Saturday, June 30, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
Major labels just don't get it
I probably shouldn't comment on this considering I'm a broke ass producer who'd love to sell a beat (not that anyone from Warner is reading this)....
One of my favorite forums just got hit with a legal threat from Warner Bros. because an "artist's" (we're not gonna name names) advance was posted in the forum by a user - an advance mind you. No tags on the advance, it appears to be the full tracklisting, etc. Just keep this in mind. So do they contact the owner of the site first? Maybe through a forum message or an email to the webmaster? No - they went to the site's webhost and threatened legal action. The artist in question is not what you'd call a platinum artist - not to say the artist isn't known or hasn't sold records in the past, but in this day and age, if the album went gold, somebody would have gotten a promotion.
So this is an artist with a healthy fanbase, a little more on the underground side, and this is an artist that isn't gonna get a lot of promotion. So on a popular forum where this thread (and other threads like it on other forums), this is one important way that the fans are actually going to find out about the project. But thats another arguement for another time.
Here's what gets me - what label is....careless enough to release an advance thats untagged and not lacking ANYTHING in 2007? Did you think it wasn't going to get bootlegged? Here's the kicker - the advance was generating good reviews! So yeah, here's a thread thats creating positive attention for the artist, doing more for promo than the label is going to do (because they don't see the artist as a big seller, and thats just how labels see it)....and they threaten legal action to the webhost?
Major labels need to get on their game and embrace reality. Shit's gonna get bootlegged, no matter if you stop the advance or not. If you release out advances with perfect quality, no tags, etc - somebody's going to rip it. You have to get in front of shit like this, reach out to the people who are going to buy the album, get their opinion on what a single should be, etc. Treat the fans like you are trying to earn their money and not entitled to it. We're way past the point of crying about album leaks and advance leaks. Make it work for you. Release acapellas and encourage fan remixes - create an active MySpace community around the artist and get people interested. I don't care what you do, just do SOMETHING different because shit like this? It ain't working.
But please, feel free to buy my beats still - I'll also accept A&R jobs, label deals, and a seat on the Board.
One of my favorite forums just got hit with a legal threat from Warner Bros. because an "artist's" (we're not gonna name names) advance was posted in the forum by a user - an advance mind you. No tags on the advance, it appears to be the full tracklisting, etc. Just keep this in mind. So do they contact the owner of the site first? Maybe through a forum message or an email to the webmaster? No - they went to the site's webhost and threatened legal action. The artist in question is not what you'd call a platinum artist - not to say the artist isn't known or hasn't sold records in the past, but in this day and age, if the album went gold, somebody would have gotten a promotion.
So this is an artist with a healthy fanbase, a little more on the underground side, and this is an artist that isn't gonna get a lot of promotion. So on a popular forum where this thread (and other threads like it on other forums), this is one important way that the fans are actually going to find out about the project. But thats another arguement for another time.
Here's what gets me - what label is....careless enough to release an advance thats untagged and not lacking ANYTHING in 2007? Did you think it wasn't going to get bootlegged? Here's the kicker - the advance was generating good reviews! So yeah, here's a thread thats creating positive attention for the artist, doing more for promo than the label is going to do (because they don't see the artist as a big seller, and thats just how labels see it)....and they threaten legal action to the webhost?
Major labels need to get on their game and embrace reality. Shit's gonna get bootlegged, no matter if you stop the advance or not. If you release out advances with perfect quality, no tags, etc - somebody's going to rip it. You have to get in front of shit like this, reach out to the people who are going to buy the album, get their opinion on what a single should be, etc. Treat the fans like you are trying to earn their money and not entitled to it. We're way past the point of crying about album leaks and advance leaks. Make it work for you. Release acapellas and encourage fan remixes - create an active MySpace community around the artist and get people interested. I don't care what you do, just do SOMETHING different because shit like this? It ain't working.
But please, feel free to buy my beats still - I'll also accept A&R jobs, label deals, and a seat on the Board.
Second Coming featured on Mixtape Monday
Superstar Jay and Big T keep at it...
http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/060407/
http://www.mtv.com/bands/m/mixtape_monday/060407/
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