TuneCorner

Nine Inch Nails....

I loved Nine Inch Nails  "Pretty Hate Machine" when it came out.  I used to DJ and Head Like Hole was a constant player at The Chameleon - a Lancaster, PA based live music/dance club located near my college Franklin & Marshall.  I was so proud of myself for picking up on the sample of Jane's Addiction on the album (and awed by Trent for using it).

Love them or hate them, Nine Inch Nails matter.  And Trent Reznor has been nothing but true to his vision and himself.

Over the years on my record label spinART I have had the privilege of working and releasing many of the artists I loved in college (and in some cases high school - still praying for a Feelies reunion) - from The Pixies to Echo & The Bunnyment to Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) to The Church to Camper Van Beethoven to Stephen Duffy (Lilac Time) to The Wedding Present and more. 

Now through TuneCore I get the privilege of stating I have, in some capacity, "worked" with Nine Inch Nails.  Granted, all we did is deliver the new album Ghosts I-IV to AmazonMP3 (Amazon's digital download store) but for me, this small action allows a feeling of accomplishment and appreciation.

The new album is a 34 track collage of unique sounds - and unique sounds is what Trent has been making for over two decades (if not most of his life).  And true to form, he did it on his own with no label with a small twist, the entire album is available for just $5

It's cool to be part of it!

Izzy Stradlin / Guns 'N Roses / TuneCore / Podcast and you...

Outiside of feverently believing in the philosophy of TuneCore - and also believing we are making a good positive difference in the world - the other very cool part is meeting and talking with a lot of artists, many of which I have listened to - and respected - for years.

I recently had the priviledge of speaking with Izzy Stradlin as Izzy had four albums he wanted in iTunes. He used TuneCore to deliver them.

For those of you who think you are not familiar with Izzy's work, well, you probably are, you just don't know you it. Izzy wrote (and played guitar on): "Patience","Used Ta Love Her", "Brownstone","Think About You","You Could be Mine" and co wrote on all of the other Guns 'N Roses hits like "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City", "Right Next Door To Hell", "Night Train", "Don't Cry" and more

Izzy was in Guns 'N Roses until 1991. He played and co/wrote w/axl and the band on all of the music they put out from the 80`s through 1991.

Post GNR, Izzy released four solo albums (so for those of you out there that have been following his career this does not count the album with the Ju Ju Hounds) - Like a Dog, On Down the Road,River and Ride On. All are damn good.

And here I am talking to him on the phone learning about what it was like to be in one of the most important influential bands in the world and a thought occured to me - others would probably find this conversation very interesting as well. So I simply asked if Izzy would allow me to "interview" him for a TuneCore podcast. He said "yes".

Which brings me to the point of this Blog posting - I figured there might be some questions some people might have that they would like me to ask Izzy for the second TuneCore podcast. If you do, post them here and I will make sure to get the good ones in.

How Jello changed my world

First, apologies for not posting more often. Things at TuneCore have gotten incredibly busy due to the overwhelming response. I eat, drink, breathe and sleep TuneCore, and I love it!

That being said, there is little to no time to do anything else and everything from reading to blog postings to having a life has suffered.

But, things are getting a bit too stale on the blog ( someone emailed us and asked if we were still in business as we had not done a blog posting since June); it's time put up new postings.

And there are some very cool things to talk about....

In my high school days I became a fan of the punk band Dead Kennedys - California Uber Alles, Holiday In Cambodia and Nazi Punks Fuck Off ended up on countless mix tapes. I was fascinated by two of the band members' names - Jello Biafra (lead singer ) and Klaus Flouride (bass player). It might sound a bit nuts, but due to Jello's name I learned about the world. I had no idea what Biafra meant, or what it was, but I assumed it meant something so I looked it up.

Low and behold, Biafra was not just a word to follow the name Jello, it was ( and yes I am now copying from Wikipedia) "...a short-lived secessionist state in southeastern Nigeria. It existed from May 30, 1967 to January 15, 1970. The military's Chief of Staff formally announced capitulation on January 12. The country was named after the Bight of Biafra, the bay of the Atlantic to its south. "

The history of Biafra is a brutal and terrible one. A lot of death, war, destruction and inhumanity.

