[LAU] The democratization on music might not always be a good thing...

[Jonathan Gazeley]

On 04/11/10 16:45, Darrin Thompson wrote:
> Tools that make art easier are always going to result in a flood of
> new and completely uninteresting art. Oh well. The orbit of the planet
> is usually unaffected by that. But I think the lesson of history is
> that in the long run, it accelerates the pace of innovation, even if
> it makes things ugly for awhile up front.

Absolutely.

Since photography was invented, I daresay there is less demand for oil 
portraits of wealthy families.

Since *digital* photography came along, skilled experts in developing 
and printing have more competition. These days anyone can take a photo 
and publish it online in seconds - but this doesn't guarantee the 
quality of the work.

*Good* art and *good* photography still takes immense skill, no matter 
how good Photoshop becomes. Perhaps the gap between amateur and 
professional is narrowing, but I don't think it will ever close.

This applies to art, photography, music, font design, and no doubt 
countless other things that have been affected by electronic technology 
over the last century.

Jonathan

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Jonathan Gazeley
Systems Support Specialist
ResNet | Wireless & VPN Team
Information Services
University of Bristol
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