The MP3 File-Sharing Controversy: Where It Hits Home
I've ranted about Metallica going off about file sharing. I've said my "fuck you" to the R.I.A.A. for their suing of people into the ground.
I've made my stance on MP3 File-sharing when it comes to the big corporate entity known. There is one such thing, though, that makes me really think about my stance on it. When it comes to underground music, I will say that there is the fact that someone is being hurt. The musicians are under attack in the underground. There are tons of them under fire from file-sharing programs. Why? Let's do the quick breakdown.
The Underground:
These bands are at a severe disadvantage already. They're self-funded. These are the guys that the corporate world snubbed or just doesn't give a shit about. Fact is, these dudes are dumping loads of their own cashola into the pot and making one huge investment. Like most, they expect a return on that investment but, like going skydiving, they still run the risk of the chute not opening. In this business, I can tell you, more times than not, these artists go home more poor than when they began. That's sad. I can tell you that I've heard some complete shite recording, worse than hell production and stuff that sounds like some people just didn't try. Bands like Diverje, Antitrust, 6Bit, The Mercy Cage, Curse Icon, Collide, Encoder, Things Outside The Skin, Razed In Black, Immune System and Terracorpse actually sound better to me now than what mainstream radio has to offer. I'm bored with mainstream radio. You can hear the puppetry in the DJs now. It's all "Ads ads ads, here's some more music, brainwash, brainwash, brainwash, yet more music." and it's sickening. There's no decent rock show on FM radio anymore with only one exception of Tommy T. Raspardi going apeshit on Cyberage on KUNM out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I gotta hand it to the man, for someone to go on FM doing the things he does, it's amazing he's not losing more money in FCC fines. May Odin Bless Your Path, You Hardcore Musical Addict!
I'm losing my way here...back to it.
Ok, Got the money that these self-produced guys are putting in? Good. Now, taking that into consideration, check out the cover art. You know that some of this is done by graphic artists and they have to get paid. Pro G.A.s are expensive as hell and you know they get a cut from each CD if they didn't just sell the artwork and all rights to it outright? Oh yeah! But let's not forget the pics so you can see just who the band members are. Guess what? The last session for Antitrust cost $200 or more. I can't imagine what these guys are paying. In a session for a photoshoot, you might have taken over 200 - 300 shots...if you're lucky enough to get that many from a photographer with pro equipment and their own darkroom. How many of those are used? Yep, you guessed it, only a few. Same thing applies to them, they get a cut too and something for their portfolio. Now, I don't have exact figures for all of this next bunch but you'll get the idea. There's time at the recording studio unless you have the $8000 plus to build one in a room in your home, production, mixing, mastering (pray you don't get some lazy swine doing it or you'll have to have it remastered) and then mass production of the CD itself and then...oh boy, distribution. This is much harder than it sounds. Distribution alone on CDs costs money...and this is after you've paid ungodly amounts to get it mass produced. Did you know a barcode will cost you $760? No lie! A stinkin barcode! Now, granted that's a one-time fee for the CD you just released but can you imagine paying that everytime you produce another CD? Not to mention, you have to package it and send it out with every order. Are you gonna do that? Hell no! You'd never be able to work to support this venture!
Ok, local distribution out of the trunk of your car if you're able to do everything yourself is fine, you make 100% profit on every CD you put out but, with labels, pro gear, professionals doing the graphics and production work, it's much different. You NEED that nation to worldwide distribution. You need sales all over Creation just to spawn a profit.
Hey, there's promotion, right? Sure! The internet has become a huge haven for promotions, what with people like me out there putting it on the net airwaves worldwide and things of that nature. Going back to the worldwide distribution thing again, there's shipping and handling to have to worry about and then, they strike.
