The Musician; The Snuggie

In response to being compared to a snuggie Jonathan Coulton, singer-songwriter internet favorite, wrote a thoughtful piece about media coverage of the music industry in the internet age. Sure he was a bit perturbed that he was being compared to blanket with holes for arms that sell over infomercials for about $5.99, but I think that the questions he raises and the comparisons he makes are pretty interesting.

The most interesting (to me in this time of self important artists and bloated egos) is that he draws connections between himself, snuggies and all sorts of musicians that have come before him:

“Just because I did it with “nerds on the Internet” instead of “teenagers in Seattle” or “hippies at ren faires” or “13-year-old girls on YouTube” is incidental, and beside the point. Similarly, Jacob Ganz says in the podcast that I “won the internet lottery,” which is like saying the Beatles won the British Invasion lottery. It’s accurate but unhelpful, because it fails to draw a meaningful distinction between me and anyone else who has had success in this business. It has always been about winning the lottery, and it has always been about being a Snuggie.”

Jonathan Coulton makes an obnoxious amount of money making music. So is there a business model in there?

Probably not?

But the point is to ask questions of yourself and your environment, not to copy what the guy next to you is doing. Give the rest of the article a read here. You won’t regret it.