The machinations of the recording industry amaze me. Once upon a time there was a set of well honored rules—but the old game's been beset with a myriad of game changers in the name of modernity in all its forms and fashions.
So, fine. Adjust or perish, I say.
Some hints for the music industry at large this week (and one that personally strikes a chord here:)
#5. Get the hell out of the way of the blogs. | They're the last bastion of promotion for you at this point—unless you secure an iPod commercial or a track on 'The Hills." (And if you do, you arrive neutered.)
Our pal whiteray has had his blog shut down twice over copyright violations for posting vinyl rips of old and widely unavailable LPs and 45's—stuff dating from the 60's and 70's. Forget that he was honoring the bands or the recordings long dormant. If you're the copyright holder, wouldn't a little dust kicked up in your name be a good thing...perhaps people seek out and buy one of these old tracks from the new delivery systems?
Google unceremoniously shut down a host of music bloggers last week with blogs just like this one. Some posting obscure new genres of music and others semi-mainstream like TVD.
The rub is that those who were shut down were granted permission to host and post Mp3s from the labels, the promotions people, or the bands themselves, but internal communication was spotty between the players resulting in complaints filed and the subsequent deletion of their blogs—often without cogent warnings or explanations.
Scary, hm?
Labels and PR firms now have teams of coordinators reaching out to the blogs and we hear from them everyday. The Vinyl District which once posted Mp3 rips of obscure and not so obscure stuff has evolved (devolved?) into a roughly 90% sanctioned enterprise by posting music OK'd by whichever arm of the business is supporting and promoting an act.
Seemingly however, this is no longer enough to not warrant a bomb dropping via the old guard screaming copyright infringement. Should we be threatened with extinction when playing ball altogether?
Old guard, bloggers are the last ones disseminating your output. Remember that when everything goes silent around you—including the cash registers.
(Typically we'd add some tracks here...but silence seems to feel appropriate today.)
