[Slight OT] TDPL in Russia

[Jonathan M Davis]

On Wednesday, September 01, 2010 12:15:24 Walter Bright wrote:
> Someone once told me that "capitalism doesn't support the arts". I asked
> him how the Beatles got rich. Oops!

Capitalism is going to tend to support what is generally popular or what is 
popular with the affluent crowd. Anything that doesn't fall in either of those 
categories isn't necessarily going to do well. So, the artsy stuff that appeals 
primarily to artsy people isn't necessarily going to do well. The Beatles 
managed general popularity, so capitalism supported them just fine.

Music and movies are huge industries. Capitalism definitely supports them. 
However, if you're dealing with less well-known, less generally-liked stuff, then 
capitalism isnt't really going to support it. Of course, arguably, that's for 
the better, since if it doesn't do well that means that it's not something that 
the majority supports, but there is good stuff out there that never becomes 
particularly popular or successful. However, since art is generally in the eye 
of the beholder, there will always be people unhappy with how it gets handled 
regardless of the economic system in use.

> There's a subgroup of the theater crowd around here who regard producers as
> "sellouts" if their plays actually attract an audience.

I hear that this sort of thing tends to happen with Indie artists as well. There 
are fans who like them until they get popular. I guess that there are people who 
_like_ it when the stuff that they like is niche.

- Jonathan M Davis