On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 07:09:10 -0400, Mike Rivers wrote
(in article . com):


wrote:

I wonder... what if you posted a paypal link for people to throw a
little cash your way? I'd pay a few bucks for your report to these
shows... provided, of course, you promised to keep doing it!

Better would be to get a web site or magazine to pay me a generous
fixed amount. Donations wouldn't amount to a hill of beans (as many
software writers who try to put their work out as tryware have
learned). Out-of-pocket cost for me to attend a show is on the order of
$750. Add a modest $50/hour to cover about 25 hours at the show and
about another 20 hours writing it up, that's about $3,000 worth in the
real world.

Back when the concept of posting show reports through the Internet was
new, I'd spend the day at the show, go back to my hotel room and write
for a few hours about what I saw that day, go to dinner, come back and
write some more, and post a daily report before I went to bed. It was
novel, and it was sufficiently real-time so that if someone had a
question about something I had observed, I could return to the booth
and fill in the blanks or correct the mistakes. But that got old after
about 10 years and as shows got bigger.

For a couple of years, I did get paid pretty decently by a web site for
an "exclusive" but eventually that morphed into the Mix organization
and how they have their own editorial staff posting a daily blog plus
doing the write-up for the print and web versions of the magazine.
Recording thanks me for my input, but doesn't pay me.

I can be bought, but not for donations. But thanks for the thought.


I always wondered about Mike giving it away for free. He and I have talked
about this several times over the years. Even if a publisher did pay him for
a show report (as others have paid me in years past) I doubt the publisher
would be cool with him also giving it away for free to this newsgroup or
anywhere else.

That line of what we do as friends and as professionals may be thin here, but
it's not invisible.

There were several rather large companies with integration services for audio
systems at the show. They sell information and expertise; nothing wrong with
that. I do it as well, but on an obviously smaller and more personal scale.

It was a great show for me. I learned a lot. I also had the revelation that,
after going to enough of these over the years, I could stand anywhere on the
display floor, turn in a circle and see at least one person I considered a
colleague or friend. Usually more than one.

Regards,

Ty Ford



-- Ty Ford's equipment reviews, audio samples, rates and other audiocentric
stuff are at www.tyford.com