The Pirates...and we're not talkin' Cap'n Jack Sparrow or his Black Pearl. Nope, these guys will literally go buy one CD and then BLAM! it's all over the place. These are part of the problem. These guys are giving away entire CDs. They're just distributing for free. Well, what would this hurt, right? They're giving these guys exposure...not so fast. Remember all that money that these underground dudes just threw in? Well the investment they made is slowly going bust. At bare minimum they're losing $2000 per month. It's not like they're Metallica, Eminem or someone truly famous backed by a corporation with uber-deep pockets. These guys might have slightly more money than you or I but that doesn't mean much when they're losing their asses each month. They have to put the money they make back into the production of the next CD and the losses are exponential. With each release that is Mass Pirated, these guys won't have enough to make the next CD and the underground label you really enjoy...it's gonna go under too.
Now, you're probably thinking I'm kissing some ass here, and think what you like, dear reader but one fact remains. I don't like the corporate entity. I haven't for a long time. When a new band was featured on FM radio, I was ecstatic. I'd join the craze and miss out on all these other bands. I'd frantically search Hot Topic, Metal Edge, and Guitar World Magazine for what I thought was underground. That's before I found out who and what was backing them.
Cruising MySpace, I've found a world of bands and the greatest part of that is, my disgust with commercial shit is over. Oh, it still exists, but now, there is a remedy.
Now back to my point that I want to make, which there are a couple of them. Some bands will give away shit in the name of promotions. Wonderful! It's how I rebuilt my CD collection and it's even better than it's previous incarnation. Some I've bought. Anything you see in my collection from DSBP Records, I bought. Why? They impress me. I've never been one for Digital/EBM but they grabbed my attention and still won't let go. Then there are bands like Collide, Curse Icon, and even The Gemini Ritual that I've bought from. Why? They impress me. All of that put together means one thing, I had the cash and I chose to give it to these guys in support. How do I give them exposure? The Show! I'm giving their music away for free! But they're not losing any money this way. They get exposure worldwide like this and to really put the push on it, guess what? I give MP3s. I share files, yes I do BUT only with other DJs I know who will play their music. This way, it's only a few songs...songs they may have put on MySpace and if they want the rest of the CD, they buy it like I did.
Will my shiny new Encoder CD get copied? Better Believe it! I'm going to the gym at work with it and you best believe I'm not letting my shiny new one get scratched nine ways to sunday and if someone grabs it after I've accidentally left it behind, no problem, another copy made and now the word is out at work about Encoder. Will my shiny new Encoder CD go on EBay? Fuck You! Hell No! I bought it, I'm not gonna get my money back on a used CD and I damn sure don't wanna profit off of it. That's just wrong!
Buying the CDs in this case does two things.
1. It shows your support for these underground musicians and artists who work their asses off (let's face it, most of them have day jobs and while they're good enough, musically to quit, they can't afford to) and furthermore, believe one thing, they show their appreciation. I still get emails from bands like Diverje, Reism, Collide, Immune System and Curse Icon.
2. It begins a series of changes. Let's say you don't like what's on the air now in the middle of the day, your drive to or from work or even what's playing on the radio at any one given time, buying the CDs from these underground musicians and artists puts them at the forefront. They'll outdo Metallica, Britney, Eminem and those other Corporate bastards. Tommy T., I'm sorry but you're wrong in this case, that crap made with shite keyboards and clumsily worked cracked programs is NOT the future of music on MY damn watch!
Now, I've got programs that are cracked. That's right, I stole a few out of necessity and/or desire. I'm a working guy and I work for the state. Guess what? That's not much money. When you hear about the computer upgrades? It's the cheapest stuff I could find. It's "Ghetto Gear" but it works for now. I've cracked a couple of antivirus programs in my time to get me by until I could set aside money for the next subscription. I've hacked a couple for sound editing to make audio trailers *makes mental note to get on the Commando Christ And The Dirty Dozen Apostles audio trailer* and yeah, many of the sound clips and even some of the music I have is downloaded from the P2P File Sharing programs. I'll admit I don't have CDs for all the MP3s I have but do I share them all over the internet? Hell no! Most of the stuff I've got downloaded is stuff from the mainstream that I liked or grew up on. It's all used as a means to an end and the end result is bringing the underground to the mainstream and not corrupting it in the process.