This was a bit of an epiphany for me - for the first time it really clicked with me that there was a "rest of the world" out there and it was vastly different then the United States. And as horrible as my high school angst was, and as much as I tried to look like Robert Smith and be cool, there were so many other important issues going on - like civil war, real death, torture, brutal dictators, US foreign piolicy, dead and starving people/children and other governments that were not the then Soviet Union being incredibly oppressive.

Jump ahead to my freshman year of College, and Jello once again impacted my take on the world. There I was singing Holiday In Cambodia when my friend turned to me in disbelief and said "what do you think those lyrics are?" And I said "Cold, Hot, Cold, Hot". Ted started to crack up. "No you idiot, he's saying 'Pol Pot'".

I had no idea who Pol Pot was but learned very quickly about the Killing Fields in Cambodia ( a holocaust that had the Khmer Rouge kill over 2,000,000 Cambodians). I was stunned at the slaughter and once again my vision of our world was expanded and my personal and political outlook was impacted.

Add to this Jello educating me - via his spoke word albums - about the PMRC. No clue what it is? In a nut shell, Tipper Gore ( Al Gore's wife) and a few other self described "Washington Wives" started an organization that claimed that ( Wikipedia again) "...popular music, especially rock music, was partially responsible for the (at the time) recent increase in rape, teenage pregnancy, and teen suicide. The PMRC's mission was "to educate and inform parents" about "the growing trend in music towards lyrics that are sexually explicit, excessively violent, or glorify the use of drugs and alcohol", and to seek the censorship and rating of music. "

Te PMRC had some scary bedfellow and associates including people like Phyllis Schlafly ( right wing activist that is part of the conservative religious organization the Eagle Forum) and more.

I used to play clips of Jello's spoken word albums on my college radio show discussing the impact the PMRC had not only on the Dead Kennedys but also on countless other bands. In effect, by demanding that "offensive" albums be stickered with warning labels, many nationally chain record stores stopped carrying albums someone arbitrarily deemed dangerous. And once they stopped carrying the albums, the albums could not sell. And when they could not sell, the band could not make money.

I was also astounded to learn that the Dead Kennedys, and their self run label Alternative Tentacles, were charged with peddling harmful matter to minors as their album "Frankenchrist" contained a poster by the artist Geiger that some deemed pornographic. The police actually raided Jello's house, took his stuff and he was dragged to criminal court. This went down circa 1985. I had no idea things like this actually happened in the United States.

Some years later Jello came up on my radar again when he ran for the Green Party's nomination for the President Of The USA. Nader won, but I still thought that was cool.

Segue to two weeks ago I received an email from the founder of the South Park Music Fetival & Retreat - a music conference where I am appearing on a few panels - stating Jello Biafra was also attending and appearing on a panel. I asked if I could sit on the same panel as Jello. And now I am.

I am psyched!

Here's the panel....if you come, please say "Hi"!

WHAT’S NEXT --
THE CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE OF
INDEPENDENT MUSIC?
12:15pm – 1:15pm ~ Room A

Getting Lost in iTunes

I heard all this hype about the TV show Lost. I could have cared less. Then, as a holiday present, my friend Steph sent me season one on DVD . One night I watched episode one and got hooked. Damn Steph, like I have any free time in my life. Now I have to figure out how to get home on Wed nights to see the thing ( no, I don't have a TIVO).

Then alongs comes iTunes making the shows available to buy for $1.99 the day after they broadcast. I am never home when it airs - still working. But this iTunes thing is very cool. I buy it, pay the $1.99, download it in about 10 to 20 minutes, plug my Powerbook audio into the stereo ( no, I am not cool enough to get the wireless system to broadcast to my stereo from my Mac) and watch.

Now they have a "Season Pass" where for around $12 you can get every episode that has aired and all future episodes of the show.

Man I like it when technology actually works the way its supposed to. You just know the Mac minis are really built to be media centers hooked into your TV and stereo. Download your TV shows, play them on your TV all via your Mac Mini with its remote control.

And - for what it is worth - this last episode of Lost about Hurley, one of my favorites!

Is that a Podcast in your pocket or are you just happy to hear me?

Ok, not the snappiest title for this posting...

