For a long time now I've been working away on a post about music piracy, a balanced approach looking at all sides of the argument, from artists and labels to music lovers and fans and all the way to retail stores, promotion companies and back. It's a slow road and at some point I'll throw up what I've written and just put it out there for debate.
The problem is the further I get into it, the more convinced I am that everyone has just accepted it exists and resigned themselves to it, just doing all they can to prevent it, but from the moment it's out in the public domain (for sale if you're lucky) you've little more than a few hours before it appears on blogs across the world.
Don't get me wrong there's a fiercely active campaign to combat it from certain quarters, and slow, meaningless progress from ISP's/Governments, not to mention the age old argument that it doesn't hurt anyone really. Which I disagree with, with a passion in case you were in any doubt of my standpoint.
Which kind of brings me to the reason for this rant. Last weekend, whilst sorting out music for this weeks UM show and generally arsing around on the net as I do regularly, I got a message from a label I have high regard for. I get a lot of requests to post links on the Deep House fans page, some I do, some I don't, but this was the second request from this label and as the page is all about quality music then it fitted the bill. The last time they been in touch about posting a link I'd asked if they had a promo list and if they would be prepared add me to it, as a way of helping promote them even more - it's a two way street after all!
The story goes that they don't have a promo list (like many other labels don't and I can appreciate that given the exposure to piracy it can create if you're database isn't made up of people you can trust 100%). Anyway, we agreed that as a thank you I'd be slipped the next promo and we'd all be happy - superb, deal done!
Stay with me here, I know I ramble!
So, early Saturday morning I get another request to post a link. And, because I never give up I remind the fella about our deal. And good to his word we hop onto Skype and over comes the promo - very nice too, thanks! And it's here where my world got turned upside down... why? Because I was asked to swap files I might have in the other direction.
I'm sure plenty of DJ mates do it, and we know there's plenty of 'music lovers' doing it right now, but even by my low moral standards a label owner, who doesn't operate a promo list for presumably piracy concerns, is now asking to benefit from the piracy!
I was, to put it bluntly, 'fucking shocked'! In turn it threw me into a spin about the feature itself, I mean who am I trying to kid if the problem runs so deep? My polite reply to the request was this "I'm just going to be straight, I don't share files with anyone, not even my wife, too many labels and artists trust me with their music and I'm all about helping it sell. sorry"
To which, to give label owner X his dues he said OK and went about his business. Now, I've um'd and arghh'd about whether to even mention this for a few days now, and well, sod it, it's out there now, off my chest and into your heads.
Is the fight against piracy over as a result, no! Is the feature I'm working on dead? No! But, I've got some serious thinking to do of my own ahead of UM Records' first launch and how we approach promotions!
Keep the world spinning everyone, and buy that tune you diggin!
Good man!!, with you on that one...'tis indeed a complicated issue, but I'm an electrician and I wouldn't expect to rewire somebodies house and then they just kick me out and believe it perfectly acceptable to not pay me. I believe music is next to Godliness and has massive value in my life, so also believe that an appreciation of that in the capitalist system is payment for services rendered...(or I rewire your house ;) )
ReplyDeleteGood luck with it
xx - and thanks for everything x D
Richie the problem is INDEED deeper than you can imagine. Let me give you an example. Around a year ago (maybe longer) I had a falling out with a certain producer who is now one of the hottest acts in the world, at the time he was still up and coming. I won't name him here for obvious reasons. The falling out occurred when he found one of his unreleased tracks leaked on an online forum, this was a track he had personally sent me directly. I kept it to myself, as I was only 1 of 2 people in the world who had the track at that time; the label owner being the other person. Well.. surprising, the label owner (a very well known label owner himself) shared the track with someone online, who then shared it with around 10 other people, and it eventually trickled down to a good friend of mine (and business partner), who made a very unwise choice, he SHARED The track on a public forum! What are the odds? Well who was this producer to believe? Because it was my friend who shared the track, I was immediately the suspect even though I did nothing wrong. It felt terrible to be looked at as a supporter of piracy, but nothing I could say or do would convince him that I was true to my word. Moral of the story: No one is exempt or completely innocent in this piracy game. KEEP YOUR MUSIC ON LOCK DOWN, because sending to even one person can cause a trickle-down effect.
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