pass.

i hope that whatever industry you work in falls apart because people steal everything from you and then you lose your job and can't feed your family.

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Cottage_Cheese (February 28, 2009)

The RIAA could have prevented this if they better adopted to the new technology ten years ago and knew how to effectively regulate it. Instead, they targeted people with frivolous lawsuits. This is capitalism. If they can't handle the market, then they won't survive.

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

it isn't capitalism when people are stealing. that market model only works when people spend money on things.

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RamblinBoyOfPleasure (February 28, 2009)

of course, but I think he means that it IS within a capitalist society and they haven't dealt with it very well. Survival of the fittest.

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crackpotdemagogue (February 28, 2009)

all capitalism does is legitimise stealing for some people, de-legitimise it for others: and while this is a crude analysis it is also true. exploitation is theft, and capitalism is exploitation. where do you get all of these pre-packaged opinions man? do you never question what you are told?

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

no. i get them from logic. capitalism as a system is pretty cut and dry. its people that fuck it up. just like any other thing in life.

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crackpotdemagogue (March 1, 2009)

sorry, but you are an idiot

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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

if i spent even a minute of my life giving a fuck what some pretentious british twat on the internet thought of me, that would make me an idiot.

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crackpotdemagogue (March 1, 2009)

no, that would make you sensitive. my comment was an observation, not an insult. and i don't see why "british" is of relevance.. are you a bigot?

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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

i'm a total bigot. xenophobic to the max. your comment was insulting and derogatory which makes you pretentious. you are from england which makes you british. you act how i feel a "twat" acts. therefore you a pretentious british twat.

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crackpotdemagogue (March 1, 2009)

well, there's a few problems here. mainly with your definitions. i meant 'idiot' in the sense it was implied by the grecians who first used the word idiōtēs to describe someone, not in a necessarily derogatory sense, as a layman. even if the comment was used in an 'insulting and derogatory' fashion, this would not however make me 'pretentious'. You should invest in a good dictionary. Also you make the assumption that I am from England - I am not. And even if I was, it would not follow naturally that I was British, since considering one's self as 'British' is a political, and therefore personal, stratification.

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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

definitions change over time. is a wedding only between a man and a woman?

again. i stick with the pretentious british twat. i get the feeling you spend little time of your life actually living life to understand the things you preach about.

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crackpotdemagogue (March 1, 2009)

definitions don't change, they evolve: old meanings become lesser used, misunderstood.

nice attempt at telekinesis also, but 'the feeling' you 'get' is more likely to be a bowel movement - it sure as shit isn't an insight into my life.

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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

you're not helping your case at all here.

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jeremythunder (February 28, 2009)

yes it is. theft if a fundamental part of the capitalist economic structure.

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Banger (March 1, 2009)

One of the bases of capitalism is the exchanging of commodities which derive their value through their scarcity. Due to CD ripping/burning and peer-to-peer file sharing, a song can now be reproduced an infinite amount of times, meaning that it has virtually no scarcity whatsoever, and thus almost zero economic value.

However, the artist as the creator and performer of the song can have economic value to people who want more music from the artist. Such people will patronize him/her/them in order to continue receiving the artist's output. This can be done by buying concert tickets, t-shirts, vinyl, and yes, even CDs.

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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

you're still missing the point that ripping/burning/downloading is stealing. not just a new means to buying music.

any other industry would fall apart if people stole the product, regardless of how well somebody adopted to the new model of thet.

an example: if you ran a grocery store, it wouldn't be the diy farmers and dumpster divers in this case, it would be the people literally stealing groceries from your store. in the case of people creating their own food, that is a system that you can adjust to and learn to compete with. when people are stealing that system falls apart.

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Banger (March 1, 2009)
You can keep calling it stealing but you're basing your claim on an antiquated system that placed on a song an economic value that no longer exists.

You say the industry - I presume you mean the CD selling industry - is falling apart because people are stealing the product. I say that the CD selling industry is falling apart because modern technology has made music so easily obtainable that CDs are now worth virtually nothing.

