Amanda Palmer defends herself over paying musicians with hugs and beer

Now Palmer has taken to her blog to defend herself—albeit not directing her post to Albini specifically, but rather at Amy Vaillancourt-Sals, a musician and fan who posted a screed on her blog about how, while she respects Palmer an artist, she’s found that “volunteer opportunities have effectively lead to more volunteer opportunities,” rather than to “compensating gigs.”

Palmer’s own response, which comes in at a hefty 2,800 words, defends her position, saying emphatically that “YOU HAVE TO LET ARTISTS MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS ABOUT HOW THEY SHARE THEIR TALENT AND TIME.” Of course, all that is underscored by a section where she explains that, in “cities like New York,” she “wanted to make sure we had a 100% tried-and-true string corps,” so in that case, she actually paid to hire professional musicians. In other cities that are not New York, however, she's fine with throwing together some just-happy-to-be-there amateurs and paying them in beer.