Hi Dave. My name is Gary Noon, and I speak on behalf of myself and fellow musicians the world over. I feel that the statement you made on 11/14/14 regarding Taylor Swift’s stance on Spotify and related issues is short-sighted and biased, and is - unintentionally, I believe - further endangering the opportunity this current generation of musicians are struggling to find.
Allow Me To Explain:
Your statement quoted from the press was:
“I want people to hear our music, I don’t care if you pay $1 or fucking $20 for it, just listen to the fucking song. But I can understand how other people would object to that.”
Dave, you're talented. You write great songs. I discovered one of my favorite chord forms to play on the guitar by listening to Everlong over and over and over. Note: I actually bought the CD ( on a $12k salary, no less ). You’re fighting Foo with all you have and are all over the internet, video, printed media and radio outlets now.
You have 20+ years of incredible music history and momentum under your belt that affords you that right. But, unfortunately, I believe your thinking is biased by the ‘curse of knowledge’
The Curse Of Knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads better-informed parties to find it extremely difficult to think about problems from the perspective of lesser-informed parties. Source: Made To Stick, by Chip and Dan Heath Random House, 2007 )
Mr Grohl, I believe I can understand why You Can Not Care If Someone Pays $1 or fucking $20 (your words).
I believe that it’s possible you can’t remember what it’s like to be an up-and-comer because you were caught up in the tidal wave of Grunge music that a former band of yours - Nirvana - is credited with, protecting you from dealing with things like:
lack of willingness to buy music
lack of label funding to finance a tour
lack of producer’s willingness to develop you as an artist
lack of financial leverage because YOU have to pay for everything first
lack of ROI because everyone is charging more $ for their services today because we are, collectively, killing ‘The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg’. (e.g. prices are rising from everyone scrambling to keep MORE than their fair share, but earnings are’t rising ).
and many more experiences that have since been lost to memory
That is the Curse of Knowledge.
No one is denying you an opinion, your right and platform to express it, or the financial benefits and accolades you have received. You've rightfully earned your place,but I believe you originate from a different era in the overall timeline of the music business - a time when things operated differently.
As a relative newcomer to the music industry ( 2 years, this December ) I was surprised by the complexities of the music business, the financial minefield I’d have to navigate.
I Finance My Own Records. I pay the musicians, the studio, the sound engineer, the assistants, photographers, graphic artists, cd printers, software vendors, developers, web hosts, payment services, shipping costs, instrument manufacturers, sales taxes, property taxes on the CDs I print and the equipment I own, the Performance Rights Organizations, content aggregators, digital stores and outlets, merch manufacturers, etc to make my dream possible, and that’s not the entire list.
I’m not asking for sympathy, hand-outs, or otherwise.
What I want is an OPPORTUNITY to do what I love and was put on the earth to do: create and play songs that mean something. To me, and to my fans ( yep, I have some - Thanks,Walkers! )
All I ask is that someone in your position of influence help spread the proper perspective so I can have the opportunity. Help us take advantage of the incredible reach and capability that technology can provide and not be bankrupted by it.
The rest, then, is up to me.
Respectfully,
Gary Noon
Walking With Giants
"I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.”
John D Rockefeller
"My belief is firm in a law of compensation. The true rewards are ever in proportion to the labour and sacrifices made." - Nikola Tesla
“No man thoroughly understands a truth until he has contended against it.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
#taylorswift
#spotify
#jamesgunn
#davegrohl
#garynoon
#walkingwithgiants
#openletter