Lots of controversy over Podcasts these days.  First you have public performance organizations like ASCAP and BMI saying they need to charge you in order to grant you a license for them.  Next you have some record labels getting mad about them.  Then there are the publishers who demand a license be granted for the use of the copyright protected music ( a mechanical license) and payment.  Finally you have the people that make them.

(Some claim Adam Curry is the grandfather of Podcasting ( yes, the old MTV VeeJay).  His Podcasts can be found at lots and lots of places.  He's been making them for years. His Curry.com is loaded with info and tips.

Others claim Podcast is a combination of of Apple's "iPod" and "broadcasting" and was a genius marketing ploy created by Steve Jobs.)

So what is a Podcast.  My opinion, when you get to the bottom line, it's a big audio file for download.  A Podcast can also allow you to subscribe to a feed and receive new podcasts automatically - usually for free.  the iTunes store has a ton of Podcasts, and there are many many many many more out there.

Basically, record something, about anything you want, and make it available for people to download.

So what's the problem?  Well, to begin, ASCAP and BMI claim that if you use music in your Podcast, and the songwriters in your Podcast are members of their organization, you need to pay for the public performance use of the music.  ASCAP and BMI, among other things, go out into the world and collect money for their members each time their member's music is publicly performed (for example,  played on the radio, played on TV, played in a bar etc).  If you are a member of their organization, then they collect for you.  Pretty cool.

The part I don't get is how in the world is downloading a large file a public performance?  It's just downloading.  Hell, you might download it and never play it.  If you do play it, how is that different than downloading just one song for free from an MP3 Blog or from iTunes?  In the end, it's still just downloading a file.  I support and like BMI and ASCAP very much, and I realize they are just trying to create ways to make more money for their members ( that's their job),  but claiming that the downloading of a Podcast is a public performance seems like a stretch to me.

FYI - there is no federal or state law requiring anyone to get a license from BMI or ASCAP to use music in a podcast.  As far as I am aware, you are not breaking any laws by making a podcast without paying them.

Then there are the publishers.  And this gets even more confusing.  Please take a moment to read about mechanical licenses in our FAQ - no need to retype the entire thing here.  The bottom line is, each time someone's song is reproduced, the owner of the copyright to that song needs to get paid.  This is a U.S. federal copyright law ( Section 115 of the Copyright act. In the 1976 Copyright Act things got revised even more creating the standard used today - pretending I am a lawyer here).

When you download a Podcast the material in the Podcast is being reproduced to appear on your computer ( or more simply, a copy is being made).  Under the copyright act, when a copy is being made money has to be paid to the owner of the copyright ( a rate set by the US government - currently 9.1 cents for a song under five minutes).

Now let's say you make a podcast with a song by The Beatles in it, you are required by law to pay the owner of the Beatles' copyrights (oddly enough - The publishing to The Beatles' songs are jointly owned by Jackson and Sony Corp. through Sony/ATV Music Publishing company )

So this is why Publishers are annoyed by Podcasts, simply put, publishers are not getting paid for the reproduction of their work.

And as far as record labels.... traditionally record labels make money in only ONE way. By selling the music.  Pure record Labels make no money from gigs, publishing, merchandise, performance royalties or anything else.  So, when the only thing they have to sell is being used or given away for free they get annoyed.  Some Podcasters with music in their Podcasts make money from their Podcasts.  In other words they take the thing that has value ( music) and give it away for free and them make money in some other way.

Also, Labels get concerned that someone might decide to Podcast and entire album.  Get the entire Revolver album by The Beatles for free as an MP3 download via a Podcast.

So what's my opinion... things need to change.  Publishing laws in particular.  Labels need to find new ways to make money and stay in business and the download of a Podcast is not a public performance.

And when you use music in a Podcast, the least you can do is name the band, the song, the album and the record label.  On your homepage, provide links to places where people can go to buy it if they choose.

Now on to solving the crisis in the Middle East...

The argument on the SXSW Panel

This year at South By Southwest I was invited to appear on a panel.