I do all of this stuff for free. Why? Hey, everyone in this business needs a break somewhere and these guys need it most. To show my support, goddamn it, that's what I'll do and if I eventually get paid for it, great, I'll be more than happy to do it anytime, any day, day or night...day AND night. Perhaps I'll go for The Guinness Book Of World Records for being the one DJ to go on a mad rampage, eating a stream far longer than anyone else in recorded history. I think the longest was, what? Three Days?
Now, in closing I offer YOU the FANS a challenge. Challenge any point of contention I've made here in this post. Go ahead but don't do it with words, do it with actions. Give it some time and if you don't see the changes taking place let me bring these to your attention:
1. FM radio is scrambling to stay alive. Rolling Stone Magazine for November even reported that mainstream FM radio is fighting an uphill battle against XM, Sirius and NET radio. If you think I'm bullshitting you, just listen for those, "You Shouldn't Have To Pay For Radio" commercials.
2. More and more corporate record labels have acknowledged that DIY street teams, indie promoters and bands are beginning to gain momentum and clout within the industry due to little people out there pushing like hell to get it into the limelight and are currently formulating plans to look into some of this. (Rolling Stone November issue)
3. The Corporate labels are scrambling trying to figure out how to do the impossible by keeping people from file sharing or copying. While there is no realistic way of stopping it, you see that they have resorted to illegal means WITHOUT PROSECUTION! Money in the legal system again. (pick your media sources...there are tons of them)
This is just three of the many examples I can use to tell you that the underground is in need of help of all it's fans. If you want to give them exposure, don't share the entire CD you just bought, repost bulletins, emails, whatever. Spread the word about what they're doing direct them to MySpace sites where others may listen to the music. MySpace has been a marketing solution for the "try it before you buy it" generation and listen to your net stations. Hundreds of DJs post their playlists (including me) so repost them, give us both the exposure! Become part of the solution. That is my challenge to you. Just try it and give it time and you'll see that I'll never say "I Told You So."
Lord Genocyde's Bottom Line: Copy Kills The Underground...Show Your Support.
I've made my stance on MP3 File-sharing when it comes to the big corporate entity known. There is one such thing, though, that makes me really think about my stance on it. When it comes to underground music, I will say that there is the fact that someone is being hurt. The musicians are under attack in the underground. There are tons of them under fire from file-sharing programs. Why? Let's do the quick breakdown.
The Underground:
These bands are at a severe disadvantage already. They're self-funded. These are the guys that the corporate world snubbed or just doesn't give a shit about. Fact is, these dudes are dumping loads of their own cashola into the pot and making one huge investment. Like most, they expect a return on that investment but, like going skydiving, they still run the risk of the chute not opening. In this business, I can tell you, more times than not, these artists go home more poor than when they began. That's sad. I can tell you that I've heard some complete shite recording, worse than hell production and stuff that sounds like some people just didn't try. Bands like Diverje, Antitrust, 6Bit, The Mercy Cage, Curse Icon, Collide, Encoder, Things Outside The Skin, Razed In Black, Immune System and Terracorpse actually sound better to me now than what mainstream radio has to offer. I'm bored with mainstream radio. You can hear the puppetry in the DJs now. It's all "Ads ads ads, here's some more music, brainwash, brainwash, brainwash, yet more music." and it's sickening. There's no decent rock show on FM radio anymore with only one exception of Tommy T. Raspardi going apeshit on Cyberage on KUNM out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. I gotta hand it to the man, for someone to go on FM doing the things he does, it's amazing he's not losing more money in FCC fines. May Odin Bless Your Path, You Hardcore Musical Addict!
I'm losing my way here...back to it.
