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                 Canopus Productions Mission Statement
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  This record label (the name may change) exists to release music by
  Malcolm Smith, plus projects by his friends and like-minded people.

  We will also reissue special/rare/classic/unknown/unique/interesting
  acoustic, electronic and progressive musics that we love but are hard
  to find and deserve a wider/new audience. The label will transcend
  genres and invent new ones, putting out magical music to cherish.
  After years of crate-digging and unearthing amazing hidden treasures,
  it's the least we can do to spread the Love.

  We aim to create audio documents to our own high standards, which will
  do the music justice and provide years of enjoyable listening.

  Our goal is to grant eternal life to the Artists' spirits which shall
  live on in the ears, hearts and minds of the Listeners.

  We shall endeavour to archive and backup the work onto new media
  formats, ensuring it is accessible by future generations. As well as
  our own archives, we place copies of these albums in The British
  Library and Library Of Congress collections for permanent immortality.

  We shall also teach this repertoire wherever possible, to pass on the
  Knowledge by direct transmission, so that it survives in people's
  memories in the event of a global catastrophe, socio-economic collapse
  or destruction of archives.

  Cross-platform compatibility is maintained through the use of open
  standards and Free Software, preventing vendor lock-in and closed
  proprietary racketeering. We let the music breathe and live its own
  life unencumbered by DRM, instead of stifling it and imposing annoying
  constraints on the Listeners.

  There shall always be sound clips and sample tracks available online
  for free download as promotional materials for the complete albums.

  We only aim to make enough money from album sales to cover running
  costs, with any profits invested into the next releases. This allows
  Listeners to effectively crowdfund future projects and help them to get
  off the ground, thus feeling more closely connected to the Art(ist(s)).

  In an ideal world, musicians would get paid for the true worth of the
  work involved in producing such fine artistry. The late 20th Century
  model of the music industry only worked for million-selling populist
  music which could be exploited by record companies and sold at low
  cost, with the small profits per unit multiplying over large sales to
  generate big sums of money. But the reality is that for less commercial
  niche music like this, it would make the cost per unit astronomically
  high, rivalling the Fine Art market and thus out of reach of most folk.
  Which is not what we want.

  This music would have been made anyway because our Artists do it for
  Love - for them, making music is not a hobby, but a way of life, a
  non-optional activity like eating, sleeping and breathing.

  Sadly our current world devalues music as a cheap or even zero-worth
  commodity, because there is so much out there. As a result (or perhaps
  the cause?), much of it is disposable, easy for anyone to produce (but
  is it worth the effort, or the Listeners' time?). But there are gems
  out there amidst the rubble for those who care to look...

  We embrace the Digital Age and welcome advances in technology that
  bring people closer and liberate information for the greater good.
  While we encourage copying to propagate memes to Friends, the original
  article is available cheaply enough to warrant owning your own copy;
  besides, the unique packaging and presentation is nice enough to want
  to collect. And paying for the music ensures that more records can be
  produced. If you like it, support the Artists.

  We are a quality-led, rather than profit-led organisation, and we
  acknowledge that organic organisation with human-scale growth is the
  way forward for things to be "done right".

  We endorse the philosophies of The Long Now Foundation:
  http://www.longnow.org/about/

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  02005-09-30 13:09 written hearing Duke Ellington's "Far East Suite"
  02014-12-08 22:44 edited monetary policy to reflect current eCONomics