The panel was, to put it mildly, interesting. The title of it was "Aggregators Get It Together" and featured panelists from The Orchard, IODA, DRA, Verizon V-cast and myself. Prior to SXSW I was interviewed by Billboard Magainze for my thoughts on digital distribution and independent labels/artists. It's not a secret that I believe companies that require a label or artist to assign rigthts to their masters and give a percentage of the revenue generated from every sale of their music in an exclusive deal for many years is just dead wrong. I believe it's gouging and taking advantage.

In the Billboard article I am quoted as saying, among other things, "I despise the economic model of aggregators. They're morally repugnant". In the green room prior to the panel the person from the aggregator DRA launched into me pretty aggressively complaining that I was making a judgement on him and his customers calling them both "stupid". He demanded to know how I could make such a statement. The answer I gave him is the same one I am going to give now.

I can make that statement because I have owned and run a record label for the past 15 years. I understand the way things work and I also understand - and can spot - when someone is trying to take advantage and gouge. Aggregators are taking advantage and what they are doing is wrong. Aggregators require artists and labels they work with to assign rights to their masters (their digital rights) to them for an exclusive period of time. In addition to taking rights to the masters, they also demand an unlimited amount of money from their "clients."

Aggregators take a percentage of the money earned off the sale of your music with no limit. That is, each time your music sells they take a % of your money (usually between 9% - 30%) with no limit as to how much they can take.

This is ridiculous as the aggregators did almost nothing to cause these sales. It's like going into Fed Ex to send your album to iTunes and Fed Ex says the cost for delivering the package will be 9% - 30% of the money generated from the sale of your music for the next three years.

You do the hard work (and if you are signed you and your label do the work), record the songs, mix and master. You let people know your music exists - you call and email, tour, drive hours between gigs, load in and out, max out credit cards, beg, borrow , steal, push, call promoters, sleep on floors, eat Taco Bell, pay for the gas to drive with, pay for radio and/or press promotion, etc., etc. They do none of this, and this work is what causes awareness and sales. Aggregators delivering your music to be made available does not cause it to sell.

Aggregators claim to market you. Forgive me, but in my opinion, what a load of crap. At the aggregators panel the co-founder of the The Orchard (an aggregator) stated The Orchard had over 2,000 labels, over 800,000 songs and approximately 8,000 albums in their system (mind you each one of these labels, songs and albums were tied down into and exclusive agreement with The Orchard). Each month, each label is putting out at least 1 to 5 more albums. This is another 100 - 500 songs a month by another 1 to 5 bands.

How in the world do you effectivly market 8,000 albums and almost 1,000,000 songs? How much staff would you possibly need? And even if you had a staff of thousands "markerting" the music, how in the world do they do it? You can not effectively market this volume music at once. Calling up iTunes and giving them a list of 100 bands they should pay attention to is not going to do anything.

"Hi iTunes, The Orchard here, here's a list of 100 bands this week. We know you are getting calls from all the major record labels and indie labels but I am Bob from the Orchard with a list of 100 bands that you might never have heard. By the way, next week, we'll be back with another 100 bands and have moved on from the bands from last week.."

This means priorities are picked, which means 99% of the music they are supposedly promoting is shoved to the side and ignored. They took your rights, promised you marketing and then ignored you.

The real kicker, at the SXSW panel I was on, The Orchard representative stated " We don't work with bands, we work with labels". I think that statement speaks for itself - if you're an artist, the Orchard is not the place for you.

And what if you hire an independent publicist? Publicist do a hell of a lot more than an aggregator in terms of promoting your music yet they do not take any rights to your masters nor a % of the money from the sale of your music. They take a flat fee. Same with radio promoters, retail promoters and more. The aggregators are the ONLY ones out there claiming to market you ( which in my opinion they really don't do) and then demand exclusive rights and an unlimited amount of money getting paid each time your music sells.

I find this disgusting.

If you believe in your band and music, and you believe your music will sell, you will be paying them a limitless amount of money. That is, each time your music sells, they just keep taking 9% - 30% of the money with NO limit. You do all the work, and they sit back and take the dough.

What if over the next 12 months you sell an average of 4 copies of your album and 25 individual songs each month in just the iTunes US store - not an outrageous number of sales at all.

With these sales, an aggregator taking 9% of the revenue from just music sold in the iTunes US store is $49.14. The total an aggregator taking 30% of your money is over $150.

