Working for Tips Online
Fairtunes makes it easy to send money to artists via the Internet. But will that provide enough to earn a living through music?
by Robert L. Doerschuk
August 24, 2000
To the struggling musician, tips can make the difference between poverty and subsistence. But in the era of music file sharing, they may be about to play a bigger role in the livelihood of established and even famous bands as well.
Fairtunes founders Matt Goyer and John Cormie show how easy it is to tip
artists.
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This is why Matt Goyer and John Cormie, two math majors at the University of Waterloo in Canada, have launched Fairtunes (www.fairtunes.com), a Winnipeg-based website dedicated to clearing a path between artists and fans who want to express their appreciation through monetary gratuities.
The idea was triggered by a bit of news on the radio. "John and I were in the car one day when the announcer came on and said, 'There's a new Tragically Hip album coming out in a month,'" Goyer explains. "We talked about eventually buying it at the record store, but it turns out the album was already available on Napster. So we went home that night and downloaded it for free."
As, no doubt, thousands of kids throughout Canada were doing that same night. But unlike most Napster enthusiasts, Goyer and Cormie felt a little guilty after snatching these files. "We realized that this isn't right," Goyer says. "We felt that there had to be some way of sending our money to the artists we like so that they could produce their music."
After a little investigation, the two friends determined that no such easy mechanism existed. Sure, they could wait for a month and buy the CD -- but only a fraction of that money would make it to the band, and besides, why should they have to count the days until some label decided they could have it? Yet, for better or worse, there was no way to get hold of that album immediately without ripping off their favorite artists.
Then the light bulb clicked on: You send Tragically Hip a tip -- or, more to the point, some fair compensation for your access to their music. Since no easy means existed for this sort of appreciation, they decided to create it themselves and, after a few months of work, Fairtunes came to life last July.
It was important to Goyer and Cormie to make it as easy as possible for listeners to send money to bands, and they believe they've succeeded. Fairtunes tips are paid online via credit card to artists in the site's database. There are no restrictions on who gets added to the file. Anyone -- a fan, a family member, or the players themselves -- can insert an artist's name onto the catalog via email (artists@fair-tunes.com) or phone (204-837-6597) with a list of accounts into which deposits may be made. Other information can be conveyed as well, including special promotions, favorite charities, and suggestions for how large a tip ought to be for specific songs, albums, or gigs.
That all sounds cool -- at least until one reflects on why this service had to come into existence in the first place. Given the money at stake as online file distribution shakes the foundation of the music industry, it's at least possible that tips tendered voluntarily may come to replace royalties mandated by copyright law as the main source of composer and artist income.
Can artists survive on the conscience of consumers who are tempted by easy access to free music? Matt Goyer says that they can -- and predicts that their lives will be better supported by the generosity of strangers than the bureaucracies of labels, copyright administrators, and the RIAA.
Next Page: Fairness & the Death of Copyright....
Robert L. Doerschuk is a senior editor at Harmony Central.
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