You Tube Killed the Video Star

It was announced recently that YouTube, the massive video posting and networking site has decided to pay royalties to those artists in the UK who are under groups that protect copyright issues for over 50,000 clients across the sea ALONE. This means that YouTube will pay a flat fee in order to keep the videos up and these groups will keep and eye and distribute the cash as they see fit.

I know many of you have logged onto YouTube only to find that "This video removed by Warner Music Group" or something similar when searching for artists. YouTube has been a downright moral dilemma for most record companies, ranging from those who think that the industry is losing money by having these available and that they should pay for these music videos on iTunes, to those who see it as the single most effective online marketing tool there is. I fall into the latter category.

At what point do record companies charge for these videos? I've always understood music videos to be a great marketing tool, something like a preview to the album that the audience to see and feel and know as tangible. Certainly there are lines crossed when it comes to DVDs and everything, but now not only do you have the official videos but live videos from people's cell phones available. This is especially crucial for any band who can't even afford to have an official video, let alone one popular enough to make it on YouTube. Where would OkGo be without their treadmill video? Aside from all the garbage people end up posting, its been such an amazing resource for bands and listeners alike to have instant exposure.

Sure, it's nice to get a few bucks for your band to be played, but that's hardly fair when so many artists don't belong to these copyright groups, and the fact that it is only in the UK. I'm stoked that Bono will get his fair share for new pleather pants, but I say its all or nothing. Let's make the distinction of YouTube as a tool versus a sell-able product. God knows we've made enough things purchasable that we can hold a few things sacred, can't we?

Keep Your Ear to the Ground : This Week's Reccomendations

New Releases for 9/4/07:

• Calvin Harris : I Created Disco
• Ferraby Lionheart : Catch the Brass Ring
• Hard - Fi : Once Upon a Time in the West
  
• (yeah, that's it. apparently everyone wants to compete with Kanye next week)

Upcoming Shows (in Phoenix, unless otherwise noted):

• 9/5 - Incubus @ Mesa Amphiteatre
• 9/6 - Rise Against @ Marquee Theatre
• Peachcake w/Tokyo Rose and Alcoholiday @ Modified
• Black Hole Calcutta's Final Show @ Phix
• 9/7 - Subhumans @ The Clubhouse
• Rodrigo y Gabriella @ Marquee Theatre
• Local Frequency with What Laura, Kinch and more @ Anderson's
• Blanche Davidian CD Release @ The Sets
  
• 9/8 - John Vanderslice @ Modified
• Technicolor Yawn and Minibosses @ Paperheart Gallery

Yeah that's it. Here's thing thing : ARIZONA STILL EXISTS, WE PROMISE. TOUR HERE PLZ. And while you're at it, make a new record or 2.

Compact Disc ; Disc Compacted

I was faced with a slight moral dilemma the other night. I host a local music show at campus radio, and had local glam rock outfit Blanche Davidian in studio to talk about their upcoming release show amongst other things. Now as seems to be the trend, the band had their manager listening with a watchful ear and his fingers ready to text for suggestions. I'm all about that, the more promotion the better, but there was one point that puzzled me.

"Make sure not to say CD release show. It's an album release show."

Fair enough, I guess, but I guess it really is a sign of the times when CD becomes a faux pas. I know that he meant that "album" is more all encompassing, implying that it will also be available in other mediums such as iTunes, but I guess I just never thought about it. I suppose the greater majority doesn't need something tangible anymore, so does that make music no longer tangible either?

I've had to defend myself a lot these last few years as to why I work at a record label and how apparently no one there knows what they're doing, and that they're going about it the wrong way. I am guilty of the same thing and think about all those same things too. But imagine how often the record industry has had to change. The record companies are trying so hard to be a part of the next big thing that they step over something that can be really beneficial now. I think it goes with any industry that has changed so drastically in the last 3o years that they're not always going to get it. There are so many ways to consume music its insane yet so exciting. Imagine then being the guy who thought of iTunes? Or carrying music on your phone? There is so much opportunity to open our minds and see what's out there and we have to be okay with the fact that maybe it won't work or it won't last. Hopefully there will be something else to fill that space later.