With a flat rate model the cost will be somewhere between $18 to $22 and thats it. And keep in mind, this is ONLY if your albums /songs sell just 4 copies of your album and 25 individual songs each month in just the iTunes US store. If you sell more, with a flat rate mode the cost for a 10 song album in the iTunes US store stays at around $18. With the aggregators you are paying them more and more and more and your rights are tied down.

Another example, in the next year in just the iTunes US store you sell 100 albums. That's $63 for 9% and over $190 for 30%.

Also note, this is JUST the iTunes US store sales, if your music is selling in other stores, the aggregators make even more money off you. With a flat rate model - like TuneCore - the amount paid for delivery stays at around $18, it is non-exclusive, cancel whenever you want you are not assigning exclsuive rights to your masters.

Then there is how, and when, you get paid.

All aggregators pay out your money in "royalty periods". For example, some pay every three months and send you your money only after they have taken their 9% - 30% cut. What's important to note is that places like iTunes pay out the money from the sale of your music on a month to month basis. This means the aggregators intentionally sit on your money - this means they can earn interest on it. Why not, one more way to gouge and take advantage of you.

This is NOT how it should be. Your money hits their bank account vai direct deposit from iTunes. It is available instantly, no check needs to clear. There is NO reason to make you wait. This is your money. You should be able to log in and take it whenever you want, not when some aggregator feels like allowing you. There is no reason why you should not have control and be at the mercy of someone else to get your cash.

Next, most aggregators will not even pay you your money because they have decided you have not earned enough to justify getting paid. All of the aggregators require you to earn a minimum amount they determine before they will even pay you. Hey, $20 to me is $20. Why in the world should you not be allowed to have your money? Can you imagine if a bank did that. "I am sorry sir, you only have $20 in your account, we won't let you have it. Please earn more and come back when you reach $50. In the meantime, we will sit on your money and earn interest off of it. "

Even as I type this I can not get over how ridiculous this sounds.

Move on to your rights

With most aggregators you MUST give them the EXCLUSIVE rights to your music. They control them and own them for a set period of time - usually the next three to five years. If an opportunity comes up with a label or something else, you will not have your digital rights to offer, the aggregator owns them for that period of time. These companies have now tied you up and can stop a deal going through. It is possible they will allow themselves to be "bought out". That is, let's say a label wants to sign you but requires your digital rights, well, an aggregator could sell your rights for a price. Oh, that's fair.

And then there is choice, with TuneCore you get to pick and choose which stores you want to be in, you are not lumped into everything and just shoved off. Maybe there is a place you do not want your music for sale.

How about your older albums. Let's take the White Stripes. There are three or four albums that came out years before "Elephant" was released and propelled the White Stripes into international rock stardom. If you had the rights to these older albums, did a deal with an aggregator and then the band took off, you would literally be giving up hundreds of thousands of dollars to some company that did nothing at all to cause these sales. Not a single thing. They just sit back and take your money.

The aggregators are aware of all of these things. It's not as if their deal terms contain accidently errors allowing them to own your rights, take you money, keep your money from you etc. They do it because they can, and until TuneCore, they were able to get away with it because there was no other choice.

This is why I believe aggregators are morally repugnant.

So, as you can imagine, the gentleman from the aggregator from DRA had not much to say back. He did try to attack me personally and directly on the panel. One of the highlights is when he attempted to describe how TuneCore worked and what it charged. He just made things up - it was both amusing and sad.

But in the end, how can you defend a model that is just dead wrong and look good?

SXSW - Bands, Beer, BBQ and more in Bush Country

It's almost been one month since SXSW ended - and it's safe to say I have just about recovered.

SXSW is a hell of a lot of fun and work - and every year I come back completely and utterly drained fighting a cold or some other horrible flu-like disease someone passed on to me.

For those of you who are into music, it's a must. For five days you have a non-stop list of bands to see as well as events/parties and panels to attend. The majority of the activity happens around the Austin Convention center and heads up to 6th street. Every bar and club is jammed with people, food, BBQ, beer and live music from about 11 AM until 2 AM (Austin city law requires clubs to shut down at 2 AM) after which time the after parties begin - they usually end about 6 AM. Not to worry if you are not satisfied, a few hours later it all starts up again.

