Vinnie Van Go-Gogh is a DC musician [Rake & From Quagmire] and operator
of www.OASTEM.com.
VVGG spoke at the 2000 New York Music & Internet Expo on redefining success
as a musician. The issue of emerging distribution channels is of keen
interest to him, as he tries to exist along side the realm of commerce
that is the music community.
The Napster/Gnutella model is harrowing, as college-aged kids assume the
legal right to enter into licensing and distribution agreements on behalf
of the artist. Even worse, no right of ownership is granted to the original
artist. When a record company sells a CD/LP they are selling a limited
single-use license, there is no suggestion of ownership. The average consumer
confuses the ownership of the storage media with that of the copyrighted
material on that storage media. When a user posts an MP3 from a copyrighted
CD, he/she is violating the terms of that license granted by the record
company.
When I post my music on my web site for open, non-commercial distribution,
my goal is further non-commercial proliferation of my work. By doing this
I do not surrender copyright or claim of ownership. The Napster/Gnutella
model of "Distributed Aggregation" makes sense in this context, as it
aids the transit of specific low-power frequencies that do not have access
to the traditional distribution channels. In an arena where distribution
and access are paramount, this open community provides many advantages
to the independent artist who wishes to work outside the realm of commerce.
The number of visitors to a specific website may be small, compared to
the number of users trolling Napster to download music.
When a commercial website wants to distribute my music, I sign a contract
with that website for limited, non-exclusive distribution of my recorded
music [currently as MP3s]. I agree to the distribution of my music from
that website for a certain period without relinquishing ownership. I also
authorize the website to provide a limited use license for the end user,
which excludes commercial distribution. The Napster/Gnutella model, on
the other hand, does not allow for any licensing agreement with the artist
and the end user.
The recording industry's sinister practice of making a specific legal
claim to musical property of artists as part of the recording contract
makes the legal wrongs of the Napster user appear natural. However, the
musician willingly enters into an agreement with the Recording Company
as a "necessary practice" in order to participate in the realm of commerce
that has engulfed the music community. If the artist who created the music
empowers the Recording Company with the right of ownership, then the Recording
Company alone authorizes legal distribution of the copyrighted material.
As much as this agreement enforces the idea that artists must relinquish
control to the Record Company, the Napster/Gnutella model is more insidious
as the artist relinquishes this very control to any and all consumers.
No agreement exists between the Napster user and the artist.
Musicians who surrender their copyright to the college-age Napster community
are ignorant of the environment that they are fostering. It is a further
degradation of artist's rights, and does not aim to further community
or independence from the Industry. These self-centered artists are using
the Napster issue as a marketing technique to further their goals in the
realm of commerce. The Napster/Gnutella "Distributed Aggregation" model
may have allowed for an open flow of music, however, the Napster/Gnutella
user's intent is transpiring as theft. The Napster/Gnutella community
is not about circulating music that exists outside of the realm of commerce,
it is about circumventing that structure of controlled distribution entirely,
and creating a new realm of commerce that enables users to pillage copyrighted
material.
Napster could have been a real threat to the Recording Industry's chokehold
on the existing distribution channels, enabling artists to distribute,
for free or for fee, their work. In this context, the Napster/Gnutella
model represented the final hurdle for successful distribution of music
to a large-scale audience through specific-use licensing agreements. Alas,
the Recording Industry has captured the issue, and have aligned many artists
at its side. Now, the recording industry is poised to capture the technology,
and retrofit the existing distribution channels to the web. To be sure,
musicians will have less power on the web, and that is why Napster is
bad.
Check out these websites offer tons of current resources, tips, articles,
links, and connections for bands and artists.
CD Baby A
fantastic, practical way for indie musicians to sell CDs online and to post their digital tracks to all the major online music services.
Host Baby
From the folks at CD Baby, an affordable web hosting service with very
practical features for musicians including an online calendar, guestbooks,
links to online sales, and special email capabilites.
Just Plain Folks
With a membership of over 42,000 songwriters, Just Plain Folks has become
one of the best ways for musicians and songwriters to network, share resources,
and work together.
KnowtheMusicBiz is an online community for emerging artists, musicians and music executives. KTMB members can find, exchange and contribute valuable information about the business of music plus get advice and insight from industry thought leaders.
Independent
Online Distribution Alliance (IODA) helps independent labels to build a legitimate online
presence and ensuring their fair share in the digital music future.
TuneCore helps indie and unsigned bands have their music available on all the best digital music stores. Band keeps all the royalties for sales.
Ariel Publicity Great website chock full of novel ideas about how to use new technologies to your advantage to promote and distribute your music.
Indiecentre is a great resource for bands, musicians and aspiring labels. Includes
a directory of resources for manufacturing, distribution, and helpful
articles about starting a label, touring, and promotion.
Indie-Music.com A mind boggling amount of information for indie musicians and labels.
Practical articles, links, advice.
TAXI acts as
a liaison between songwriters and major label A&R representatives. Artists
submit songs which are then critiqued by former major label employees,
and the strongest submissions are passed on to the A&R reps.