Ok, Got the money that these self-produced guys are putting in? Good. Now, taking that into consideration, check out the cover art. You know that some of this is done by graphic artists and they have to get paid. Pro G.A.s are expensive as hell and you know they get a cut from each CD if they didn't just sell the artwork and all rights to it outright? Oh yeah! But let's not forget the pics so you can see just who the band members are. Guess what? The last session for Antitrust cost $200 or more. I can't imagine what these guys are paying. In a session for a photoshoot, you might have taken over 200 - 300 shots...if you're lucky enough to get that many from a photographer with pro equipment and their own darkroom. How many of those are used? Yep, you guessed it, only a few. Same thing applies to them, they get a cut too and something for their portfolio. Now, I don't have exact figures for all of this next bunch but you'll get the idea. There's time at the recording studio unless you have the $8000 plus to build one in a room in your home, production, mixing, mastering (pray you don't get some lazy swine doing it or you'll have to have it remastered) and then mass production of the CD itself and then...oh boy, distribution. This is much harder than it sounds. Distribution alone on CDs costs money...and this is after you've paid ungodly amounts to get it mass produced. Did you know a barcode will cost you $760? No lie! A stinkin barcode! Now, granted that's a one-time fee for the CD you just released but can you imagine paying that everytime you produce another CD? Not to mention, you have to package it and send it out with every order. Are you gonna do that? Hell no! You'd never be able to work to support this venture!
Ok, local distribution out of the trunk of your car if you're able to do everything yourself is fine, you make 100% profit on every CD you put out but, with labels, pro gear, professionals doing the graphics and production work, it's much different. You NEED that nation to worldwide distribution. You need sales all over Creation just to spawn a profit.
Hey, there's promotion, right? Sure! The internet has become a huge haven for promotions, what with people like me out there putting it on the net airwaves worldwide and things of that nature. Going back to the worldwide distribution thing again, there's shipping and handling to have to worry about and then, they strike.
The Pirates...and we're not talkin' Cap'n Jack Sparrow or his Black Pearl. Nope, these guys will literally go buy one CD and then BLAM! it's all over the place. These are part of the problem. These guys are giving away entire CDs. They're just distributing for free. Well, what would this hurt, right? They're giving these guys exposure...not so fast. Remember all that money that these underground dudes just threw in? Well the investment they made is slowly going bust. At bare minimum they're losing $2000 per month. It's not like they're Metallica, Eminem or someone truly famous backed by a corporation with uber-deep pockets. These guys might have slightly more money than you or I but that doesn't mean much when they're losing their asses each month. They have to put the money they make back into the production of the next CD and the losses are exponential. With each release that is Mass Pirated, these guys won't have enough to make the next CD and the underground label you really enjoy...it's gonna go under too.
Now, you're probably thinking I'm kissing some ass here, and think what you like, dear reader but one fact remains. I don't like the corporate entity. I haven't for a long time. When a new band was featured on FM radio, I was ecstatic. I'd join the craze and miss out on all these other bands. I'd frantically search Hot Topic, Metal Edge, and Guitar World Magazine for what I thought was underground. That's before I found out who and what was backing them.
Cruising MySpace, I've found a world of bands and the greatest part of that is, my disgust with commercial shit is over. Oh, it still exists, but now, there is a remedy.
Now back to my point that I want to make, which there are a couple of them. Some bands will give away shit in the name of promotions. Wonderful! It's how I rebuilt my CD collection and it's even better than it's previous incarnation. Some I've bought. Anything you see in my collection from DSBP Records, I bought. Why? They impress me. I've never been one for Digital/EBM but they grabbed my attention and still won't let go. Then there are bands like Collide, Curse Icon, and even The Gemini Ritual that I've bought from. Why? They impress me. All of that put together means one thing, I had the cash and I chose to give it to these guys in support. How do I give them exposure? The Show! I'm giving their music away for free! But they're not losing any money this way. They get exposure worldwide like this and to really put the push on it, guess what? I give MP3s. I share files, yes I do BUT only with other DJs I know who will play their music. This way, it's only a few songs...songs they may have put on MySpace and if they want the rest of the CD, they buy it like I did.