This year the unofficial guide to SXSW had over 20 pages of just day parties to attend - all free, most by RSVP invite, all with bands, most with some form of free food or beer.

I flew JetBlue direct out of New York JFK to Austin - psyched they started a direct flight. In the past, it used to be connections via Dallas, always delayed and always a huge pain in the ass. A friend and I were on the same flight, different rows and seats. The seat next to him remained empty until just before they closed the cabin door. In comes Billy Bragg ( the revolution is now only a website away) and sits down next to him. I love Billy Bragg, big fan. Probably best that he did not sit next to me as I would have found it hard not to talk his ear off for the three hour flight.

We landed almost on time at about midnight in Austin ( and I can absolutely attest to the fact that despite having 30 channels of satellite TV at your disposal on JetBlue, TV does indeed suck (the highlight of the flight was the VH1 classics channel showing a Blondie / Doors mash-up video - Jim Morrison superimposed in the background as Blondie strutted away - and the awe inspiring cross-dressing feature film Sorority Boys, need I say more). Split a cab with four other people and got dropped off at my hotel, the Marriott Capitol.

Every hotel room in the area usually sells out about three months ahead of time. I usually wait until the last minute and find myself screwed. Not this year. This year I booked my hotel room four months ahead of time. I arrived at the check in desk at about 1 AM only to discover they had my name and reservation but it did not matter as the hotel was overbooked. They had no room for me. Great, 1 AM during SXSW in Austin, every hotel booked for miles. They did offer me a hotel room about 40 miles out of the city but it was a moot point as that one was booked up as well.

Took my suitcase and walked into the heart of things knowing I was bound to bump into someone I knew. A few minutes later I did. they offered to let me stay at their house. Got to their house only to find they had a cat - I am deathly allergic to cats - so that was out. Sat on the stoop and syphoned off someone's free wi-fi and found a Hotel 8 nearby with one room left. Got over there as quickly as I could and by 3 AM I was able to get a room for the (what was left of it) night.

The next day, up early, back to the first hotel, checked in, grabbed a box of stuff I had shipped to myself with lots of TuneCore postcards, stickers, buttons, T-Shirts and fliers (weighed about 87 pounds, no joke) and hauled that over to the Convention center. Dropped off some of the stuff at the JakPrints / Indiemerchandising.com booth (TuneCore strategic parntners). Got freaked out as I met Isaac - twin brother of Jacob, co-owner of JakPrints and Indiemerchandising.com- and could not figure out why this person who looked exactly like the guy I knew did not recognize me.

Did a quick round of hellos to a large number of people I only get to see once a year and then grabbed the now 75 pound box and rushed over to The Speakeasy - the bar we were having the TuneCore party at. Set that up but realized I left the T-shirts back at the hotel. Ran back to the hotel, snagged the T-Shirts and got back to the party just as Shifter were going on. Shifter are a four piece from Australia and they freakin' rocked. Imagine crossing Jet, Cheap Trick and the Sweet and you have Shifter. Great guitar licks, incredible backline and amazing harmonies floating on top of it all.

Keep your eyes out for the MySpace / Cingular Mobile promotion about to start on Shifter.

Unfortunately, two of the members from June came down with strep throat and they had to cancel. Apollo Sunshine up next and rocked the place for the next hour - honestly, Apollo Sunshine is one of THE best live bands I have ever seen. The technical skill of that band combined with their passion, songs and instrumentation is something you will likely never see anywhere else in your lifetime (full disclosure here, Apollo Sunshine are signed to my label, spinART Records).

The party wrapped up around 7 PM - just in time for me to run out of there and get over to Stubbs for the "secret" Beastie Boys gig. Stubbs was outdoors in a sort of half shell stage. The Beastie Boys were great, just the three of them and a DJ and they just seemed to be having a lot of fun. That ended and I realized it was after 8 PM and I had not eaten yet the entire day - there just was not time.

Went to PF Changs with the guys from JakPrints and Indiemerchandising.com then headed out to see more bands. Got back to the hotel at about 3 AM and went to sleep. Friday it started all over again.

Friday was a bit of a blur - major highlight during the day was the intense semi-angular performance by Tapes n Tapes (who have used TuneCore to get their album up into iTunes where it recently was the 74th most bought album in all of iTunes!). They were all really good but the drummer was a mind blower.