The fact that a CD selling industry even existed in the first place was because people wanted a way in which to obtain copies of music, and vinyl=>tapes=>CDs provided a means. Computers and the internet have now made those means unnecessary.

Your grocery store analogy doesn't work. People aren't taking CDs from brick and mortar shops. They're making copies of songs at the push of a button. If people could make a dozen eggs and a quart of milk with the push of a butto

show rest of commentYou can keep calling it stealing but you're basing your claim on an antiquated system that placed on a song an economic value that no longer exists.

You say the industry - I presume you mean the CD selling industry - is falling apart because people are stealing the product. I say that the CD selling industry is falling apart because modern technology has made music so easily obtainable that CDs are now worth virtually nothing.

The fact that a CD selling industry even existed in the first place was because people wanted a way in which to obtain copies of music, and vinyl=>tapes=>CDs provided a means. Computers and the internet have now made those means unnecessary.

Your grocery store analogy doesn't work. People aren't taking CDs from brick and mortar shops. They're making copies of songs at the push of a button. If people could make a dozen eggs and a quart of milk with the push of a button, then your analogy might work. But if we could do that we wouldn't need grocery stores anymore either.
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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)
I mean the music industry.

Here's how it works, because it seems like the majority of people on this site are confused

Let's say somebody puts a record out on Fat, Vagrant, or SideOneDummy.

FIrst somebody has to record it, which means you have to pay for studio time, an engineer, sometimes a producer, and then somebody to master it.

Then somebody needs to make the artwork. Sometimes its done for free, or by a member of the band. Sometimes you have to pay people for their services.

Then somebody has to package the music and distribute it to stores all around the country as well as work out digital distribution deals with online distributors like iTunes, Emusic, Amazon etc.

Finally, once the album is ready to be released, the label pays for things like Publicity, Marketing and Advertising. Publicity allows w

show rest of commentI mean the music industry.

Here's how it works, because it seems like the majority of people on this site are confused

Let's say somebody puts a record out on Fat, Vagrant, or SideOneDummy.

FIrst somebody has to record it, which means you have to pay for studio time, an engineer, sometimes a producer, and then somebody to master it.

Then somebody needs to make the artwork. Sometimes its done for free, or by a member of the band. Sometimes you have to pay people for their services.

Then somebody has to package the music and distribute it to stores all around the country as well as work out digital distribution deals with online distributors like iTunes, Emusic, Amazon etc.

Finally, once the album is ready to be released, the label pays for things like Publicity, Marketing and Advertising. Publicity allows websites like this one to know whe a new song is released, tour dates are announced, and to set up things like exclusives, interviews and the like.

Occasionally a label might even give a band a little bit of money to help them go on tour and support the album.

What's happening now is that the label is paying for all of these things, and the band is benefiting from the promotion because people still go see their shows and buy their merchandise, but the label isn't recouping any of their costs off of record sales. If a label attempts doing something like a 360 deal -- where they pay for and receive compensation for everything including merch and ticket sales -- then they are considered evil. If they attempt to stop people from stealing a product then they are considered evil.

The analogy does work. You don't need grocery stores right now, you make a choice to use them. You could grow your own food pretty easily and probably at a cheaper price than you pay for groceries each year. But you make the choice not to. Just like you are making a choice not to buy music. You don't have to buy a cd or a tape or a record. You can buy mp3s from Emusic or Itunes.
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Tom1022 (March 1, 2009)

I agree.

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Banger (March 1, 2009)
You say that you mean the music industry, yet what you detail step by step is the production, packaging, distribution and marketing of a CD, so what you are really talking about is the CD selling industry.

You're trying to justify the continued existence of an obsolete medium by pointing out the costs of producing that medium and deeming them "necessary" when they're not. That's like justifying the continued existence of 8-tracks by pointing out the costs of producing them. If people don't want them, they're not going to buy them.

mp3s don't require album art.
mp3s don't require packaging.
mp3s don't require distribution deals.
mp3s don't require the traditional forms marketing and advertising. Sites like punknews and myspace prove that.

