It’s an exciting time in music—and we can be part of the solution. I doubt that crowsong or tinkertoy synth melodies are the way out—but I’m pretty sure that the way through the woods runs through open source music.

I am not entirely dogmatic about non-CC releases, and I will buy product from time to time from RIAA member corporations. Yet so much music I applaud now is Creative Commons music, and in particular netlabel releases. I’ll bet we have similar tastes in some ambient things—if you’re interested, I can share with you a list of ambient netlabels I enjoy.

I download some mixter material to my mp3 player, and yet the fun things I hear here lately could almost have me devote an entire mp3 player to mixter material. I like in particular the read/write
nature of things. I can download kristin hersh’s new song for a self-directed payment, and then get the mix stems for free.
I can download from the Carnegie Hall website a host of contemporary classical recordings,
and donate a little money in grateful thanks. Magnatune has a plethora of great artists—and I know that not only do they support the mixter, but they also share 50/50 with their artists. With my own music, I know from my last.fm statistics that I have listeners from places I may never go, who get to download my music here or from NSI or from the various compilations I’m on—and that’s a wonderful thing.

I think you’re right that it’s about more than money—I love about netlabels that they work from the same cultural impulse as mail art—creations by artists for sharers, outside a flawed ‘gallery system’. Yet I also try to donate to netlabels and to buy from CC artists. For a tiny fraction of the cost of an RIAA CD collection, an individual can help fuel a revolution in sound. I’m excited that Trifonic “gave back”, that the Calendar Girl compilation is about to come out and will be wonderful, and that every month, more CC work I love comes out so that I can download it for free.

What a wonderful time to hear and make music.