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Why We're Less Happy with Music Now Than Ever: The Paradox of Reversible Decisions
At their core, BitTorrent and LimeWire are a flight simulators, not a piracy machines. Their appeal is in their ability to let fans preview their music decisions, not solely because they enable fans to download music for free, without paying for it. That they don't buy the music once they have it is a consequence of ...
"Gimme Some Jazz-over Easy"
By Steve Provizer And one thing leads to the next...C.R. mentions in his ego postcomment the degree of effort audiences will apply to “something non essential like aesthetic nourishment." This leads to the knock heard for so long about jazz: you have to work too hard to 'get' it. It's sometimes framed as “accessibility,' a word ...
Why Record Labels Have Killed Their Digital Future
Wayne Rosso, a columnist at The Music Void, has written a highly insightful and almost cryptic item about the irony of the digital future of the record industry. Basically, the major labels have made it so difficult for music startups to sustain themselves that no one wants to get into the field or invest in the ...
The Musical Middle Class Mirage...
The musical middle class sounds lovely, that is, if it actually existed. But is this just a mirage, another comfy-sounding theory that has little chance of being realized? At the Future of Music Coalition's Policy Summit in DC, a burst of theoretical optimism eventually crashed into reality, andpanelists tackled the tough question of just where the ...
What Do You Really Think About the Piracy Issue?
This guest post is written by Chris R. at CD Baby's DIY Musican blog. Some folks in this over-saturated industry equate music piracy with free promotion, reciting the popular soundbite that “obscurity is a greater danger than theft" (Think of BitTorrent pitching their new Artists Pilot Program as a way to “amp up your audience"). Others ...
Arcade Fire: "Major Labels Just Lost Their Way."
In early August, Arcade Fire was profiled in The New Yorker by Sasha Frere-Jones. Some argued that the piece was against major labels, because Arcade Fire existed mostly outside their walls. Others though that it dispelled the myth of the DIY artist, as the group wasn't truly doing it by themselves; they had assistance and licensed ...
5 Traits of a Professional Musician
Being a musician is awesome. It's almost a crime that people are allowed to play music for a living. But like crime, music doesn't usually pay. To get the gigs that pay, and keep getting them, musicians need to exude a high level of professionalism that is often a lot less glamorous than the sexy life ...
In (Mild) Praise of Ego
By Steve Provizer The conversation around the fear-and-confidence post was rejuvenated and made me think in terms longer than a reply comment. Much of the conversation-externally and internally-revolves around trying to figure out the difference between “self-expression" and “communication." But is there really a difference? I don't think there is. Ego is in both and unless ...
Correspondence: Butler Did It
Rifftides reader Garret Gannuch practices pediatric radiology in Denver. When he moved to Colorado, his Louisiana soul went with him. A week ago, Dr. Gannuch traveled into the country south of Denver to hear a fellow New Orleanian. He knew that, like nearly anyone who's ever lived there, I'll never get over my love affair with ...
Anonymous Wishes the RIAA Would 'Go the F**k Away Altogether' and 'Remove the Barbaric Laws'
In an interview with Panda Labs, a member from Anonymous, the group behind the attacks that forced the RIAA and MPAA sites offine, clarified their position in the file-sharing debates. First and foremost, they're advocates for piracy. That we knew. However, they don't view file-sharing to be solely a means through which they gain obtain movies, ...
