Techdirt.com has grown from a one-man operation founded by Mike Masnick in 1997 to become one of the web’s leading collaborative voices in analysis of issues relating to technology, economics, law and entertainment. The site has amassed 850,000+ RSS subscribers, 35,000+ posts, 250,000+ comments and a consistent rating within Technorati’s top 100. Andrew McMillen was thrilled by the opportunity to speak with Mike on issues relating to the music industry.
Andrew: Mike, what inspires you to write about the latest in digital content?
Mike: I actually think it’s a really important issue, that is, in many ways, an “early warning sign” of some economic changes that are going to impact many other industries, from healthcare to energy to consumer packaged goods to financial services. It’s just that digital content lays out the specifics much more clearly (and yet it’s still confusing to some people!). I’m hopeful that as people start to understand these issues, when the “bigger” similar issues come to the forefront, it will be easier to point back to what happened with digital content to make it clear how things should play out elsewhere.
As a heavy reader, what makes for engaging writing in the tech arena? Do you think that you’re a strong writer?
I don’t think I’m a particularly strong writer. It’s something I actually work on, but I’m just so-so. I’m always amazed when I see really beautiful writing and wish I could be half as good. But, I think what makes more engaging writing is the ability to tell a story simply, the ability to have an opinion that you can stand behind with facts (rather than just for the hell of it) and the ability to interject some well placed humor. I wish I could do all of those things better.
In your mind, what are the most important discussions currently taking place about the changing music industry?
I think there are two key issues:
New business models
New legal frameworks.
These overlap at times, but the business models are important, because we’re seeing more and more evidence that stuff works now. That it doesn’t require some big or massive change. Artists who figure things out can make money now and do so in a much better way than they could have in the past. That said, I am worried about some of the efforts that I think are attempting to crowd out other solutions before they’ve had time to grow.
On the legal side, I’m definitely concerned. The industry has long focused on a legal path to protecting and extending their business model in the face of any sort of innovation that challenges that old business model. And I think that harms new business models and musicians who embrace them. The innovation that’s occurring has been enormously empowering to musicians, and much of what is happening on the legal front could serve to hold that back. And the end result, I’m afraid, would actually be less creativity, less music and fewer useful business models for musicians. And that’s quite troubling.
You wrote in a Techdirt article that you’re in the camp of “folks who never buy single tracks, but always look to buy the full albums of bands I like”. How have your music tastes changed in the internet age?
I prefer to listen to music I’ve purchased. In fact, I still mostly buy CDs, though do occasionally purchase music for download from CDBaby or Amazon. In terms of what music I like, I listen to a lot of early ska/rocksteady/reggae honestly. So these days, it’s bands like The Aggrolites and The Slackers.
One Movement For Music’s tagline is “Artist, industry, fan united”. What’s standing between this vision of unity between artists, fans and the music industry? What do you think it’ll take to achieve this unity in the coming years?
Yeah, actually, this is a really good question, and it’s a point I’ve been trying to make for a long time. There are solutions in this industry that truly are (as cliche as it sounds) win-win-win, where all parties are better off. Yet, so many of the old guard view the industry as a zero sum game — which is that if someone else is making a dollar, it’s a dollar I’ve lost. So the idea that someone could get something for free is viewed as a “loss” even if, in the long run, it brings back $10 dollars (or more). So, because of that view, some have always treated the market as a competition to get the very last dollar, and that doesn’t make for a very “united” front between artists, the industry and fans. Instead, you get all grabbing for scraps, even if it means everyone’s worse off.
I’m very hopeful that a growing generation of folks are beginning to recognize that by working together, these new models actually do benefit everyone — including the fans and the industry — in such a way that everyone is happy with the results, rather than anyone having to pull one extra dollar. It may be idealistic or utopian, but I think it’s possible. It will require a lot more success stories, a lot more examples, a lot more money to be made — and perhaps a few of the “old guard” to retire.
