cranky half-formed thoughts.
the ‘1000 true fans’ model only works if said 1000 ‘true’ fans are also well-off enough to spend $100/year on an artist’s creative output; thus it rewards that same sort of creative output that appeals to the well-off on a larger scale, because the $100 x $100 x $100 ad infinitum becomes too much for the majority of people to handle on their own. (what’s the average income of the world’s populace again?)
and this is but one reason why ‘blog success,’ which appeals to the 1000-true-fan model and which is is overrated for anyone but those who already appeal to/exist within that dominant paradigm, doesn’t really have a lot of meaning to me. it’s kind of like college radio playlisting but on a slightly more sinister scale because the reinforcement loop is much quicker than it was than it was in the days of scanning cmj playlists and people are really into the idea that money can be made off the internet. (and the stuff that rises to the top is way more boring to me personally than, say, the estelle album, but that’s more of an aesthetic gripe than anything else.) it’s not really sustainable (for all the talk about people supporting the band ‘on the road,’ how many bloggers get on guest lists in every city?) and it consistently rewards the safe (unless they’re cornerstone-marketed).
more on this after i finish cleaning the bathroom. (also, if anyone knows about people who have raised this point before, feel free to drop a line.) (and haha, i know i’m one of those people.)