That day was the spinART Records party with Rough Trade. The Hot IQs, Clem Snide, The Tyde and more played. That night was spinART Records night - line up was Bravo Silva, Head Of Femur, Apollo Sunshine and Clem Snide (solo). Place was packed, fire marshals were at the venue so there was a line out the door of people waiting to get in. Each band had their crowd with lots of people screaming (Bravo Silva in particular).

The night ended around 1 AM and I booked over to see Centro-Matic play. Another amazing show. Hung out again until about 3 AM, went back to the hotel, crashed and woke up early for the panel I was part of on Saturday.

The panel was, to put it mildly, interesting. The title of it was "Aggregators Get It Together" and featured panelists from The Orchard, IODA, DRA, Verizon V-cast and myself. Prior to SXSW I was interviewed by Billboard Magainze for my thoughts on digital distribution and independent labels/artists. It's not a secret that I believe companies that require a label or artist to give a percentage of the revenue generated from every sale of their music in an exclusive deal for many years is just dead wrong. I believe it's gouging and taking advantage.

In the Billboard article I am quoted as saying, among other things, "I despise the economic model of aggregators. They're morally repugnant". In the green room prior to the panel the person from the aggregator DRA launched into me pretty aggressively complaining that I was making a judgement on him and his customers calling them both stupid. He demanded to know how I could make such a statement. The answer I gave him was a long one - so long I have decided to make it its own blog entry. It's worth a read.

After the panel, it was another whirlwind of bands/meetings/parties and remembering that I forgot to eat (again!). The highlights from Saturday included The Jessica Fletchers ( where I bumped into John and Tammy from Dressy Bessy - old friends that I only get to see a few times a year) Essex Green and a keyboard based cymbal/percussion infused high energy controlled cacophony called Loxsly. I got back to the hotel around 2:30 AM and decided to skip all the after parties in an attempt to get some sleep. I had a semi-early flight out the next morning.

I am pleased to say, aside from sounding like Barry White due to my voice being shot to hell and being run down for a week, all my limbs are still attached - and I have another 358 or so days to gear up for next year.

France vs Apple, Apple's response and my opinion

Some quick facts and information to provide background and context to the ground breaking copyright law passed in France on Tuesday, March 21st forccing Apple to let other portable music players that are not iPods play music bought from the iTunes music store.

First, "Format" is a term commonly used in the on-line music digital distribution world to describe a software program used to encode music for distribution/delivery. A format usually compresses music and then allow the user to listen it on a device that can play the specific software it was encoded in.

There are a numerous different formats used to encode music – MP3, WMA, AAC, ATRAC, etc.

Formats vary with different functionality, quality of sound, compression, digital rights management and other features.

For example, WMA has a feature that causes songs to stop playing after a certain number of days have transpired from the first listen ( called “timing out”). Apple iTunes AAC files limit which computers or devices can play a song bought from the iTunes' store, etc.

Now here is one of the more important points - NOT ALL DEVICES CAN PLAY ALL FORMATS.

For example, when you buy a song from iTunes, it downloads to your computer as a special type of AAC file that only an iPod - or other Apple device like a Nano or Shuffle - can play. No other non-computer portable media device ( like a Rio etc ) can play an AAC file bought from iTunes. The same holds true for any CD you rip via iTunes into the AAC format.

An analogy - imagine if you bought a CD and it only played on the CD player in your house but would not play in your car or on your friends CD player.

For devices that are not iPods, Shuffles or Nanos to play files purchased from the iTunes' stores or ripped from CDs as AAC files they would need to have a license from Apple that allows their device to play the music files. However, Apple does not license out this technology. Therefore the only devices that can play Apples' AAC files are Apple devices.

So what exactly just went down in France? A new law was passed that requires music to be able to be played on ANY device. All music must work on everything.

Apple response to this new law can be found here.

My opinion on this -

It is healthy for the music industry to have as many people as possible have access to buy music and use it the way they want.

It is also healthy for the music industry to have a standardized format so people can play their music wherever they want on whatever device they want.

If all music could easily be played on any device, it would help the music industry as there would be less confusion, easier use and more convenience for the music buyer.

