Archive for November, 2007

Former major label artists grow cohones and seek out real-life business

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  Nothing can ruin a professional music career faster than signing to a major – with their extensive legal strangleholds and monetary retrieval clauses, artists are lucky to see a single dime in sales, even after a million selling album. Finally, after years of receiving pennies on the dollar, the industry is now witnessing a surge of former major label artists growing a backbone and taking their personal careers seriously.

  Similar to the Outlaw Country movement that infiltrated the major label system in Nashville decades ago, the digital revolution is providing former major label artists a springboard in which to make their music available worldwide, in addition to retrieving an average of 70 cents on the dollar in sales without being locked into impossible contracts.

  Here is an overly simplified break down of the numbers:

  Major Label deal: 10 cents on the dollar + 500,000 single sales @ 99 cents = $49,500 returns to artist

  Independent Label deal: 70 cents on the dollar + 70,714 single sales @ 99 cents = $49,500 returns to artist (500,000 singles = $346,500)

  An artist may only see a fraction of total sales going independent, but the monetary figures speak for themselves.

• Friday, November 30th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

The University of Oregon files suit against the riaa

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  The suit claims that the RIAA is using illegal tactics to retrieve information on students accused of illegal file sharing.

  ‘Fire with Fire’ as they say…

• Friday, November 30th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

Pepsi may offer one billion free downloads through amazon.com

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  To further the absolute decimation of the monetary value of music, Pepsi is in talks with Amazon.com concerning the largest download give-away to date.

  Hypothetically, if Pepsi agrees to prepay as little as 10 million dollars to Amazon for a Billion free downloads, that figure equals a return of less than 1 cent per song which will then be split between Amazon and the labels/distributors. By the end of it all, artists will receive an infinitesimal fraction of a single cent per download while Pepsi walks away with profits in the billions.

• Friday, November 30th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

will guitar hero create a rock ‘n’ roll revolution?

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  With a pop and gangsta rap fueled major label music industry backed by a throng of ruthless mega-corp media outlets just begging for more filth to broadcast, it is an absolute wonder that the world’s youth have any chance of being exposed to any real music at all. With that being said, Guitar Hero is quickly becoming the most popular simulation video game to date (devoid of mindless pop and gangsta’ rap music), and some wonder what long term effect it may have on today’s button pushing plastic guitar-shape wielding youth.

  Maybe, oh heavens maybe, it just might influence this generation to stop pushing buttons and pick up a real instrument.

• Thursday, November 29th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

Reznor reanimates remix contest

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  Despite Universal’s pleas for Reznor to abandon his Year Zero remix contest, the NIN frontman has moved all uploads to his own personal servers. “Sometimes you just have to say… ‘f**k it’…” Reznor wrote on his www.nin.com site.

  Just another prime example of another artist stickin’ it to the man.

• Thursday, November 29th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

the free software foundation takes on riaa

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  Created for the sole purpose of providing eye-witness ammunition for the underdog, the Free Software Foundation has created a much needed Expert Witness Defense Fund. The fund will give defendants in RIAA suits technical testimony to back their innocent pleas.

  Here is an overview (with BitsofBeats commentary in Italic) taken from the FSF website https://www.fsf.org/associate/riaa.

  1. The sole use of the funds will be to pay fees and/or expenses of technical expert witnesses, forensic examiners, and other technical consultants assisting individuals named as defendants in non-commercial, peer-to-peer file sharing cases brought by the RIAA, EMI, SONY BMG, Vivendi Universal, and Warner Bros. Records, and their affiliated companies, such as Interscope, Arista, UMG, Fonovisa, Motown, Atlantic, Priority, and others.
  (these high-profile plaintiffs will ensure that the FSF gets lots of press)

  2. The Fund will be advised by Ray Beckerman, the author of Recording Industry vs. The People, along with a group of selected attorneys acting as advisors. These attorneys will submit payment requests to the Fund, based upon their views as to which cases are most deserving of assistance, and in what at amounts, and at what time.
  (the FSF will pay their good buddies first and foremost)

  3. Among the criteria to be considered in making recommendations to the Fund will be the following:

  A. The importance of the case to critical legal issues. (to ensure lots of press)
  B. The demonstrated commitment of the defendant, and/or of the defendant’s attorney if the defendant has an attorney, to seeing his or her case through to conclusion, and to fighting for important legal issues. (drama queens welcome to further ensure lots of press)
  C. The facts and circumstances of the particular case. (the more drama, the more press)
  D. The level of investment made by the defendant, and/or by the defendant’s attorney if the defendant has an attorney, in time, money, and labor, in defending the case. (the larger the attorney fees, the more press)
  E. The legal posture of the case. (drama = press)
  F. The need for assistance. (poor folks = press)
  G. The need for technical expertise in the case. (ignorant jurors = press)
  H. The quality and commitment of technical expertise which may have been contributed to the case. (ignorant lawyers = press)
  I. The competing needs of other cases. (whoever has the most ignorant and poorest people involved, wins)
  J. And other similar factors. (single mothers, invalids, minorities, etc. = huge press)

  4. Defendants, or attorneys representing defendants, who request funding for experts or technical consultants, should send requests by email to Ray Beckerman; the subject field of the email should read “Technical Expert Funding Request”. (FSF #1 good-buddy)

  All jolly comments aside - the bottom line is that major labels have endless resources in which to persecute the innocent. And although BitsofBeats does not condone media piracy in any degree, we have very little tolerance for major corporations attempting to make an example of small-time sharers when they should be targeting the server-supporting pirate admirals themselves. 

• Monday, November 26th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

france gets tough on pirates

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  President Nicolas Sarkozy has just approved legislation that would shut down internet accounts for file sharers with repeat offenses. In addition, Sarkozy is also calling for mass DRM-free licensing and the expedience of box office to DVD releases.

  In even further addition, Sarkozy is considering enforcing bans on pirate culture in general: wooden peglegs, bejeweled eyepatches, parrots with bejeweled eyepatches, and all pirate related song and dialogue (yo ho ho, bottle of rum and what-not). 

• Monday, November 26th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

spiralfrog not flying as well as projected

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  When the Frog was first flung, everyone was giddy at the idea of a fully licensed advertisement supported site - But as figures continue to slither in (just after the official launch), it appears that SpiralFrog has lost $3.4 million this quarter. 

  How about creating a FrogPod – it’s just like an iPod, but you can lick it for hallucinogenic effects. Boy oh boy, that would sell primo.
  

• Monday, November 26th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

Y34RZ3R0R3M1X3D public remix project corked by Universal

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  Universal has just pulled the umbilical lifeline from Trent Reznor’s new public remix project, citing that producers will undoubtedly utilize non-Univeral owned masters while creating their own audio interpretations, and thus set a bad precedent concerning the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. 

• Wednesday, November 21st, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »

charts reporting 150 million paid downloads in UK

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  BPI is now reporting that UK digital sales have topped 150 million downloads.

  On the other hand, illegal downloads in the UK are estimated to be in the billions.

  …things that make you go hmmmm…

• Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 | Posted in Special Features | No Comments »