Artists Unite

I have a love/hate relationship with the internet. I think it's really amazing how far networking online has taken artists: people sell their work, collaborate with others, swap art, get feedback and critique, and can learn infinite skills simply by reading a blog or watching a tutorial video. People establish themselves and create shops and have blogs and fans and it's really amazing to see how far people get. I get excited when people I've been following are successful, even if we will never be friends outside of this online realm. I love art and these networking/showcase sites like SoundCloud, DeviantArt, Flickr, and there are many more. They're fun and helpful. But there is also a terrible and ugly side of what is meant to be a positive and safe thing.

There is a lot of theft. I mean, the worst I had seen before yesterday was someone using an icon on Livejournal and not giving credit. Even then, the original artist/editor of the graphic simply has to comment or message and say, "Hey, I made that. Would you mind giving credit?" and most people will be like, "Yeah, no problem. Sorry!" Everybody goes on their merry way. But it can get a lot worse.

My best friend is an amazing musician. But I want to make one thing clear: I am not saying it just because of our relationship. Because really, I think any friend and significant other of someone who is interested in and/or passionate about some art form is going to give unending support as long as you have some sort of relationship with them. I mean this when I say it, though: Patrick is very good at what he does. What you hear at the end is the result of hours and days and weeks of work. I am there pretty much every moment he is making something. He tells me everything about his gear, what he's working on, who he's networking with. He gets excited to show me what he's come up with at certain points through the process. I am happy to be a part of his passion for music and I am always so proud of him.

Yesterday he found out that an artist in the UK was downloading his songs and posting them on various sites as his own. He featured two or three or Patrick's original songs on his own EP, and was selling another song on iTunes already. It wasn't just stealing, it was stealing and making a profit. The story gets far more "interesting," for lack of a better word, but I'm going to keep the details out of this blog post just for simplicity. Nothing this guy was saying or doing made sense, though. He was not really trying to hide the fact that he stole music to pass off as his own. It made me angry, and I ran who knows how many kilometers to the town line, sweating off my frustration. When I get mad, I don't know what else to do. Then I was sad that someone who claimed to be artist, someone who claimed to love music, would do this.

I don't take an interest in any form of art lightly. I think there are clearly varying degrees of passion and interest in it, and skill plays a part as well, but having an artist's heart is the key. You have to be respectful of what others do. It takes time, energy, and resources to draw a picture or write and produce a song. There are plenty of people out there who are willing to do others a favour, usually for a price. It's a passion and hobby just as much as it is a business. Theft cannot be taken lightly. It is hurtful for those who created the art and the people who are close to the artist, too. I can't speak for Patrick and I'm not trying to imply that I was more hurt about the whole thing, but I was very upset that someone could claim something as their own when I was there. I sat in the same room, right beside my best friend as he cut up and resampled every bit of vocals. He had to get the bass just perfect, so I sat by, annoyed that he was making the same noise over and over for the better part of an hour. I didn't make the song, but if you mess with my Patrick, you're messing with me. You're messing with all the artists of the world who have poured their heart and soul into everything they create.

I am constantly encouraging people to share their art. I know for myself and Patrick it's not a matter of making money or trying to get famous. It's just that there's this certain feeling of satisfaction that comes from finally completing something and you just want someone else to be able to see or read or hear it. It bruises that part of a person that longs to post a finished piece of work when you're worried that someone else will take it away from you. I want so badly for the internet (and the world) to be a place of encouragement and creation and sharing.