But it will happen, at least to a certain extent. There will never be perfect bliss, of course. But the resulting industry can be a lot more aligned where everyone benefits when certain things happen.
Aside from Techdirt, where are the most important discussions about the changing music industry taking place?
Hmm. That’s a good question. I think they’re happening all over the place. Hypebot is a great blog. Music Ally. I actually think that Wired and News.com have some of the better discussions on these issues as well.
Thanks for your time, Mike. His opinions on technology, law, economics and entertainment are published daily on Techdirt.com. Contact Mike via Techdirt.com or Twitter.
The One Movement Showcase Music Festival is throwing the doors open wide. If you are a mighty fine band or solo artist and reckon you’re ready to rock (or pop, beat or thump – we don’t discriminate) the Movement on the weekend of October 17 and 18 then we have some news for you. Here’s the rundown of the current application opportunities:
State Government bodies Q Music, MusicNSW in partnership with Arts NSW, Arts Victoria and Arts South Australia have all joined the Movement and will be selecting artists from their home states to play the festival, offering an unparalleled opportunity to be seen and heard by the music industry’s global leaders.
Also, through networking pool Sonicbids, both Australian and international artists are invited to apply and be considered by a panel of industry experts. A minimum of four acts will be selected to perform at the Festival, including three Australian acts and one North American act with more potential opportunities soon to be announced.
Street Press Australia (SPA) is making it their mission to find the best Australian talent, and to send them to OMFM to be discovered by the rest of the world! By calling on each state’s SPA editor representing titles such as Inpress Magazine, Drum Media Sydney, Drum Media Perth, Time Off and Rip It Up, SPA will debate and showcase some of Australia’s best emerging talent and ultimately choose one act to play the One Movement Showcase Music Festival.
Billing it as an “exclusive live performance” may have been a cheeky bit of marketing misdirection, but Sydney electronic duo Empire Of The Sun today released a stunning video production that coincided with the solar eclipse. It’s the kind of curious juxtaposition we’ve come to expect from Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore, whose collaboration forms far and away one of the most interesting musical projects in the country.
The video itself must be seen to be believed:
The duo deserve respect for pushing the boundaries of music beyond the recorded product; the stage design, masked choreography and slick production values contained with these six minutes all point to an auspicious live debut at September. Who’d want to stare at the average by-the-numbers rock act when acts like Empire Of The Sun plan to offer a sensory-engaging performance? Here at One Movement HQ, we’re totally digging their ‘music-as-spectacle’ angle - another great example of Perth leading the pack!
A promotional website at eclipseofthesun.org was inundated with traffic at around 1pm AEST on Wednesday 22 July 2009. The screening has since been deferred to Pedestrian.TV, who deserve big props for standing strong among what must have been a massive influx of simultaneous site visitors.
South African indie rock quartet The Parlotones are due to touch down on Australian soil for the first time in October for the One Movement Festival. Since forming in 2003, they’ve become South Africa’s biggest-selling rock band and have played at significant events such as Live Earth, Coke Fest, SXSW, Africa Day and the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. The Parlotones’ singer/guitarist Kahn Morbee found the time to answer some of Andrew McMillen’s questions following a hectic European tour schedule.
First, how’s the current tour going? I was snooping through the band’s Twitter account (@parlotones) and you seem to be having a blast.
The tour is over and was a blast. It’s winter back home, so soaking up the European summer was great. The shows were packed and the response felt like a home show.
Whose idea was it to start using Twitter?
Probably our manager’s. I think all the networking mediums are great. Things like Twitter allow the fans to live vicariously through their favourite artists and follow their progress without having to be physically present.
Do you find it difficult to live life ‘on the road’? Who cuts the grass at your South African home when you’re not there?
That’s the difficult part. We tend to neglect our personal lives and try pick up the pieces when we have some ‘home’ time. The hardest part is missing out on the special occasions of friends and family. However, we love what we do and the negatives very quickly fade into the background
Was there a particularly memorable moment in The Parlotones’ history when you realised that you could live off your craft? I read that you opened for mainstream South African bands like Prime Circle for free, while you gradually won a fanbase.
