Speaking of social capital, I've been reading The Rumpus a lot lately, and am thus aware of its money woes. This makes me sad. I like The Rumpus. It's funny and subversive and different and hosts a bunch of good writers. Something this good should have no problem making money.

So it was with interest I read Amanda Palmer's (of Dresden Dolls fame) blog post on Why I am not afraid to take your money:

i would hate to see my fans turn on me once i actually have money in the bank with a “well, i would support you if you were starving, but now that you’re eating, no way.”
fuck that.
accept a new system.
feel ok about giving your money directly to paul mccartney. he may be rich, but he still rocks. show you care.
feel ok about giving it to fucking lady gaga if you’ve been guiltily downloading her dance tracks for free.
rejoice in the fact that you are directly responsible for several threads in her new spandex spacesuit.
it shouldn’t matter.
it’s about empowerment and it’s about SIMPLICITY: fan loves art, artist needs money, fan gives artist money, artist says thank you.

That pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole issue really. If you like it, pay for it.