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Say what you will about the legacy of Chuck D and Public Enemy, the man makes a good point.
From cbc.ca
Chuck D, front man of Public Enemy and a major supporter of file sharing, has nothing good to say about major record labels.
He warned Canada against following the lead of the U.S. in drafting its copyright legislation. That legislation favours the established recording industry, which is out of touch with how people get music in the internet age, he said Friday on the CBC Radio cultural affairs show Q.
"These lawyers and business people who run the business, they still have a delay on how people think and how they want to act," the rapper said.
"They still have their thumb big enough to cast a shadow on people who create and try to determine what they want."
Industry Minister Jim Prentice tabled new legislation earlier this week to overhaul Canada's Copyright Act. It introduces penalties for those who upload and share files on the Internet.
Such legislation is based on an outdated business model, insists Chuck D, whose real name is Carlton Douglas Ridenhour.
"I got involved with the digital world because I got tired of delivering music and art to intermediaries," he said.
"I got tired of delivering my music to a building [where people] approved it before it went on to radio stations or television networks, who approved it again before it went on to the public. I didn't need the middle people."
Having already made his break from the established recording industry in the late 1990s with his Rapstation.com supersite, Chuck D says every artist needs to consider how to maintain his or her independence.
"There's not a set way of how an artist makes money unless a corporation comes along and pays you in advance and tells you it's going to take care of you," he said.
"My point is you ought to be in your own business — you've got your own music."
Brendan Canning from the Toronto band Broken Social Scene is among those opposing the Tory copyright proposal, saying musicians don't want to sue their fans.
"What we do need is a government that is willing to sit down with all the stakeholders and craft a balanced copyright policy for Canada that will not repeat the mistakes made in the United States," Canning said.
Chuck D agrees Canada needs a solution forged in Canada, where markets are smaller and musicians may have to start smaller.
"You can't get to a million until you get past one and then two and three and four. You figure out what model supports local music," he said.
Chuck D says he finds talking about copyright "enervating" and that his own way of making money from music is to deal directly with the fans.
The internet has made both the audio and the visuals more accessible, with videos now posted online, he said.
"My style is that I've been in operation as a free style and free artist for the last 10 years," he said. "I don't know if I pay attention to the copyright law."
Public Enemy plays the Montreal International Jazz Festival June 30 in support of the group's latest album, How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?
Bassist Gene Simmons says the British rockers – who gave fans the choice to download last year's album 'In Rainbows' for free or pay a sum of their choosing - says their decision is contributing to the demise of the record industry and insists his band would never follow suit.
Gene - who starred in reality TV show 'School of Rock' - said: "The record industry is dead. It's six feet underground and unfortunately the fans have done this. They've decided to download and file share. There is no record industry around so we're going to wait until everybody settles down and becomes civilised. As soon as the record industry pops its head up we'll record new material."
Meanwhile, Radiohead were left with a row of empty seats at a recent French concert after a ticket giveaway backfired. The eco-friendly group announced 50 passes were available for their show at Paris' Bercy Arena but fans could only get by cycling to their record label's offices in the French city.
However, Parisians were not prepared to get on their bikes so 35 tickets went unclaimed. A source said: "Radiohead are using their current world tour to highlight their commitment to green issues. They advise all concertgoers to use public transport and are doing all they can to make their carbon footprint as small as possible. Unfortunately the French didn't appear to share their noble intentions and roundly ignored the free ticket tactic."
Comments
Sure, blame the fan's Gene. Didn't the record labels already beat you to it?
Well, if that's what it takes for Kiss to stop releasing shitty albums, I hope RH give away all their albums.
Couldn't the Parisians just have taken the train as well? I mean, it's about lessening your impact. Bike tires and parts aren't exaclty zero emissions in the manifacturing process.
Oh lord have mercy..What will Gene Simmons not do to get his name in the paper. I mean I'm no fan of radiohead, but could Gene stop to think for one second why fans are getting their music free..He's blaming the players, when its the game thats screwed up.
Rewind the clock to the mid 80's when the music biz started eliminating singles while at the same time pushing them harder than ever. And you wonder why folks wanna go a song at a time.
What a stupid motherfucker Gene is! I mean I know he's not stupid, he's a good business man..when it comes to promoting dolls of himself.
When are the apologists for the greedy/luddite record biz gonna step up and admit it was THEM. They screwed up their own business. Of course the Gene Simmons's and Clive Davis's of the world didn't lose their jobs or careers because they had their heads up their collective asses, 1000's of others did though.
Love him or hate him, sometimes Bob Lefsetz nails the point.
Will probably never happen.
Chances are, even if you're supporting yourself playing music and have a hard core fan base, most people in your neighborhood will have no idea who you are.
Used to be there were markers. Getting signed. Hearing your song on the radio. Going to #1 on SoundScan. All those things can still happen, it's just their significance is ever-smaller. You can achieve ALL of the above things and still be a one hit wonder. Odds are the band playing live every night of the week will have a longer career than you do. In other words, as the Firesign Theatre once said, everything you know is wrong.
If you're waiting for acknowledgement, acceptance by the powers-that-be... I hate to tell you, but the powers-that-be no longer exist. Last week the "New York Times" let Jeff Leeds go. Not because he was doing a bad job, but because they needed to reduce their headcount. What, there's no longer going to be any music industry news? No, it's just that the paper of record can no longer afford to cover it, the paper of record is trying to avoid a hostile takeover, going out of business itself.
