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There are two sides to the "I hear why it's free" argument. Netlabels do have a ways to go in improving the quality of their products, sure enough, but the elimination of the bottom line also opens up new creative possibilities. I think the two finest examples of this are ManMadeMan's recent Free To Listen album (their best yet) and the recent emergence of New Born, whose 24-minute track The Observer would never have been commercially released simply due to length. The bottom line places restrictions on musical development... within a "gift economy," it is possible to regain something lost to commercial concerns.
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