Grant Finlay wrote:
> I just wish in this day of torrents/downloads etc I could recoup some cash
> from my work (for sale) that's been stolen and is out there on the web..
> Yeah, slightly O.T. but it's the one thing that really pisses me off about
> the web. It's nice knowing people appreciate my work but when what little I
> have for sale is distributed freely on torrent sites it's hard to stay
> focused at times, hence the holiday from recording.
> last time I did a search and counted up the numbers it was about 130,000
> downloads from torrent sites.
An interesting twist, Grant, but not OT at all. I discovered recently that for
the last 18 months or so my best stuff has been downloaded massively in Russia
and China. It appears to be a case of "hot linking" or something like that, as
my page views have not corresponded at all to the staggering amount of
bandwidth consumed serving up just a handful of relatively large MP3 files over
and over, hundreds of times a month. I'm just glad my hosting account includes
unlimited bandwidth.
A few weeks ago I finally deleted the most heavily downloaded stuff and moved
it over to SoundCloud for listening only, no downloads.
> I'll continue to do it no matter what though, luckily I have a day job that
> lets me write off the expenses on my tax but even my accountant shakes his
> head at my insistence on forging ahead with this crazy expensive hobby of
> mine..
> In saying that, It's not really a hobby. More of a yearning to connect with
> some part of me that's been suppressed by living the modern life in a city.
> Today I was working on a TVC for a major supermarket thinking "what am I
> doing, food never looked like this, we're not supposed to gather nurishment
> from a shelf" To be frank, my day-job pays for these recordings so I continue
> to compromise.
> like many of you, it's a calling and not a choice. Art? maybe not, but I'm
> not in it for the glory and couldn't care less when people make disparaging
> remarks to my face.
> This probably isn't the response you expected but after a long day at work
> "for the man" It really does sum up my thoughts and feelings about my nature
> recordings at this point in time.
>
> Don't worry, many more (free) recordings to come for my friends on this and
> other lists!
I view it a lot like you do. For me, soundscape recording is a happy extension
of a long career in music recording and broadcast production. (If I never
punch-in another guitar or vocal overdub, or lay in another cheezy commercial
music track or sound effect again, that'll be just fine with me.) I haven't yet
figured out how to make money at this in a way that feels fitting, but it has
positioned me to serve some significant leaders in a cause that I consider to
be ultimate in ways that no one else can serve them. Thankfully my wife and I
have other ways of keeping the boat afloat (mostly).
Curt Olson
http://minnesotasoundscapes.com
http://soundcloud.com/mnsoundscapes
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