The purpose of this blog is to satisfy ICOM 101 requirements. This blog will focus on the music industry, particularly the affect Big Industry has on small labels or unsigned artists.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

feed back

what is the best feedback that we are getting:

add links to free streaming music
good layout

flash/action script
animation
transitions between pages
link/ newsletter to free music
creativecommens.org?

graphics/videos
link to other agencies

links to research
talk about free artist links: its a good thing.
link pirate to what page

tag posts..
statistics

Thursday, November 17, 2011

PPI

I have decided to change my project title from Pirating Process Initiative, which sounds suggestive and supportive to Pirating Prevention Initiative which is much more what I am going for, a stand against piracy.

Here is a link to the site.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Thoughts

Moby on the Future of the Music Industry
bigthink.com

Moby had several thoughts on the music industry. Some of which I agreed with and others I did not. Some of his comments were: 
    
     - most musicians have day jobs
     - many musicians are becoming DIY, starting own companies, producing own albums
     - music is benefiting this because people who love music are making music (Indie is rising)
     - ...10,000 records here or 50,000 records here...
     - blame is at the record companies (price they take out-musicians don't make enough royalties)

By him saying most musicians have day jobs, I believe he was referring to many Indie musicians. The big artists don't have second jobs. When I heard Moby say many more people are becoming their own producers, as much as that kills the producer inside of me, I do agree with that statement. Equipment is relatively affordable and it can be reasonable to try to produce your own music. At the same price, as the musician, you have enough to worry about with the band or yourself do you really have time to be worrying about how it sounds too? There will always be a need to have studios, I believe, because there comes a point that the studio sound just sounds better. Yes, Moby said music is benefiting because people who love music are making it now but there are plenty of lower budget Indie labels on the rise to make the studio sound more accessible. People are 'making it" now a days because they can sell 10,000 records here or 50,000 records this time. "No one is selling a million records anymore" Moby said. I would go as far to say no one is making the right amount of royalties. That's where a band can make the money and unfortunately they just don't make enough. I do like that Moby made a comment about going after the record labels. An artist makes less than a dollar from a $9.99 CD. Leaving $8.99 or more for overhead and the labels cut? I don't think so. If we want new artists to last longer we simply need better contracts.

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How to Fix the Music Industry
vimeo.com MUSEXPO

Before I discuss How to Fix the Music Industry I really have a problem with the way this was produced. I feel like they just traveled the world for no answers while wasting a half an hour of my time. I really struggled to find points in this other than peoples opinions of what's wrong with the music industry and how they think they would fix it. To the producer, why? What did going around the world asking people what they thought achieve? This seems like a very half-done Michel Moore documentary.

The only thing I really understood from this video was that no two answers are the same and I don't agree with any of them. Hoping to go into the industry myself, I have a better understanding of the process and the industry than the average person. I'm not defending it and saying there is nothing wrong with it but some of the suggestions people had would not be effective at all.

What would making all music free do? How would that help anyone. Say we tried that for a year. I am fairly sure that would be the death of the music industry. The labels would not make money and the bands would get tour sales (many contracts give artists a majority of the road sales). So now the labels have to charge more to record and while the bands made money on the road it would not cover the cost of a studio for 6-10 months or more.

More restrictions was another thought. Well, I hate to say this but there are plenty of restriction on the artist and the people, the issue is the recording label. Many labels are just stealing from the artist and its a catch 22 for the artist. Sign the contract (aka - your life away), record, sell albums (for the label to profit on, tour, do it all again... and oh wait.. you're still broke!

I wish there was an easy fix for this broken industry. Music is such a vital part of life. I was once told "if it isn't music it is silence" and I really like that. Everything is music. Casual conversation is a dance with words set to sounds. I guess I'm trying to say if there was an easy fix, it would be fixed. There is no easy way for everyone to be happy and this is why there are "starving artists" who would do it all again because they truly love it and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Pirating Process Initiative

more about PPI

The Pirating Process Initiative is a movement to spread the word and explain the damaging effects of piracy on large and small labels. The effects of piracy can be felt by all artists in all markets.

Through this project I hope to enlighten all who use it on the effects of piracy. By definition, piracy is "the unauthorized reproductions or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, ect."

Now when we see that, many of us often think of this as plagiarism not piracy. In all reality, the two terms are equal and equally bad. Both terms essentially mean stealing from the original creator(s) and use the product for personal gain.

Over the course of this creative project, Pirating Process Initiative will create an interactive website to inform participants of statistics and effects of piracy. Some of the sources for this design will be the FCC for facts as well as labels (both large and small) for their take on piracy.

more about piracy

Piracy is something that skyrocketed with the creation of Napster, Limewire and other file sharing sites. In the early 00's with the creation of the iPod and a new need for digital music, rather than having the media in your hand, file sharing sites became huge. In part because of the generation that took hold of this concept, many people felt the music should be free once you have a device.

When a company produces an album they run off a 95% piracy rate. This means they claim that 95% of the total quantity produced will be pirated or copied and not purchased. Leaving only 5% we may begin to wonder how do the labels survive off of that and that is the task we will explore with PPI.

more about the website

This website will be an adventurous site using user friendly activities and exploration to piracy rates, who it effects, and how it effects users. Through interactivity, the user can explore graphics and images that help explain piracy and its effects. Also, I will somehow creatively incorporate an activity into the site. Graphics and pictures will heavily drive the feeling of the site.

Exploring piracy. 
Minimizing piracy. 
Pirating Process Initiative.