Recording costs are still inevitable if people want their mp3s, and touring costs are still inevitabl

show rest of commentYou say that you mean the music industry, yet what you detail step by step is the production, packaging, distribution and marketing of a CD, so what you are really talking about is the CD selling industry.

You're trying to justify the continued existence of an obsolete medium by pointing out the costs of producing that medium and deeming them "necessary" when they're not. That's like justifying the continued existence of 8-tracks by pointing out the costs of producing them. If people don't want them, they're not going to buy them.

mp3s don't require album art.
mp3s don't require packaging.
mp3s don't require distribution deals.
mp3s don't require the traditional forms marketing and advertising. Sites like punknews and myspace prove that.

Recording costs are still inevitable if people want their mp3s, and touring costs are still inevitable if people want to see the band perform live. But selling CDs and mp3s are not the only means of recouping these costs. If a fan of a band wants to see that band continue to put out music and come to his town to play, he'll give what money he can to support the band, be it by paying for a concert ticket, or a t-shirt, or a limited edition vinyl, or heck, even just writing a check and mailing it to the band.

And no, the analogy does not work. I've grown my own vegetables, and it is a lot of work. Downloading a song takes a matter of seconds. People buy vegetables instead of growing them because there is a scarcity in vegetables due to the time, money and effort it takes to grow vegetables. People download music instead of buying it because it is as plentiful as air.
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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)
take out the packaging and parts of the distribution, then yes you still need to distribute for mp3s.

-mp3s don't require album art, but usually real music fans enjoy album art.
-mp3s don't require packaging
-mp3s do require distribution deals. itunes, emusic, amazon etc. go check out http://www.theorchard.com/ they are a digital distribution company
-how do you think punknews gets interviews and news? through publicists. how do you think myspace promotes bands? through paid advertising.

here are some pr companies that work with the many bands that punknews likes to talk about and promote

http://www.mutinypr.com/roster.html
http://www.southe rnlovi

show rest of commenttake out the packaging and parts of the distribution, then yes you still need to distribute for mp3s.

-mp3s don't require album art, but usually real music fans enjoy album art.
-mp3s don't require packaging
-mp3s do require distribution deals. itunes, emusic, amazon etc. go check out http://www.theorchard.com/ they are a digital distribution company
-how do you think punknews gets interviews and news? through publicists. how do you think myspace promotes bands? through paid advertising.

here are some pr companies that work with the many bands that punknews likes to talk about and promote

http://www.mutinypr.com/roster.html
http://www.southe rnlovin.com/
http://www.riotactmedia.com/about.php
http://www.m yspace.com/beartrappr

i've grown my own vegetables too. its not that hard. how much time do you spend on the internet? spend that much time each day cultivating a garden and you'll be set.

selling music is the only way a record label can currently recoup costs. people don't write checks to bands, buying limited edition vinyl is no different than buying a cd.
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Banger (March 1, 2009)
"Real music fans enjoy album art"? Keep your value judgments to yourself. Real music fans by definition enjoy music. Album art is nice but does not define who is or isn't a real music fan. And guess what? If people want the album art and liner notes so much they can buy the CD.

mp3s don't require distribution deals. Upload it to your website and it is distributed. Email it to your friends and it is distributed. That's one of the key features to peer-to-peer filesharing: it eliminates distribution costs.

Punknews doesn't get all of its news from publicists. If Brendan Kelly posts in his blog at noon that the next Lawrence Arms album is coming out in August, it'll appear on this site at 12:10.

Growing vegetables is hard compared to downloading a song. It takes hours of labor and weeks of waiting to grow vegetables. The time, cost and effort in

show rest of comment"Real music fans enjoy album art"? Keep your value judgments to yourself. Real music fans by definition enjoy music. Album art is nice but does not define who is or isn't a real music fan. And guess what? If people want the album art and liner notes so much they can buy the CD.

mp3s don't require distribution deals. Upload it to your website and it is distributed. Email it to your friends and it is distributed. That's one of the key features to peer-to-peer filesharing: it eliminates distribution costs.