We opened for years for free just to establish a name. About three years ago we knew we’d reached a level where we could purely focus on our music. We can never attribute an element of success to one moment or event, it’s really been a sum of the parts.
What was your day job before you ran away do join the rock circus?
Bored millionaire - haha!
If I researched correctly, the band hasn’t played in Australia. Any particular reason?
We haven’t yet. I guess we had interest from other territories and so explored those ones first. We’re really excited to play in Australia. Thanks for your time!
Check out the great animated video for their 2008 single ‘Overexposed‘ below, ahead of The Parlotones’ debut Australian performance at October’s One Movement Festival.
Adelaide’s psych-rock juggernaut Wolf & Cub are among the first artist announcement for October’s One Movement Festival. The quartet released their second album, Science & Sorcery, earlier in the year; while it strayed from the stoner-fuzz of their revered 2006 debut Vessels, the new release found the band conducting some successful musical experiments. This writer’s thoughts on the album can be found on FourThousand.
To whet your canine appetite ahead of their One Movement Festival showcase set, here’s a thunderous rendition of key Science & Sorcery track ‘Seven Sevens‘ from their Brisbane headlining show in July 2009.
More Wolf & Cub video goodness can be found at their YouTube channel.
Perth hard rock act Eleventh He Reaches London released their second long-player Hollow Be My Name earlier in 2009 to widespreadcriticalapplause. Shades of hardcore, punk, metal and folk ideals are contained within their unique sound, which is emblematic of the array of talent tucked away in the suburbs of the West Australian capital. Andrew McMillen called Eleventh’s drummer Mark Donaldson to discuss record deals, digital distribution, and the future of the album format.
Andrew: Eleventh He Reaches London have released two albums in the last four years. Why do you release albums in that manner, as opposed to single-song releases or EPs?
Mark: That’s a pretty good question. There are a few things that held us up. Firstly, we never really gave any thought to releasing an EP or singles. We believe you can get more enjoyment out of a band when you’ve got an entire album. We wanted to put something out that was quite cohesive and had some continuity, and ran for a good hour. That was sort of the reason; we wanted to go into the effort of writing enough songs for an album.
Of course, there is all the distribution crap like how JB Hi-Fi don’t tend to stock EPs anymore. Singles are good for servicing to radio and that sort of stuff, but it’s just not something that’s really done as an actual, physical release. We obviously had a pretty good stab at writing an album with [2005’s] The Good Fight For Harmony [pictured below]. We learned so much from that process that we wanted to actually have another stab at it and see if we could improve on it.
TuneCore offers online music distribution without needless complexity. As mentioned by AIR’s Stu Watters in last week’s interview, its 2005 debut changed the dynamic of digital distribution considerably, by allowing independent musicians to sell their music using retails such as iTunes and AmazonMP3 in exchange for a flat fee, without ongoing sales percentage cuts. The service is used across the world, from Nine Inch Nails and Aretha Franklin to thousands of success stories-in-waiting.
In the wake of last week’s Universal Music Group partnership announcement - which will allow indie artists who distribute through TuneCore to purchase major label marketing muscle on a flat-fee basis - Andrew McMillen reached out to TuneCore’s co-founder and Senior Vice President of Operations, Peter Wells [pictured below left].
Andrew: I’ve seen (Tunecore CEO) Jeff Price discussing the Universal announcement, so my first question - what’s your take on the deal?
Peter: While Jeff’s been working his side of the internet, I’ve been working mine, posting on blogs, our forum, and helping out those with misconceptions about the partnership. So far, response has been overwhelmingly positive: seems most folks “get it” just fine.
Personally, I’m strongly artist-centric, so I zero in on just how this helps current and potential TuneCore customers. Remember, anyone using TuneCore for digital distribution will have a choice. No one has to use any of the Universal label portals we’re building. That choice works in the artist’s favor, because it will be up to the major to provide incentive. What will that incentive be? No idea, too early to tell, but it’ll have to be something, or they won’t tempt anyone in through their parlor door.