But I'm still going to always call them CDs. It's like Kleenex.

Choose Your Own Adventure

So time-warp folk darlings The Decemberists have announced their upcoming fall tour, which caused the several thousand flannel wearing folk-rockers who cried late at night listening to "Picaresque" to simultaneously pee their girl pants.

Aside from that disturbing visual, they have average music dorks totally geeked out on an actual concept tour, which they are titling "The Long and Short of It". For 12 cities they will be playing 2 shows (some cities up to 4, such as in Washington DC, oddly enough), their first night featuring the "long of it", longer ballad songs such as The Chimney Sweep and the next night featuring "The Short of It", featuring shorter catchier songs such as The Sporting Life.

All in all I think it's a pretty phenomenal idea, and a great answer for a band with such an extensive catalog as The Decemberists. Everyone complains that they never get to hear everything they wanted to hear, and now here's their chance. Some might argue that someone who has never heard The Decemberists might get a wrong impression of the band if they only attend one or the other, but to be honest, I think this tour is less about making new fans and more about providing something special for their existing ones. However, I think I'd feel kind of like an asshole if I only showed up on the "short of it" day, feeling as if I was just a trendy bastard. On the other side of that coin is showing up for the "long of it" day and probably getting bored. I'm sure many will opt for both, its a great experiment. You get to choose what kind of fan you are, and with a band such as The Decemberists, I feel like they are pretty widely varied.
Ben Kweller is also doing something similar in LA, playing 3 nights, performing each night for each one of his 3 albums top to bottom. They Might Be Giants did something like that in New York City as well, spreading these 3 nights over 3 weeks and playing one show of everything, one show of hit songs and the last of ones with a brass section. I feel like it might seem like a cop out to some, but it might force fans to evaluate what it is they want out of this band and their music. If anything, it will get their fans thinking about the band period, which with a band as established as Decemberists, they might need that kind of reminder sometimes as to why they became a fan in the first place.

Damn the Man (All 50,000)

Ever think you could run your own record label?

God knows with how things have been going lately, some of us have considered it. I know that my goal is to work from the inside out, then start my own, but god knows that I don't have the knowhow at 21. However, a 26 year old man in Florida has managed to take that pipe dream and find a way to ease into it.

Karol Gajda has decided to recruit 50,000 people for a mere $25 a pop to contribute to his new record label. It's almost like a perverted Save the Children campaign, only the children probably wear girl pants and ironic cowboy boots. Gadja will take that money and start up the business, using the funds to find an office, produce the records and take the proper measures in marketing and distributing it. Now, I've read 'This Business of Music' too, but who is this guy that he thinks 50,000 will trust his know how? Ultimately all members will be able to make suggestions, but considering you're competing against 49,999 other members who all want their boyfriend's band to be signed, it seems to be a little too good to be true.

Now, far be it for me to only be a cynic about this whole think. Ideally it sounds great, 200,000 dollars each for the first 5 bands signed and input on tours and booking? Sweet. But there's a reason people are hired and put into these positions : they know their shit. They've made these industry contacts and at least know the difference between The Academy Is and Fall Out Boy (oh yes, there is one) Whos to say you'll have smart business men and women on your staff, let alone just music fans? I'd be worried that I'd be overstepped, that at least a thousand other people want to sign the same other band and as a band, that'd freak me the fuck out. God knows Randy in Kentucky is all about promotional belt buckles, but sometimes that quality control is necessary, and beneficial. There is no means in which this man is going to sift through his members to make sure they're legit, no more than these members know if he's legit. To me, it all seems a little sketch.

But good luck, Karol. I bet you'll find the new Circa Survive and have total control on how their lives are run. You and 50,000 of your closest colleagues.