Liz Hamill, Keeping Still Music, PayPal
Songs and arrangements (by Liz Hamill) and the writing about music I post are being offered as a gift in the spirit of free culture (Creativecommons.org) and by the example of artists like Jane Siberry and John Coulton. Jane Siberry (www.sheeba.ca) calls it a “self-determined transaction,” or a flexible interface that ensures that money (or lack of it) never comes between the artist and someone who might be lifted by their offering. She says:
It is an acknowledgement that our creative gifts are just that. Gifts to us. Wanting to share them is the ultimate thank you back to the source. If you download as a gift from artist, perhaps you’ll buy an extra CD at another band’s concert. Or if you don’t go with your gut–the solar plexus chakra where where there are 72,000 nerve endings–you might sleep poorly, wake up grumpy, put your shoes on backwards and fall over. Whatever. You’ll know what to do. Here are some ways to think about it:
1. free (gift from artist)
2. self-determined price (you choose)
3. market price (today’s going rate is about .99)
4. creative currency (money is only one kind)
My Twitter friend, independent musician, Walt Ribeiro (www.waltribeiro.net) says this:
Q: Awesome! So I can just get all this music for free?
A: Yep, but I depend on your donations and purchases to make the whole thing work. Music is so difficult to get out there, this at least lets more people hear my work. Even a small donation helps. If everyone who came to my site helped me out, I’d be a lot better. And if you can’t compensate me with actual money, you can help by spreading the word to someone else.
And social media expert, Chris Brogan (www.chrisbrogan.com) puts it this way:
Leave a comment on this blog. Anywhere, and if you don’t have time, you can do these things:
• Bookmark the post in a social bookmarking site so others might find it (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
• Share it in Google Reader.
• “Like” it in FriendFeed.
• Stumble it in StumbleUpon.
• If it’s *really* good, Digg it.
• Note it on Facebook.
You get the picture. If you enjoy something, but don’t have the chance to comment due to time, another great way to be helpful is to move it along to others in your network. That’s why there are social software tools to begin with: to facilitate that very experience.