Punknews doesn't get all of its news from publicists. If Brendan Kelly posts in his blog at noon that the next Lawrence Arms album is coming out in August, it'll appear on this site at 12:10.

Growing vegetables is hard compared to downloading a song. It takes hours of labor and weeks of waiting to grow vegetables. The time, cost and effort in growing vegetables is substantial enough that millions of people choose to buy them at the store instead, but if they could get a bunch of carrots just by pressing a button, you bet that millions of people would press the button instead of farming or paying for them at the market. Downloading a song takes a few seconds of mouse-clicking and a few minutes of waiting, depending on your internet speed. The time, cost and effort in downloading music is minimal enough that millions of people choose to download music instead of paying for it.

If selling music is the only way for a label to recoup costs, it is no surprise that more and more artists are going DIY. A label going out of business because people don't want to buy CDs anymore is no different than a carriage maker going out of business because people don't want to buy carriages anymore.

People don't write checks to bands? Tell that to Bomb the Music Industry!
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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

if you think the brendan kelly example helps your argument, then you're way off base. i love this site, and i've been reading it for 8 or 9 years, but if you think punknews is the end-all-be-all of music publicity then you're crazy. if you think the lawrence arms don't have a publicist then you're not paying attention.

So. It takes two minutes to walk into a farmers market, steal some veggies, and walk out. It is THAT easy. People are willing to steal music online because they don't have to physically face the people that they are ripping off. Its a cowardly thing. Please stop using "downloading" in place of "stealing".

BTMI is a novelty act. And one person. Have the same music with a different band name and different lyrics and see if that model actually works.

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Banger (March 1, 2009)
When did I say that punknews was the end-all-be-all of music publicity? I'm just saying that the traditional forms of publicity are no longer the end-all-be-all of music publicity. Sure, publicists are useful for letting people know that a band has new stuff coming out or is touring, but so are blogs, myspace, online communities, and even peer-to-peer filesharing itself.

Again, your farmers market analogy fails. You're equating copying a digital file with taking a physical product from someone. If I copy an mp3 from my friend, my friend still has his mp3. If I take the veggies from the grocer, the grocer no longer has those veggies. A digital file can be duplicated infinitely and thus has virtually no economic value. A vegetable is a physical object that has economic value by virtue of the fact that it is a physical object and cannot be simply copied in a matter of seco

show rest of commentWhen did I say that punknews was the end-all-be-all of music publicity? I'm just saying that the traditional forms of publicity are no longer the end-all-be-all of music publicity. Sure, publicists are useful for letting people know that a band has new stuff coming out or is touring, but so are blogs, myspace, online communities, and even peer-to-peer filesharing itself.

Again, your farmers market analogy fails. You're equating copying a digital file with taking a physical product from someone. If I copy an mp3 from my friend, my friend still has his mp3. If I take the veggies from the grocer, the grocer no longer has those veggies. A digital file can be duplicated infinitely and thus has virtually no economic value. A vegetable is a physical object that has economic value by virtue of the fact that it is a physical object and cannot be simply copied in a matter of seconds. If it could be copied in such a way, the veggie would have the same economic value as an mp3: virtually none.

Bomb the Music industry doesn't count? How convenient. I'm sure that if I said Radiohead instead you would probably say that they don't count either because they're popular. How about O Pioneers!!! Or are they a novelty act too?

And I never said that writing a check is a "model"; I have repeatedly indicated that there are numerous ways to patronize an artist, including buying a CD or mp3s.

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Banger (February 28, 2009)

Which industry is falling apart? The "suing people for downloading music" industry?

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dlangl4 (February 28, 2009)

I think if people shouldn't illegally download music then the reason should be that it's morally wrong/stealing, and not because doing so might ultimately result in people losing their jobs at the RIAA.

