(Those folks with hobby blogs have day jobs, no?)

And his general point about record companies serving the role as the wealthy benefactor is utter nonsense. Record companies attempt to play the role of partner (you provide something and we’ll provide something and the two of us will split the profits) or boss (we will hire you to do some work at a set fee and we will keep all of the profits).

The wealthy benefactors recognized that there were a number of free-riders who would enjoy the art they sponsored. The benefactor still paid (where others did not) because they saw a value to the art and because of the personal prestige associated with sponsoring a popular artist. This model is a lot more similar to the Radiohead model, as it recognizes that some people will continue to pay when they don’t have to — and some will even pay more than necessary to cover the costs for those that can’t afford to pay anything.