The Village Voice spotlighted how organizations and partnerships are helping emerging artists leverage DIY initiatives, and a Computer World blogger talked about some of the problems digital music causes for artists and music fans. Also, the fugitive Pirate Bay co-Founder was finally captured and arrested in Cambodia.
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How the Digital Revolution Has Redefined ?DIY?
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Artists today are constantly flooded with information about how much the Internet, technology and the digitization of music have affected their careers. But DIY musicians especially may not realize just how many tools they have at their disposal that help them find success in an industry in flux, according to an article in the Village Voice.
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For example, the combination of high-quality, at-home recording software like GarageBand, ProTools and Logic along with social media can help busy band members record even when their various pursuits take them elsewhere. Thanks to all these tools, jazz-pop band Pharaohs, consisting of musicians Max Schieble and Danny Lentz that tour the world with other projects in order to make a living have been able to record albums together from around the globe without having to be in the same room or even the same country. Once the album is completed and on iTunes a quick upload to SoundCloud and Band Camp can spread the word about their efforts to fans.??
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And thanks to the low start-up costs and overhead, many entrepreneurs and companies with a passion for music that never thought they would find their way into the business are starting up inexpensive services to help independent artists like Pharaohs. Chuck Taylor?s famous shoe manufacturer Converse opened up a studio last year called Rubber Tracks in Brooklyn in an effort to brand the DIY music movement and help give the bands within it a profile. Converse spokesperson Keith Gulla said the reason for opening the studio was simple:? They wanted to help some of their biggest customers with a major problem they face when trying to grow as musicians. ?[We wanted bands to] help overcome one of the biggest hurdles in their career:? affording studio time.? Converse offers gear, audio engineers and the space, and the band shows up with no strings attached. A band can also give Converse some publication rights to the music they create, allowing the company to play it on the Converse website and social networking sites.
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And Converse is not the only company giving artists brand support. Online- and Brooklyn-based clothing business Mishka lets artists use their brand name to get their music out in blogs and other places on the Internet. Local New York rap artists such as Ninjasonik and Mr. Mutha**** have released mixtapes online under MIshka?s brand and insignian and have been featured in publications like Esquire and others without paying a penny. ??
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Artists like Pharaohs and others who are learning their way around their MacBooks in order to get started, cutting out the once necessary record label middle man, are realizing that the DIY process is actually not just about ?doing it yourself:?? It is also about ?the extraordinary synergy that now exists between the Internet and a band.? The ?authority figure? that once signed musicians, helped them make music and put big money into promoting it all is rapidly disappearing, creating a new symbiotic relationship between artists and a variety of other companies.
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So, in the music market today, a clothing company can produce an album. And instead of signing a contract, the record label is replaced by a ?record collective? where each entity involved in the process benefits from the other?s brand:? The company?s name crates a buzz for the band?s music and the band?s music celebrates the company?s brand. So, digitization has actually created not only a DIY music movement, but also a DIY marketing movement. ?
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Other artists, like singer/songwriter Andy Gruhin are sticking by major labels. But many do this strictly for the marketing power. As Gruhin said, ?We live in a time where Arcade Fire won a Best Album Grammy? for a DIY album. The labels are losing power every day. Art has no price.? Gruhin signed a publishing-only deal so he can still play his own music, as he put it, without ?selling my soul and risking my dignity to take advantage of people.?
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Other music entrepreneurs are creating record labels that leverage the strengths of the Digital Age. Danny Rose and Aya Tello created A mini Tribe Records with the following mission:? ?to reinforce a spirit of artists for artists, not CEOs for music.? Rose said he believes that even labels need to accept that the DIY movement is here to stay and is ?about bands making their mark and creating their own content, not about what will sell well or get more cash flow;? the stress is on self-branding and being unique in order to stand out amidst all the noise. And as Rose stated, major labels are losing ground because they focus on radio and TV when modern music fans are moving to the Internet. And although artists still need to invest some money in marketing, social media has cut down costs significantly:? ?Now we can directly access our fans and target the ones we want to target for free.?
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Aside from providing independent artists with some support, record collectives like A mini Tribe are also proving that the Internet has in many ways become a record label, with all artists and music entrepreneurs as partners. However, because exposure has become easier than ever before, sometimes artists can set their expectations too high. Just because a band is on Facebook or Twitter does not mean everyone will automatically listen. Even Kanye West once said, ?It?s not cool if no one listens to you.? Therefore, live shows are still critical for those running their own careers. A mini Tribe artist Phillip DeVries of the band Broken Down Engine has spent significant time working up his live show and playing out regularly:? ?It?s the live shows where you play well and have people talking about you.?
