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Bus One Seven
Resistance
by Roderick Armageddon

When you plop down $16-18 for the latest Backstreet Boys collection (God forbid you would), just whose pockets are those fresh greens going to line? For those of you who may have been living in a cave, for commercial pop (and a variety of other genres) the middleman is the chump living off the fat of the land. Perhaps now is the time to lead a résistance. For those of you in need of some motivation, we at Anvil are issuing a call to arms.

The artists make the music -- whether that’s to write, perform and/or produce —- and the labels push it out to the public through publicity and that oh-so-valuable killer app, the distribution channel. Most labels make their bank off the fact that they control what ends up on the shelves of every Wal*Mart and Target, nationwide. The radio is still a prime sales driver, but the radio is also a slave to the labels, as the labels have a very powerful motivational tool at their fingertips: cash.

The labels have their hands in most every major broadcast station as well as every other nook where you might be able to peddle a new collection of wannabe hits. If you want your album to end up on the shelves of the local Sam Goody but don’t want to deal with the labels, you’re going to have to put it there yourself. The distribution channel is tough to crack, so even if you manage to get your latest album on a few shelves, don’t expect on making much of a living —- unless you can ensure the shelves of Middle America are constantly stocked with your tunes. Combining the power of national promotions with the benefit of sheer numbers, the labels are the masters of their domain, selling albums from $13.99 to $17.99, of which $1 might actually end up in the musician’s mailbox. The labels own the distribution channel, so if you want access to their coverage, you’re going to have to pay the piper.

This musical slave trade has been progressing at such an alarming rate that the labels quickly scurried to the next logical step: taking away the musicians and producing the music themselves. Yes, churning out the next Britney Spears or *NSYNC has become their prime motivation. Control every aspect of the musical channel and you control the listener, maximizing profits and ensuring a lucrative, long-term relationship.

What I’m saying here isn’t really news to a lot of you. However, the recent backlash due to rampant CD ripping and burning begs the question, "How will musicians make a living in the age of digital media?" My answer is simple. They’ll make their living the way that working musicians have always made their living: live performances. Yes, musicians need to tackle the digital realm, but perhaps the best way to make a notable living in the "business" is to use the Web as a strong promotional tool, leaving CDs for the extra innings. True, you’ll get great distribution if you plant a handful of your tunes online, but perhaps you should save the majority of your singles for live shows. Your music is your IP; so don’t give it all away. Not yet.

I’m suggesting artists become their own pockets of resistance, taking the route that the Pet Shop Boys took just one month prior to the release of their latest album, Release (2002, Parlophone). The Boys put their first single, Home and Dry -- accompanied by a couple of remixes -- directly on the front page of their Website. They didn’t offer up the tunes as MP3s for free copying and distribution, though. They decided to stream it via Flash. Unless you really have the know-how and desire to break through the stream code, you’re probably not going to bother. The Pets put out a high-quality stream of their single and made it available to the masses well in advance of their album’s release.

Perhaps every artist should try promoting his or her latest hits using this method. Drop the album on their Website and stream it at varying bit rates (to accommodate varying connection speeds). Optimally, make it happen on your own site, but if you have to, consider using MP3.com. Use the Web to promote your upcoming live shows. Forget burning your new album to CD; burn a couple of promotional tunes, live recordings and/or remixes to a CD to distribute FREE at concerts or online, but leave the real goods untouched by those three frigid digits: MP3. Force the live consumption of your goods and the true fans who will support you throughout your career will listen.

Keep your eyes peeled for future Bus One Seven columns as we at Anvil try to do just that -- use the Web as a promotional tool for music, not just a sales or distribution channel. And for all the musicians out there, wake up and smell the Web. If you’re stamping CDs or distributing everything as MP3s, someone is burning your tunes -- and your livelihood right along with them.