There was an uproar when I decided to charge for some of my brilliant and unique content and it got me thinking as to what services I pay for in my web life.
Blip – $8.00 a month.
Vimeo – $9.99 a month.
Mailchimp – $15.00 – $30.00 a month
Flickr – $25.00 a year.
Mediatemple – $50.00 a month.
Echo – $12.00 a year.
I’m sure some more I’m forgetting.
So when I hear people complain that it’s not fair that I charge or they don’t have $5.00 a month for something that is so worth it I find it difficult to sympathize. Things of value cost money, that’s why they have value. I especially don’t understand when people actually get pissed. No one is forcing anyone to do anything here. I don’t force you to watch my videos anymore than you force me to make them, and I’m certainly not forcing you to pay for some of them. I like seeing who’s who if you will. I like seeing the names of people who support my work. It jazzes me up if you will. So subscribe or don’t, but stop with this outrage nonsense. What services do you pay for?
Two CDs that I have been putting in the player a lot this year are The Liberty of Norton Fulgate by Madness and REM’s Live at The Olympia. Despite the fact that the former was released almost a full year ago and the latter about six months ago, here’s a few words on why I think you should hear them:
1: Madness – If you’re like me, your first exposure to Madness was in the early 80′s and that wildly annoying song Our House. I hated that obnoxious song almost as much as I would hate We Built This City by Starship a few years later. However, not so long after that – I was lucky enough to be turned on The 2 Tone Story 4 CD compilation which exposed me to essential bands of the late 70s English ska revival. Along with getting turned on to groups like The Specials (who were fantastic recently at Terminal Five – SEE VIDEO) and The Selecter, I was forced to radically revise my opinion of Madness. They were, in fact, great. more…