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However, the fact that no artist can live on the Internet alone is causing many to realize there is one big cost to succeeding in the DIY world:? gas prices. Neil Patel, founder of the hardcore punk collective Back to Back Records said, ?The only thing hitting bands right now is a touring band with gas prices.? However, like many others, he has found ways to sell his product online to supplement costs and also has worked hard to build a following through free promotional sites like Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. ?I think, now, more than ever, you don?t need record labels, and bands should be DIY ? I?ve never paid for marketing. I spend time on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and message boards to promote Back to Back?s stuff.?
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What all the above stories point to is that the Internet is creating a space where everyone can be a part of the music industry without one artist dominating. Technology like easy-to-use, inexpensive recording software and social media has evened out the market, and forward-thinking brands are becoming capable of taking over a lot of the functions of a record label.
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As Schieble stated, ?[The Internet] is democratic ? In that sense, it?s the ideal American way of making music.?
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Where Will Your Digital Music Go When You Die?
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Whether you are a music fan, an artist, or both, you may have wondered who will be left with your sizable digital iTunes music collection when you leave the planet permanently. As Bruce Willis discovered recently, it might not be legal to give it to anyone. A story published in the Daily Mail last week speculated that Willis might be suing Apple over the rights to give his collection to his daughters. While he does not intend to pursue litigation, the fact that all the money users pour into iTunes might not give them the right to pass along their purchases when they can no longer listen to them raised some questions for Computer World ?columnist Jonny Evans:? ?It?s not an unreasonable request that in the event of your death the music you?ve spent cold hard cash on can be handed down the generations.?
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Most music fans have albums that they?ve inherited from their parents. And music in physical formats has long been considered an asset to collectors. Yet, digital music seems to be building a different legacy. While music could be burned to a CD, they can only be burned so many times. Even CDs have a limited lifespan, which is why vinyl has continued to be valuable. ?
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As Evans asked, why do labels insist upon limitations with digital music? His answer is, the modern industry is not actually about music, rather formats and methods of distribution. The music industry was on board with sheet music, then 78rpm records, then 45 rpm vinyl, Super8, cassette, CD ? and only recently, digital. However, the problem with digital, said Evans is, ?the industry willfully ignored digital until it was too late for it to completely control music acquired in those formats.? And he stated he feels this is why labels keep talking about ?rights? while trying to hold on tightly to distribution, which has in part fallen out of their grasp.
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Evans continued that if the music industry were focused on music, it would be fighting to make every track licensed to any label available everywhere. And label A&R departments would be interested in providing the type of support that would allow new artists to build long-term careers ? and the music in mainstream artists would exhibit more diversity. ??
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Evans also asserted, ?The history of the industry is to profit from every shifting format, with the exception of digital. The introduction of streaming services is championed by majors ? The move to mobile music is part of this.?
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According to Evans, the reason streaming services are getting behind Spotify is because they have an investment in its success. As the service and other services like it get built out, users pay recurring subscription fees, part of which goes to labels. And even more so than is the case with music purchased on iTunes or Amazon, the music listened to via streaming services is never actually owned permanently, which gives labels more income. ?
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The fact that digital music is being sold as if it is owned, when it is actually just being ?borrowed? is what newspapers said last week was making Willis angry. Although his wife said reports of his intent to sue was untrue, the story still brings consumer rights into question and suggests that the Digital Age may have destroyed a kid?s dream of owning his/her parents? music collection.
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Pirate Bay Co-Founder Captured in Cambodia
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Pirate Bay co-Founder Gottfrid Svartholm Warg was finally arrested in Cambodia?s capitol this past week, nearly three years after he received his one-year prison sentence in court, becoming a member of the international ?Most Wanted? list after fleeing the country.
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In 2009, alongside other co-Founders Carl Lundstroem, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde, Warg was sentenced to 12 months in prison for copyright infringement before a Swedish court. The other three founders had sentenced reduced to 10 months in 2010 and paid $6.9 million in damages to the music and movie industry. But Warg had been missing since early 2012 until his arrest on August 30 at The Cadillac Bar in Phnom Penh. Police spokesman Kirth Chantharith said the arrest was requested by the Swedish government and that Warg will eventually be transferred back to his home country:? ?We don?t have an extradition treaty with Sweden but we?ll look into our laws and see how we can handle this case.?
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In its heyday, the Pirate Bay had over 31 million users monthly. The site directed users to other infringing websites that did not pay copyright fees to share computer games, music and films.
Tags: Bruce Willis, digital distribution, digital music marketing, DIY musicians, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, major record labels, Pirate Bay
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Source: http://musiciancoaching.com/music-news-2012/diy-musicians-digital-music-pirate-bay/
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