Shanghai Yummy

The more I hear about the massive amount of effort being put forth by the RIAA to persecute people they suspect of violating copyrights, the more I realize that this whole industry just doesn't give a damn about music. It's ALL about money. And not money for the artists, really. Rather, money for the suits in the offices at the record labels. The RIAA isn't a musician's advocacy group... it's a lobby for the people whose very existence is threatened by artist and consumer freedom.

I'd feel so much better about plunking down $15 (or more!) for a CD if I knew I was truly supporting the musicians and artists. But in all honesty, I do not feel I can support an industry as divisive and exclusionary as the music industry. When I go to a live show and the indy band has printed up some CDs and are selling them after the show, I feel good about buying one of them because I know the band is getting all of those dollars. That's the power of the Internet, really... it frees us (the artists and the people who appreciate the artists) from the marketing and packaging that the industry wants to perpetuate. In the ideal conclusion, consumers would be able to browse for, sample, and purchase music directly online from artists who would be receiving all of the money (except for a small percentage for the overhead of the transaction). The reason the record labels came into existence was to give artists a means to reach the masses through their marketing machinery. It is a model that worked for decades because people didn't have an independent means to pull information. It was up to the record labels to market a band to the public. I propose that people today are smarter than that, and they are waking up to the fact that the marketing machinery has outlived its usefulness. Now, with the 'net, artists have a direct means of reaching their consumers, and, potentially, the revenue stream.

Ideally, people would be buying music for the music. Not all the hype and crap that the record labels attach to the music and make you pay for. That's why I think this iTunes thing is a good first step. The labels are still part of the picture, but at least there's a place where artists can legitimately expose their music online and consumers can immediately purchase their music. Now, the artists and consumers have to take the next step, and realize that the connection they're able to make online precludes the need for the record labels to be involved. Sites like mp3.com provide the same sort of exposure, and to a greater variety of artists. The next step would be for brave artists to release music independently and brave consumers to buy that music directly from the artists on a mass scale.

The problem is that the industry is well organized and well funded thanks to all the money they've taken from us. They are centralized and have the means to fight change at every opportunity. But I believe change is inevitable and despite the industry's best efforts, the RIAA will be long forgotten a decade from now. This is a movement that goes beyond music, as well; it is simply very convenient to use the music industry as an example because it figures so prominently in the news. At the very core, it is a movement concerned with freedom. Freedom of thought, freedom of choice, and freedom of creativity. I would like very, very much to see music break free from the stranglehold that this industry has placed upon it. I believe that this will eventually happen, if we are truly brave as artists and consumers.

PGP Signed Entry