Jeff stated in the ARS Technica news article that the reason behind the deal is A&R - for Universal to find new acts. I’m supposing that they approached you, and not the other way around. To me, it reads like Universal admitted that their old methods of finding and signing acts were outdated, and they came to you for support. Am I on the right track?
To me, Universal demonstrated tremendous foresight, and this partnership reflects it. It’s not so much a comment on traditional A&R methods but a willingness to extend them into the new space. Universal gets another way to find emerging artists, artists get all the benefits of competition among the majors, as Universal offers incentives to entice artists. What Universal has done: for the first time ever, a major is entering into a relationship with content providers without requiring exclusivity, a percentage, control over masters, trademarks, copyright–that’s a huge step forward for Universal, and for the industry.
Nine Inch Nails are the oft-cited TuneCore success story, after they released Ghosts I-IV for “about $38” last year. But I’m sure that TuneCore has supported some other high-profile acts since then - can you share a few?
Well, let’s not forget Drake [pictured right], who holds the title of best-selling independent of ALL TIME, moving hundreds of thousands of units as a TuneCore customer. He promptly got signed to (coincidentally) Universal! I can only imagine how his PROVEN record of sales gave him an advantage in negotiating terms with the majors.
And now, just a short list of other success stories:
I notice that you’re quite active on the TuneCore forums and across the web. What’s the strategy behind this?
Two main reasons:
I love it! I love talking with our customers, with the world at large.
TuneCore isn’t selling ice scrapers and sponges to anonymous customers. We distribute music, an artist’s love, passion, life and soul–even perhaps their livelihood. So long as I’m with this company, I insist on a personal connection. I will take the time to really go out there, listen, even help when someone needs it.
The real question might be, why isn’t EVERY company putting a co-founder out there in the internet “trenches,” facing the hard questions, offering personal help, putting their own email address on every blog posting for all to reach out to? I would love to work for a company that cared like that, so I’m determined to make TuneCore that kind of company.
Leading on from my last question about your willingness to interact with music fans and potential TuneCore customers online, I can see that you’ve adopted this ‘openness’ strategy from the company’s earliest days. It’s awesome that you’re so tuned into conversation about the company, and that you’re obviously passionate enough about TuneCore to pursue these conversations. You’re literally all over the ‘net - are the rest of the TuneCore dudes as tuned in as you are?
Absolutely. Our customer service team is constantly helping me out, showing me places on the net I might have missed, and twittering on their own. Jeff is just as quick to talk online, and just as voracious a reader. I do most of the talking, simply to keep a consistent voice. But we all agree here: the company that doesn’t listen to its customers will lose. We have no intention of losing.
What’s your history within the music and web industries?
I was a tech writer and editor at Cisco Systems for four years, and that will certainly give you your tech industry cred. I’m a trained classical pianist and organist, so I know the performance side of things. I joined eMusic in late 1999, where I did genre management, label relations and negotiated contracts with rights holders, so I picked up the business end running.
Finally, I have to say, I learned the real details of this business, its subtleties and complexities, from running TuneCore and from Jeff himself. He’s brilliant, knows every aspect of the music business from his successful label of 20 years, and it’s to him and our untold hours in conversation that I owe everything. Special mention to Gian Caterine, our CFO and another brilliant musician, finance guy and the Fourth Musketeer of TuneCore. He can teach you more about business in five minutes than you’d get out of a whole college course!
Am I correct to assume that there’s always music playing in the TuneCore office? Who’re the favourites lately?
We’re a music company, but we’re also a technology company. If you walked into the office, you might be surprised at the silence, until you noticed everyone wearing headphones or earbuds. There’s a quiet web of constant music in everyone’s ears. We use IM to stay in communication, so it’s like telepathy: when one of us finds something cool, we IM it to the rest. So we’re always listening to our customers’ music. That’s how we choose our TuneCore Staff Picks, and it’s also how we recommend things to iTunes, Amazon, etc., for promotion.
