[linux-audio-user] That whole mp3 vs. ogg vs. wma vs. yomamma thing

[Greg Reddin]

> sorry, but those labels hardly ever release music that's worth
> listening...

Ok, I wasn't going to say anything, but now I can't help it :-)

Thank you for saying that.  Please understand that I am a hobbyist
not a career musician, so making money at music is not as big a deal
for me as it may be for some.  At some point I made a decision to not
pursue a career in the music industry b/c the industry so often seems
to take away much of the art (just like every other industry).  So I
pursued another career that hopefully supports my music hobby. 
Unfortunately, I often find myself distracted at my day job by
music-related diversions (as I am now).

Anyway, my point is, so much of what I do musically is an attempt to
not conform totally to the mass-produced norm.  For example, a couple
of years ago I needed a Strat-style guitar.  The last thing I wanted
to do was buy a Strat because *everybody* has a Strat.  So I bought a
customized G&L, which you might argue is the same thing, but really,
it's not.  It's just different enough to make a personal statement.
For me Linux is the same way.  My DAW has the oppurtunity to be *my
DAW*, not somebody (or everybody) else's Protools or Cakewalk.  And
that applies both sonically and visually.  As a producer (and I use
the term very loosely) that personalization factor is very important
to me.

It's not so much about non-conformity as it is about creativity. 
There's a point where the commercial offerings stop creating because
they have something that's functional and it costs so much with such
high risk to be creative that they are not willing to go there.  The
open source people don't have so much on the line and are willing to
exercise their creativity a lot more.  If it flops, we just throw it
away and work on something else.  So you get all the cool synth
packages that have come out and really unique things like Jack

So it might not ever be palatable to the masses because it's too
innovative.  It's the same reason why Creed will always sell more
tickets than Dream Theater, but I will always listen to DT more than
I will Creed.  Creativity vs. following trends.  Have I totally
missed the point?

OTOH, the tools, like the music needs to be commercially viable, at
least for those who choose to make their living off of it.  And I
think it could be and someday will be.  It would be a shame for all
this cool innovation to only be accessible to programmers --
especially since many of the developers are going out of their way to
make it accessible to non-programmers.

I'll stop rambling now.
Greg

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