Do You Know What Label Your Favorite Band Plays For?
from the might-be-a-problem dept
It’s pretty rare that people care what record label a particular musical act is signed to. While there’s suddenly been quite a bit of negative publicity over Sony BMG’s rootkit technology leading to calls for a boycott of CDs from the label, most people simply don’t know and don’t care what record label a particular musical artist is associated with. So, with that in mind, it makes little sense for any music store, even if they are a mobile music offering, to sign a deal with just one major label — but that’s exactly what Vodafone and Universal Music appear to be doing (which reminds me, Universal Music has been awfully silent on the whole rootkit thing, despite supposedly using the same technology). While the two companies seem excited about this deal, it sounds like a pain for users. They’re going to have to login and realize that most of the musicians they like aren’t included, because they don’t happen to be part of the Universal Music set of labels. When Steve Jobs did iTunes, he at least knew he couldn’t launch until he had all the major labels lined up — though, perhaps that’s the problem. Now that those labels feel so locked in to Apple, they’re avoiding many other deals which means that actual users aren’t going to want to buy into the splintered deals they are doing.
Comments on “Do You Know What Label Your Favorite Band Plays For?”
Always...
I could probably tell you the label of most of the records in my collection… I make a point of not buying from major labels – if there’s something I really want to hear from a major I’ll pick it up second hand.
Re: Always...
You make a point of not buying from major labels… but most people don’t. So most people would’nt know. Only those who really despise the big music labels would actually know their cd labels.
Re: Always...
smart thinking. “I love Switchfoot but oh my god, their with sony. I hate you Siwtchfoot for trying to make a career and getting a good deal. I boycott! rawr! but wait, now I will buy it used..HAH! got u good sony!”
You know what, the Internet has lead to virus’s, BOYCOT the internet and only view it from digital pictures, that will show the world wide web.
Re: Re: Always...
Nice rhetoric.
I don’t know who Switchfoot are but a lot of the bands I listen to are either political or make sounds which just aren’t popular. If a political band is signed to a major label you can be damned sure they won’t be the same band for long (no matter how many times they say “we’re just trying to bring our message to a larger audience…”) Popular political music amounts to the likes of Green Day, Manic Street Preachers and Chumbawamba – not a particularly deep set of acts I think you’ll agree.
I am in the fortuitous position that almost all modern acts signed to majors are just plain terrible to me… the only people missing out on my not buying new CDs and records are folk like Bill Hicks and Frank Zappa – I don’t think they much care any more.
When it comes to new music I find it much more interesting to see shows locally and support local labels (as well as indies abroad, of course). You can probably find a wealth of talent in your own back yard no matter what your taste.
In a sense I do boycott the internet – well, quite a lot of it. I have a firewall, web filter, popup ad blacker and various other filtration layers between me and the raw internet as well as an OS that, when set up properly, is practically invulnerable to the most common exploits out there.
I’m not trying to “show” Sony anything. I’m just not comfortable giving them my money for R&D on attacking people’s freedom as well as their computers. I was thinking about buying a PS3 but I’m definitely not going to now. I’m not ringing Sony to tell them about that either – whether they know or not is immaterial. What is important to me is that they don’t have any more of my money.
supporting music
please, go ahead and hate the big labels for their dirty practices. if you’re gonna boycott the CDs, make sure you support your favorite bands in another way (buy other merch, go to concerts). just because they got the big-label break, doesn’t mean they’re set for life. some of these musicians get screwed by the labels and hate them just as much as we do. if i was in a band and my label was being run by shitheads who approve mass infection of my fans’ computers with malware, i would be pretty darn embarrassed. but i would also probably be silenced by contract rape 🙂
Labels
Yeah, I know who’s on what label, as do most avid music consumers, the people who buy lots of music. Casual consumers (ie the people buying Britney Spears & such) probably don’t.
Re: For those that do not know...
Support independent artists please!
They are the ones smart enough to not even try to get signed by a label. Most REAL artists are in it for the love of music, and they should be commended for that.
In this day an age, as far as I’m concerned, ANY band or artist that actively TRIES to get signed onto a major label is ONLY doing it for the money. That is not right. The money will ALWAYS come to you in time if you are actually TALENTED at what you do. Be patient.
There are plenty of ways to get music out there and create a fan base with all the technological advances in recent years.
Excellent examples are http://www.pandora.com/ and http://indy.tv/
If EVERY PERSON discovered their new music through services like these, labels would cease to exist.
Give it a shot. There are a bunch of programs and websites out there like these, and they even calculate your musical tastes for so you don’t have to sift through tons of crap before finding something you like.
Just stop buying retail CDs. With services like these, there is no longer a need.
Plus, most independent music is legally free because they are trying to make fans. But please people, when you find a new favorite independent artist, support them in other ways. Go to concerts or find their website so you can buy merchandise.
Just my 2 cents. Please try to spread the word…
Re: Re: For those that do not know...
I absolutely agree with anon here. Except pandora.com is not only for independent artists. This service just tries to calculate what music you will enjoy based on what you tell it you like. This includes label and non-label artists.
But yes, Indy.tv is an excellent independent artists only service that learns your musical taste the more you use it. It can take several hours of listening before it is accurate, but believe me, it gets really good after a while. Everything is downloaded automatically in the background and you get to rate and keep every song you hear.
Another excellent independent art ONLY website is the common network. This and similar service are the future of mass entertainment. Join in early!
http://www.commontimes.org/
Re: Re: For those that do not know...
The money will come in time…THROUGH THE BIG LABELS.
Major Labels
For those of us who tend to listen to types of music other than pop/rock (and a bit of jazz and blues) there is often no choice but major labels. Major composers (John Adams, Ligeti, Messiaen…) often appear only on those labels, which sometimes means that the choice is very, very limited. I’m currently not buying any new CDs (in part because of this kind of problem) but I’m not sure I see things changing – even though alternative distribution methods could be very good indeed both for composers and performers.
i've never...
…bought a cd in my entire life.
i’ll continue my boycott of the entire recording industry