Discussions about music distribution, sales, and piracy often return to that time-worn theme of “supporting artists.” Of course, what usually gets left out is what actually supports the artists. Sure, it’s lovely that the industry likes this theme — maybe you imagine an ingenious, talented songwriter lighting candles in her studio — and she’s super cute, too. And you’re stealing money from her. Or worse, you’re actually ripping the livelihood from a toothless guy with his guitar, who sleeps in the mud in rainstorms. (I’m only half joking … fair number of musicians who do actually fit just that description.) But, is the money even getting to them?

Well, artists/writers are increasingly taking matters into their own hands. Why not get that album up on the tracker sites, and be upfront with your listeners about how to have a real relationship that actually gets money directly from listener to audience, without getting hung up on the middleman? The idea’s anything but new, but it is gathering momentum.

This story from Releaselog exaggerates a little with the headline:

The Flashbulb Promotes Piracy

… in fact, the artist in question would still appreciate getting some funding; he (Benn Jordan) just argues that you should pay what you think is appropriate to the artist directly, not Apple, Amazon, or Best Buy. He also happens to be CEO of his label, Alphabasic Records, and wants the same treatment for all of them.

Oh, yeah, and The Flashbulb isn’t “pro-piracy” so much as he is anti-CD (as purchased from big retailers) and anti-iTunes — good reason, seeing as he’s not getting paid.

Short excerpt:

Artist/producer Morgan King writes us to say a couple of electronic music outlets are evidently no more. For his part, Morgan is working on getting more music available in his own project, Accidental Music — more on that soon. (And some of you may know Morgan from projects like Clubland, or the fact that he won a Swedish Grammy — they’re tasty with lingonberries, believe me.) React Music / Resist Music was a label close to him personally. He writes:

I am sad to report on the demise of Resist Music, who I have personally had dealings with for the last thirteen years!

Resist Music actually started out in 1990 known then as React Music and they came to prominence with the release of the first three volumes of the seminal “Café Del Mar” Compilation, Mrs Wood and the Reactivate series to name a few.

In 2004 React Music was forced into voluntary administration following the closure of the Beechwood Music group which owed React in excess of £1.000.000 and it was at this point they bounced back in the guise of Resist Music the same year!

In November this year (2007) I was waiting for my royalty payment and in the past Resist we’re always prompt at making payments, so it came as a surprise to me when after an enquiry about monies due to me I had no response and when I tried to call the phone had been disconnected.

A few days’ later I emailed an employee who I knew personally and this was the response:

Hi Morgan

Very bad news I’m afraid.  I was made redundant last Friday which is what it says in the letter I received this morning, apparently at that time Resist went into Liquidation.

The Liquidators are David Rubin & Partners, Pearl Assurance House, 319 Ballards Lane, London N12 8LY.

I know that Music Industry sales have really been suffering at the hands of modern technology so I’m afraid it hasn’t come as a surprise.

At the time of writing this I am waiting for the liquidators to get back to me and the Resist Website still seems to be in operation although every other activity of the company has ceased!

In the following week I heard that 3Beat Digital and Amato distribution had also folded: 3beat Digital

I wish James and Melissa all the best in the future and would like to say a personal thanks for the years of hard work they put in to the Music Business.

3Beat Digital is notable in that they, like dancetracksdigital, offered pre-warped Ableton Live-ready tracks; they were more or less the UK-based alternative. (I wrote about the two services for Computer Music a while ago.) This leaves DTD, from what I can tell; 3Beat has only a dance blog where the store had been. Any other distributors MIA, let us know.

Promoting yourself with a demo can mean all kinds things, from selecting a couple of tracks to help connect with a collaborator to getting yourself a composing gig or record deal. Producer/musician Quantazelle herself has seen plenty of demo discs and has assembled some tips for how to make them work. If you’ve got ideas or questions of your own, be sure to sound off in comments. But the best idea of all may be getting people together for an in-person event to share music and visual reels. -Ed.

A demo is short for “demonstration,” and its purpose is to show others what you can do, musically. In the past, a band with major-label aspirations would scrape together a bit of cash for a few hours in a studio and crank out a few copies of their best songs on a tape or a record and then send it off to various A&R departments, hoping for a record deal and a contract with a fat advance. These days, technology has made the concept of a demo and its applications somewhat different, but we’ll always need to share what we’re capable of with others.