My current favorite? Bowerbirds [pictured right]! They have a song, “In Our Talons“, that’s a near obsession with me lately. It was even part of our 34-song album giveaway not too long ago.
What advice do you have for building a kickass blog around a festival in the months leading up to its debut?
Video. Shoot something light-hearted and get it up on YouTube. I’m continuously astounded at what YouTube can do. It doesn’t have to be professional at all. Grab your camera, think of a funny angle and go!
Thanks for your time Peter! He loves email - sling one at him here.
As Sunset Events’ Communications and Creative Manager, Julian is charged with coming up with the odd idea and working out how to see it through.
Prior to turning to the dark side Julian worked as the Music Editor and occasional Editor at X-Press Magazine, as well as being a regular feature writer for both The Australian and The West Australian newspapers. His journalistic travels (and quest for the bon vivant!) led him to Paris in 2004 where he lived and worked and then Berlin where he did the same, rode his bicycle a lot and even found a wife.
Julian returned to Perth in late 2008 to live the One Movement dream. Contact him here.
Part music critic, part culture analyst, part media researcher and all music fan, Andrew’s enthusiasm is a refreshing tonic to jaded sonic cynicism. Rather than pretending to know the answers to the music industry’s problems, Andrew’s journalistic approach asks questions that help the changing industry better understand itself.
Andrew writes for The Music Network (an Australian music magazine), Mess+Noise (an Australian music site), Rave Magazine (a Brisbane music street press), FourThousand (a weekly Brisbane subcultural guide) and his blog. He also manages Brisbane electronic pop trio Hunz, and will moderate a panel discussion on music blogging at Brisbane’s Big Sound conference in September 2009. To gauge Andrew’s musical tastes, visit his Last.FM profile. Contact him here.
One Movement Word is pleased to introduce the General Manager of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), Stu Watters [pictured below], as our first in a series of interviews with One Movement For Music artists, speakers and music industry figures. Stu has represented AIR for five years, but recently announced his depature from the organisation. Andrew McMillen caught up with Stu before he heads to Brisbane to launch a new video production and licensing venture in July 2009.
The One Movement Music Festival first artist announcement has brought a bounty of international talent to our attention. One of the most interesting acts is Japanese pop tiger-girl, Tigarah, who boldly claims to the “baddest ass from Japan!! ;)” on her scarcely-updated MySpace.
As a female MC rhyming over Brazilian baile funk, it’s easy to draw comparisons to the much-vaunted 2008 crossover-hit M.I.A., but Tigarah’s style seems more rooted in electro-pop than the aforementioned bamboo banger. The eponymous vocalist and her Swiss-German DJ/producer, Mr. D, have performed under the name Tigarah since 2003, and they were signed to Universal Music in 2006.
After witnessing an unfamiliar, unassuming crowd go apeshit over the adorable antics of Japanese thrash-punk duo Afrirampo at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival in January, it’ll be interesting to see how many of the One Movement Music Festival concert attendees will have their dancing shoes tied tight enough to keep up with Tigarah.
Click the image to view the video for her June 2009 single, Space Travel. Embedding disabled by request of Universal Music Japan.
Mike: I actually think it’s a really important issue, that is, in many ways, an “early warning sign” of some economic changes that are going to impact many other industries, from healthcare to energy to consumer packaged goods to financial services. It’s just that digital content lays out the specifics much more clearly (and yet it’s still confusing to some people!). I’m hopeful that as people start to understand these issues, when the “bigger” similar issues come to the forefront, it will be easier to point back to what happened with digital content to make it clear how things should play out elsewhere.
I think there are two key issues:
Peter: While Jeff’s been working his side of the internet, I’ve been working mine, posting on blogs, our forum, and helping out those with misconceptions about the partnership. So far, response has been overwhelmingly positive: seems most folks “get it” just fine.