Will my shiny new Encoder CD get copied? Better Believe it! I'm going to the gym at work with it and you best believe I'm not letting my shiny new one get scratched nine ways to sunday and if someone grabs it after I've accidentally left it behind, no problem, another copy made and now the word is out at work about Encoder. Will my shiny new Encoder CD go on EBay? Fuck You! Hell No! I bought it, I'm not gonna get my money back on a used CD and I damn sure don't wanna profit off of it. That's just wrong!
Buying the CDs in this case does two things.
1. It shows your support for these underground musicians and artists who work their asses off (let's face it, most of them have day jobs and while they're good enough, musically to quit, they can't afford to) and furthermore, believe one thing, they show their appreciation. I still get emails from bands like Diverje, Reism, Collide, Immune System and Curse Icon.
2. It begins a series of changes. Let's say you don't like what's on the air now in the middle of the day, your drive to or from work or even what's playing on the radio at any one given time, buying the CDs from these underground musicians and artists puts them at the forefront. They'll outdo Metallica, Britney, Eminem and those other Corporate bastards. Tommy T., I'm sorry but you're wrong in this case, that crap made with shite keyboards and clumsily worked cracked programs is NOT the future of music on MY damn watch!
Now, I've got programs that are cracked. That's right, I stole a few out of necessity and/or desire. I'm a working guy and I work for the state. Guess what? That's not much money. When you hear about the computer upgrades? It's the cheapest stuff I could find. It's "Ghetto Gear" but it works for now. I've cracked a couple of antivirus programs in my time to get me by until I could set aside money for the next subscription. I've hacked a couple for sound editing to make audio trailers *makes mental note to get on the Commando Christ And The Dirty Dozen Apostles audio trailer* and yeah, many of the sound clips and even some of the music I have is downloaded from the P2P File Sharing programs. I'll admit I don't have CDs for all the MP3s I have but do I share them all over the internet? Hell no! Most of the stuff I've got downloaded is stuff from the mainstream that I liked or grew up on. It's all used as a means to an end and the end result is bringing the underground to the mainstream and not corrupting it in the process.
I do all of this stuff for free. Why? Hey, everyone in this business needs a break somewhere and these guys need it most. To show my support, goddamn it, that's what I'll do and if I eventually get paid for it, great, I'll be more than happy to do it anytime, any day, day or night...day AND night. Perhaps I'll go for The Guinness Book Of World Records for being the one DJ to go on a mad rampage, eating a stream far longer than anyone else in recorded history. I think the longest was, what? Three Days?
Now, in closing I offer YOU the FANS a challenge. Challenge any point of contention I've made here in this post. Go ahead but don't do it with words, do it with actions. Give it some time and if you don't see the changes taking place let me bring these to your attention:
1. FM radio is scrambling to stay alive. Rolling Stone Magazine for November even reported that mainstream FM radio is fighting an uphill battle against XM, Sirius and NET radio. If you think I'm bullshitting you, just listen for those, "You Shouldn't Have To Pay For Radio" commercials.
2. More and more corporate record labels have acknowledged that DIY street teams, indie promoters and bands are beginning to gain momentum and clout within the industry due to little people out there pushing like hell to get it into the limelight and are currently formulating plans to look into some of this. (Rolling Stone November issue)
3. The Corporate labels are scrambling trying to figure out how to do the impossible by keeping people from file sharing or copying. While there is no realistic way of stopping it, you see that they have resorted to illegal means WITHOUT PROSECUTION! Money in the legal system again. (pick your media sources...there are tons of them)
This is just three of the many examples I can use to tell you that the underground is in need of help of all it's fans. If you want to give them exposure, don't share the entire CD you just bought, repost bulletins, emails, whatever. Spread the word about what they're doing direct them to MySpace sites where others may listen to the music. MySpace has been a marketing solution for the "try it before you buy it" generation and listen to your net stations. Hundreds of DJs post their playlists (including me) so repost them, give us both the exposure! Become part of the solution. That is my challenge to you. Just try it and give it time and you'll see that I'll never say "I Told You So."
Lord Genocyde's Bottom Line: Copy Kills The Underground...Show Your Support.
posted by Lord Genocyde at 6:36 PM
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