The radio station? You have to ask yourself, do YOU listen to the radio? Do your FRIENDS listen to the radio? Chances are, the answer is no. So, if your demo is not listening, what difference does it make if you're getting airplay there. If you are garnering fans, chances are they're not the ones you want. And Top Forty fans, the only format that truly means anything anymore, are notoriously fickle. A number one radio record is akin to being the star magician at the old folks home. A minor figure in a dying world that most people want no part of.
The label? Everybody hates the major labels. They're the ones suing their customers, right? The ones who tell you what to record and when. Your mother might be impressed that you've got a lawyer and a record company, but the public still has no idea who you are, and chances are, never will.
And without the mainstream media attention, the record company push, that breakthrough gig...that can't happen anymore either.
In other words, if you're playing with the old scorecard, you must be mightily confused, because that's for the old game.
The new scorecard is all about fans. How can you make more fans, and make them stick! Collecting friends on MySpace is quantifiable, but MySpace is about getting laid and there's almost no loyalty involved. If MySpace friends made music careers, you'd be spinning Tila Tequila's record right now. You might have a desire to have sex with her, but you don't want to listen to her music. She's got no talent.
Who has talent?
You've got to believe you have talent. Doesn't matter if the label thinks so, chances are they won't sign you and if they do, they can't break you. If you're looking for some powerful person to wave his hand and say you're great, you're delusional. If you believe in yourself enough to put you and your music out there, you'll continue to be able to play it if people want to hear it. It's just that simple. Doesn't matter whether it's good or bad, but whether you've got an audience. If you get an instant audience, great, you'll probably have a career. If not, chances are you suck, or if you don't suck, you're not making music most people want to hear. Don't cry in your beer, either give up, change your act or accept your fate, as a marginal artist.
The big breaks today?
1. Being able to give up your day job. Used to be, you got signed, you thought you'd made it, you were just a year or so from going back to McDonald's, behind the counter. Today, since you've invested in yourself, built everything yourself, if you can shitcan your day job and make it playing music, kick back and have a drink, congratulate yourself, you've truly made it. Carly Smithson had a record deal and national TV exposure and she's still pulling drinks in a bar in San Diego, or will be again soon. That's the first hurdle, earning your freedom from the everyday grind.
2. Which may come before 1, getting an agent. It's hard to book yourself. The road is where you make money. If someone's interested in booking you, they think they can make money on you, they want their 10%. This is a good sign. This is more important than getting a record deal.
3. Owning something besides an amp and your instrument. Maybe it's a car, maybe it's real property. But once your musical enterprise is generating enough extra cash that you can acquire extraneous items, you've truly made it.
4. And this can happen anywhere in the food chain, really. An act YOU respect says it likes YOUR music.
5. You play larger and larger venues and your merch numbers grow.
And that's about it. There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, if there's even a rainbow. It's just you, playing music, for people who love it. There's no awards show, no instant cash, no front page story, nothing that you can show to your relatives that will make them finally realize you've made it.
It's now about being a musician, not a star. Savor the little victories, because that's all you're going to get, that's all that's out there. The night you were in the zone playing for 3,500 adoring fans. It's not about the coverage in "Rolling Stone", they're putting bimbos on the cover. It's about what you feel inside, the self-satisfaction. You're not only a player, you now own the game. It's a big responsibility, are you up to it?
Dave - I made a comment on some posts about how this is the age of the middle class rock star. The days of the private jets and private islands are over future rock stars, welcome to the real world.
Comments
yeah, Bob always cuts right to the chase and i love reading his thought-provoking writings whether i agree or disagree. in this case, being a guy that looks at the big picture, it's basically a "keep your priorities in order" message, which is great advice whether about music or life in general. what's kind of sad is that there's a bit of disparity today that isn't helping to achieve goals 1-5.
it used to be that "hearing your song on the radio" amounted to something. even if less people are listening, many still are but people refuse to buy records these days and i think that's sad. the main reason i care is not for the big sellers that the industry tries to force on the public, but rather for the people just trying to achieve goals 1-5.
there's a ton of great creativity going on right now that's quite affordable, but there's still a certain amount of cost involved in both recording and touring. my advice to artists has always been to recognize your audience, see how much you'll make and spend less on the recording end. this is often more difficult for singer/songwriters who don't have a band and need to hire musicians for recording or touring. without CD sales, this is much harder to do. even if they are amongst the talented ones as well as working their butts off, ask any independent artist and they'll tell you that they wished people would buy their CD's.
i'm an NPR listener (KCRW). they have to have pledge drives since they're "listener supported radio". i still wish there were "listener supported artists". if you don't already, trying buying a CD or two a week by artists you like to help support them.
i am a huge fan of his letters...i might not agree with them always (and not have the time to read each and everyone), but they ALWAYS get me thinking when i do...
Yah, thought-provoking. Because most of us here are degenerate musicheads, it would behoove us to consider ways to support, protect and defend content providers (oops, I meant musicians). When I catch an act I like, I buy the damn' CD and I would urge you to do the same. Music as a profession is a long run, a marathon and not a sprint... BerkeleyBob
Comments
Speak it Chuck! Chuck D was one of the earliest musicians to hop on the MP3 as better distibution model. His take was that in the future, musicains can't be lazy, their gonna have to tour to support their music, because that's where they'll make their money. Sadly I haven't heard anything really good from PE in years, but I respect Chuck D. for being the trailblazer that he is.
Some professed that there last one was not too shabby..His rapping without beats does just fine these days.
I guess I should also say, outside of a track here and there, I haven't sought out any PE in years, either.