant.

Run a spell-check next time.

Very nice.I think music was around before talk ,and even grunting,as u even said,in your 2nd paragraph(communicating).Personally playing live in front of people is actually one of the reasons I became a musician,and it is still the most enjoyable thing for me and hopefully my audiences.I didnt even start recording the music i have piled up in my pocket(s)until a couple of years ago.maybe i should leave the other 500-1000(give or take 500-10,000)...in there!