I hope the copyright office catches up with the reality of the situation someday … to be honest, the fear of losing my copyright protection holds me back from releasing songs on my site.

At my Steam Powered Studio (www.steampoweredstudio.com) I have two major releases in progress. One is the “found” recordings of an early 1970’s bluegrass fiddle player and his various bands- 36 or more tracks. This would be an uncomfortable release in any physical format, so I am going to post a few at a time over a period of months. The other project is the release of previously unreleased material from a local singer/songwriter. This material is very uneven, some recorded professionally, some not so professionally, and it would not have sat well on an album. As I release each track, I discuss the source of the recording and the progression of the songwriters development. It’s the sort of long-term project that has no real precedent in the age of physical copies.

If we want to, we can still release songs in clumps. We can make those clumps any size we like.

Re: Dave’s article – My question is ultimately this: Why is it not possible for all choices to be available? It seems to me that the more possibilities offered to artists and consumers leads to a need to proclaim one new method as “better” than another. I don’t see why.

There are pros and cons and everyone must weigh their choices by basically asking themselves: what is it I really WANT?

There is no reason that an artist cannot choose to only make a single recording meant to be enjoyed as a 3 minute piece and also choose to want to create a larger effort that allows different pieces to segue together into an encompassing work. It’s like stating that books are dead because there are chapters.

I don’t agree with the popular notion that “labels are bad” and everything they do is crap. The sad fact is that they give the masses of people what they want, as do TV, films, book & news publishers, etc. The numbers do not lie. Most people do not pay to see a well thought out documentary of substantive content, pay to read deeply intellectual books, factual important news or pay to buy music that is thought provoking out-of-the-norm art.

I didn’t say NO ONE buys it – just not MOST. Nowadays.

People have to be introduced to new tastes through repetition and generally the stuff that becomes considered great is the same stuff that most people thought was at first “weird” and took several listens and a lot of promotion to become popularly accepted.

What is wrong at labels (and generally everywhere) is the consolidation of labels into giant corporate conglomerates that are driven by bankers & EBITDA. Labels were created by and run by artists & producers until this fiasco in the 90s allowed for their demise. They used to foster & cultivate artists and let them grow into their own. Now the demand is for immediate numbers, not great art.

And the public seems to have learned to have no patience or loyalty to wait for an artist’s next project beyond a second release. As Alex points out, the more it is seen as a disposable, cheap freebie, the more it is perceived as valueless. Now we are told that the solution is to pay subscription fees to hear things, never own anything and be completely dependent on some conglomerate somewhere streaming content to me – oh and we get to endure ads. This is progress?

I do not want to be dependent on some entity for me to hear what I pay for. I want to hear it when I want anywhere I want and have it to come across when I think I’ve long forgotten it. And I certainly don’t want to see or hear ads – ever.

I quite love and admire NIN and Radiohead, but I also find it bizarrely disingenuous that they are touted as cases in point in successful free download ventures. The truth is that had they not become massively famous via their past label deals, no one would know who they are and millions of people wouldn’t care about their downloads or buying tickets en masse to see them in concert.

I do not understand the thrill that so many great young artists are getting from toiling to make great new music only to give it all away for free and think that somehow they can magically earn a living from this or be able to sustain their art.

How are people supposed to find them? Just randomly searching the web? In an ocean of artists?

As Justin sadly points out – art has become marketing. We seem to care more about the buzz, hype, spin and flashy splash page than we do about the depth of the product. Pretty much the same way we care more about the marketing of the food we eat rather than its quality. We pretty much woof down our food, rarely savoring it – much the same way we now seem to treat our art.

I think we need to find a way to get back to the original ideas of labels that were good and blend those with the new freedoms now available. Labels & publishers need to find a way to relax some of their existing regulatory issues to allow for experimentation and make a more accessible path for fans to participate & new artists to gain entry into their existing marketing, promotion, sales & royalty structures.

This seems like a much quicker way for everyone to achieve what they really want.

JMHO