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36 5 Comments http%3A%2F%2Fwww.audiomicro.com%2Froyalty-free-music-blog%2F2008%2F11%2Fmichael-arrington-re-states-his-position-that-music-will-be-free%2F Michael+Arrington+re-states+his+position+that+%22music+will+be+free%22 2008-11-11+22%3A57%3A05 AudioMicro http%3A%2F%2Fwww.audiomicro.com%2Froyalty-free-music-blog%2F%3Fp%3D36 to “Michael Arrington re-states his position that “music will be free””

People are paying for music NOT ONLY for commercial purposes, which is what you seem to be saying here. People are paying for IPod downloads/CDs/DVDs because it's ART. Music is not journalism, and it's not just an advertising venue. It's art. People pay for artworks (even copies of artworks) because the art moves them. Sure, if they can find it for free, they might take it. But they might not. Maybe they want an "official" copy, or the original, or maybe they just want to show appreciation, like applause. Books will never become obsolete for the same reasons.

Our prediction at MyGigNet.com is that yes, music will always be **available** for free, since that's the nature of the digital universe. But people (the general music loving consumer, that is) will continue to buy music for the following reasons:

1. They love the song/artist's art because it means something and they want to "own" it.

2. They will buy "artist approved" enhanced works (high def, physical artwork, interviews, value added such as concert tickets, discounts on other items, etc. etc.).

3. They want to support the artist–a sort of "tip jar," which has not yet been largely explored.

At MyGigNet artists have a choice as to how they introduce their art to the world, and we will offer them all of the above options, with commercial licensing being just one of the nearly infinite ways artists can be compensated for their art.

The digital universe has made it about the artist and the art, short-circuiting the market cycle, and mercifully so. What most pundants and artists are starting to wake up to are the possibilities the digital universe offers for any artist anywhere to create money simultaneously while creating art. It puts the artist in the middle of the marketing cycle, which is the correct place for them. What we're seeing in the music "industry" is a market correction to that reality.

We believe we are at the beginning of a cultural renaissance, and the only limits are in the imagination.