With a standard format, more portable devices would sell, more people would listen to music more often and more music would be bought and experienced.

What is it the music buyer has bought when they buy music via an on-line download? If someone buys a song from iTunes do they own the song or do they ONLY own the song in the iTunes format?

When a music buyer purchases music from iTunes, Real, MSN, Walmart or any other on-line entity, it all looks, feels, tastes the same to the user. That is, they have bought a digital file – made up of binary code.

They are also able to convert the file from one format to the next with the simple proper knowledge and software program

The format within which the music is encoded is irrelevant.

The same type of devices – i.e. iPods, Rios, computers etc – can play a song and offer similar functionality. Whereas previously there was difference between what you could do with a CD vs. vinyl, this difference does not exist despite a song being in a different codec. Regardless of the codec, songs can still be: started and stopped with a single click, be fast forwarded to a later section, be included in playlists, burnt onto CDs, put in customized song orders etc.

I believe when a music buyer buys a song on-line they own the song not the song tethered to a specific format.

To add weight to this point, keep in mind that music buyers can convert any format into any other format they like provided they have the correct software – most of which is free and encouraged by the different on-line entities.

As the owner of spinART Records, I believe a simple standard codec will expand the marketplace, create more customers for each on-line store, drive portable device sales, create more on-line music buyers, generate more sales and revenue, allow more music to be discovered and experienced and generally create a healthier music buying environment.

I am very curious to see how this all plays out. Can you imagine the impact in the United States if this law was passed?

Mash Ups

Ok, I know most mash ups just blow. Nevertheless, I love 'em. When you find one that works it makes it all worth it. And on that note, props to Arty Fufkin presents - very cool Mash Up Blog.

Has a great "Beastie Boys -Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun vs Sonic Youth, Kool Thing " mash up featured at the moment. The Zep meets Jackson 5 mash up on the other hand, well, noble effort

Worth checking out his site. And hey, got any more good mash up site, feel free to post them.

1.1 Billion dollars from digital sales vs. Paris Hilton

New report out last week stating that global sales of digital music are continuing to rise, generating revenues of $1.1 billion. ( and on a more negative tone the global value of the recorded music business worldwide is down 3% ). The article goes on to state this revenue was generated by "record labels". As any TuneCore artist / user can attest , I think they screwed up. I am guessing this figure lumps together all sales, not just record label sales. Hate it when they do that. Note also that this article states "sales" - by definition this does not take into account revenue generated from interactive streaming of music from services like Napster, MusicNet, Yahoo, Rhapsody and more.

What's most amazing about the internet is that it's global - i.e. anyone on the planet with net access can download just about any song from anywhere ( minus those countries with oppressive governments that shut off access to sites they deem subversive) - and the sheer volume that can occur.

Think of it this way, in the old days, selling 1,000,000 albums was considered a huge success. Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette went on to sell over 14 million copies in just the United States. That's a lot of CDs by any measure. But it 'aint nothing compared to the volume that can happen on-line. Take something people want - i.e. porn - and look at the volume of downloads of just the Paris Hilton video. I have no idea what it actually has downloaded but I can guess it's well over 75 million copies ( without me it would have only been 74,999,999 but I only looked at it for the articles).

The point is selling 100 million copies of something on-line is very real and very doable. Selling 100 million copies of something in the physical world is just not going to happen ( Garth Brooks and The Beatles aside). So volume can allow for lower pricing which in turn can create the volume. Assume you were selling your music for $.05 a song and it was made available to purchase on the worlds 250 million cell phones with the charge coming at the end of the month on their statement.

I know, you still need to surface and be found, but it's still cool to imaging a day where selling 50,000,000 copies of something is easily possible.

Other really cool thing about music sold on-line - it is not returnable. A sale is a sale. In the current record industry, every CD you see sitting in any retail store can be returned for a full refund at just about any time ( we call these "returns"). You used to expect about 20 - 25% of the CDs shipped to be returned. These days the rate is getting higher. In the physical model, you never know what you sold, only what you shipped.

In the on-line world, no wasted manufacturing and you always know what you sold - not to mention you save a lot of money and resources.

On the other hand, I still love my vinyl...