Is the future free available music only?

Pelata wrote: harmonium.ro wrote: Pelata wrote: The next thing you know, there are "bands" everywhere! Errm, NO. No band can get anywhere that fast, because the public only shows up when it hears actual quality. The fact that bands now have available a different model to record and release their music doesn't mean that the audiences have given up their demands.   Errm, YES...have you seen the internet?  There are more "bands" (ie groups of people trying to sell their recorded music) online than there are insect species in the rain forest.

So? Does that help them in any way if the music is not good?

But most of the bands who choose the alternative development model offer their music for free, there's no need to pay for their music. If there are bars with free drinks then people with flock to them. The only condition is to have the drinks just as good as in a regular bar - which is the real issue. 

Pelata wrote: [I am only stating that one reason the music scene has gotten as bad as it is overcrowding...too many bands reaching for the same plate of money and not enough audience to go around.

I don't think that having more bands and a tougher competition is bad, but the contrary. From my perspective of an end user that's how I see it.

Pelata wrote: Of course if you offer your music for free, there's no harm and no foul. But offering it for free is kind of a moot point when even if you didn't people would still get it for free. The difference is you're just going into not expecting money for it.

That may apply to major bands, but for new bands with no previous exposure you can't say that "people would still get their music for free".

Pelata wrote: Offering it for free doesn't guarantee an audience. People can't take your free offer if they don't know you're there. To let them know that, you have to find a way to stand out amongst the thousands of other bands competing for people's attention.

By this time there are already channels of distribution for free music. Myself, like others, have subscribed to various net labels and blogs who disseminate quality free music. A small audience, indeed, or at least so far, but very well oriented.

This is a very delicated subject and I'm afraid I do not have the answer either... here go some thoughts though:

However for prog (and many other musical styles) it is quite different. I like to own the CD album, among other things because of the artwork, lyrics etc. Of course if you are patient you can also find and download these, but when you consider the time it takes you, at your average hourly rate, you find that it's cheaper to buy the original CD, and the quality is always better.

Internet just provided a need for a different bussiness model than that of the 70's to 90's.

Looks like.

But there will always be the hardcore fans that will donate, either by purchasing the physical thing or sending in money.

Here's my take on what the future of music will be:

Serious artists will more and more shift towards making money from performing or selling their music themselves. They'll also record, produce and promote the music themselves, cutting out the middle men. Many of them will have regular jobs and record music in their spare time. As technology continues to improve, it will take less and less time and money to record high quality music, so musicians will depend less on how much money they make with albums. Consider Spock's Beard's latest album, or Maudlin of the Well's last album - 20 years ago it would not have been feasible for a band to produce such high quality music on such small budgets. Today it is, and this paves the way for a generation of musicians that don't plan their future in accordance with how many thousands or millions of albums they sell.