If you’re in Chicago this Tuesday… During my time at Modsquare a few years back, I organized a Demo Swap at a club in Chicago, where guests would get in free if they showed up with a stack of 10 or more or their demos on CDR. Not only did I discover talented local acts who I featured on our free online compilations, I met artists that I would later book at events, and learned that fellow attendees who had met at the night ended up collaborating on projects. Since I had so many people asking me to do another one, we’ve reincarnated the night at Ramp Chicago. So if you’re close to Chicago, show up at Sonotheque on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 9pm with a stack of demos or promotional material, get in for a reduced cover, and start meeting your fellow musicians and industry types (Peter Kirn of CDM will be there!). Read more about it here: Demo Swap July 17 at Ramp Chicago.

Where’s it going?

Figure out your intentions with the demo. Is it to get signed to a label? To book gigs? To find like-minded potential collaborators? To get work scoring a film? Similarly, determine the audience. Is it the A & R people at a label? The talent buyer at a club? Other musicians? Each of these requires a different approach.

At first, I thought I was reading something wrong when I got this press release this morning: “Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, announced today an agreement which creates a groundbreaking, new revenue stream for UMG and its artists: in addition to the standard payments it will make to UMG for the sale of its music, Microsoft will also pay UMG a portion of Zune device sales.”

Wait, what? Microsoft is giving money away from hardware sales to a company in exchange for … um … well, nothing, actually?

Believe it or not, that’s exactly what’s happened. Mighty Microsoft is paying tribute money to Universal, and getting nothing in return.

Let’s be clear: paying for music is a good thing. I’m happy to pay a cover at a club to hear a live artist. I’m happy to buy a CD directly from the band. I’m happy to purchase a download from a band’s website. I’m happy to purchase an album from an independent label, many of which really can do a good job of promoting their artists’ work and sharing profits from record sales. I’m happy to support real-world record stores and independent online stores that support those labels. And, of course, I’ll buy mainstream big-label records because I enjoy some of the music — again, if possible, from an independent distributor.

And I’m equally happy to support license fees, which simplify the problem of how to cover more intangible uses of music. To take ASCAP as the US example, the idea is that a venue (like a bar) that uses music (bands playing covers, jukeboxes playing tunes) makes money off that music (and they do) so artists should get paid. (CESAC is the European equivalent.) I know people who have made a little money off ASCAP checks. ASCAP the organization is not an evil industry conglomerate. It’s run by members, and those members are publishers, composers, songwriters, and lyricists. It’s also a service organization that provides training, group health insurance, equipment insurance, community events, and contests to its members. You can argue with ASCAP on some matters, but at least what it does is determined by the people actually producing the music. (I’ll also say, both ASCAP and rival BMI are very supportive of contemporary concert music, which is a rare asset.)

There’s one underlying principle in all of these models: you’re paying for the music. And while any of these systems can be abused, the basic model makes sense.

Here’s a different model, proudly unveiled in a press release from Microsoft and Universal Music Group today. It involves paying the label (not the artist) for your hardware (not the music):

Let’s play a game. Here’s how it goes: I read a headline, you feign surprise. “Sony-BMG engaged in widespread payola.” “Sony-BMG settles in case regarding payments to radio stations.” “Radio groups refuse to comment.” (see Digital Music weblog or your local paper)

Okay, well here’s one that brings a little surprise. According to Billboard Radio Monitor, the one radio group that is being outspoken about cleaning out the corruption is uber-evil media giant Clear Channel. On the other hand, payola isn’t exactly part of Clear Channel’s business model — they’re too busy going after the big bucks by being the Wal-Mart of radio. Meanwhile, Sony is mum about whether it will take any disciplinary action or make any real changes to how it does business, other than to say: “Sony-BMG looks forward to defining a new, higher standard in radio promotion.” Hate to break it to you guys, but higher standard ain’t sayin’ much when the status quo is a decades-old system of bribes. And the damage inflicted by New York state’s Spitzer? A “punishing” 10 million dollars. Pardon me, Bill Gates, but can you spare a tuppence?

You know what, though? Payola sounds like a pretty good idea to me. Maybe it’s not too late to save it. Here’s CDM’s evil plan:

1. Promote independent music, distributed on the Web

2. Turn online music, indie labels, music podcasts, and indie record stores into an industry-crushing sensation

3. Let the payola from the industry (now geared at the Web, instead of radio) pour in

4. Use the cash to start a new record industry, printed entirely on (wait for it!) — vinyl records.

That’ll work, right? (Why are you snickering?)