Independents/Deepen(Sun)dance

[Joaquin Stick]

> At 04:03 PM 8/12/97 -0500, Henry Musikar wrote:
> >Books? Videos? When was the last time you bought a compact disk from 
> >an independent store? Groceries? Computer? Car (just joking). Most 
> >anything new? Lotta the films that get distribution after Sundance 
> >aren't all that independent either. 

Then, at some point nearby and consequently, Sojourner wrote: 
> Jeez... ok I buy most of my compact discs from "independant" stores
> mainly because I mainly buy CDs from "independant" labels.  I was humming
> and singing to "Spaceboy" by the SP the other day and a friend asked me
> why I didn't go out and buy it if I liked it so much.  I pointed to the radio
> and told my friend that the airwaves played some songs (including that one)
> so damn much I didn't need the CD.

Ditto me. Again, this kind of thing gets back to Doug's excellent
statement of the conundrum that one finds oneself in when using
second-hand anyhting as far as artistic output is concerned. I buy used
CDs at a rate ten times faster than new, and the same probably goes for
books. Some people have argued to me that this is the same as making tapes
of other people's CDs or photocopying whole texts for my use. That
argument is somewhat ridiculous because someone had to buy the book/CD in
the first place for it to be rebought by me, so the royalties went through
once. Now I'm as much in favor of artists getting their financial due as
anyone else, but the fact of the matter is that the "struggling" artist,
either musician or author these days isn't getting royalties period.
Royalties are a luxury of the established artist in these times. Most
beginning writers or out-of-print authors aren't getting shit no matter
how many copies of their works sell because they are getting a flat
(and often bad) payment for their works regardless of sales. This works
great for books that don't outsell expectations, but it means that if you
write a blockbuster for a first novel, you might be stuck with the $10,000
check that Houghton Mifflin cut for you. It is a legitimate dilemma, but
the publishers and bookstores have a lot bigger stake in selling new books
than 99% of authors do.

> So don't give me that load of shit "Think of that next Independence Day" 
> [...] The majority of my interactions with the output of the thought of
> the world is not through mainstream books/films or even the radioactive
> gray tit of television, but rather through the beautifully lawless
> internet.

Amen. You are what you consume. If you and your 10,000 neighbors go see
Twister, you WILL get Twister 2. If you and your 10,000 neighbors go read
Lautremont, you will get Lautremont imitators. Which you prefer is up to
you, but Sojourner's sign-off (below) is a damn true one that I salute...

> 
> You're as chained as you want to be.
> 
> 	
> 	"Don't go back to Rockville anymore"
> 
> 	   ---R.E.M.

Damn right, go to Silver Spring instead.

D. Alfred Fledermaus