The RIAA is more responsible for hiring a shitload of people for their mass lawsuit strategy and then abandoning those people when they decided to abandon the strategy. To say that downloaders shouldn't download to prevent the RIAA from firing a lot of people is silly.

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jeremythunder (February 28, 2009)

this isn't a construction firm laying off laborers, this is purely white collar affairs. no one is starving over this.

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

a job is a job. what do you think the riaa workrers are living in riches?

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jeremythunder (March 1, 2009)

no, but i'd imagine they're nestled somewhere in the middle class, with a reasonable resume and a college degree that would help transfer them to another mediocre office job, probably for less pay. no one is starving here.

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the_other_scott (March 1, 2009)

i have friends that work at ever level of jobs from construction workers to people who work on wall st. and everything in between. yes there are circumstances that put you in your place in life, but people have choices to make.

i have a good friend who left a job running a construction crew to apprentice building cabinetry because it would eventually further his career.

also. there is no middle class in LA or NYC. you could be making 100,000 a year and you can't afford to buy a house. people at the RIAA are probably making 50,000 a year and paying most of their salaries to rent. not riding around in limos doing blow off of strippers.

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fuckin_ay (March 2, 2009)

you must've missed the point.

i'll re-state his thesis:

no one's starving here.

Fuck the RIAA and everyone that works for it. What they did to the music community was make us suck on their puny dicks in fear of getting sued for downloading music.

Only for the sucker cubicle dwelling bystander who lost a job because of the incompetence of his superiors. Everyone else can eat a bag of dicks.

nope!

Honestly it sounds like they kinda deserve it for being that stupid.

wow lol

I have no comment.

http://www.punknews.org/reply/1205729/32533

Yes, the call was probably made that man in Canada.

This was worse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_search_prank_call_scam

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PtvnSux94 (February 28, 2009)

They made a Law and Order SVU episode with Robin Williams, on this subject.

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tnimark (February 28, 2009)

Haha teriffic. Who was Robin Williams portraying? The prank caller?

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PtvnSux94 (March 1, 2009)

Yeah, he was trying to prove that people trust authority too much and do whatever they are told.

That's kinda bullshit. I don't care what position they held, nobody forced them to work for the RIAA. I'm sure they were as aware as anyone of what they were supporting.

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Apeman_On_The_Moon (February 28, 2009)

Yeah, because you should quit your job if your employes tries to keep people from violating their copyrights. Give me a fucking break. But I suppose you work for some hemp clothing store that buys all their supplies from local growers and promotes world peace and all that other bullshit.

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IamtheAvatar (February 28, 2009)

You and I both know that suing children and dead people is going way overboard. Anyone with any moral fiber at all will get uneasy at the thought of working for a group that wouldn't flinch to put a 14 year old a 100 grand in debt. No I don't work for some organic clothing store, but would there be a problem if I did? You sound like a person who used to have ideals, emphasis on the past tense.

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FuckYouOiOiOi (February 28, 2009)

"If it doesn't matter now, then it never really did."

-Tom Gabel

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/27/entertainment/main4834 108.shtml?source=RSSattr=Entertainment_4834108

I honestly can't say I'm that upset, at least as far as the big conglomerates were concerned. I just wish the indie labels were doing better.

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

first off, most biger indies are tied in with Majors. for example, Red Distribution is owned by Sony. here's the labels they work with: http://www.redmusic.com/labels.htm

secondly i've worked with plenty of people at major labels who are genuinely big music fans that make like 40,000 - 50,000 a year which isn't a whole lot of money in LA or New York. its not all fat cats with limos and shit like that.

digital sales and vinyl are up, and albums are still going multiple platinum. could decreased revenue possibly have more to do with poor quality music being released, less albums being released by labels, and outdated business models and irresponsible financial practices?

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jacknife737 (February 28, 2009)

Digital and vinyl may be up, but there are in no way making up for the revenues lost by declining cd sales. It's like you may have gained 5 but you're still down by 20.

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badbrain (February 28, 2009)

Declining CD sales are just the result of CD's becoming outdated due to advancements in technology, the same as has happened in the past. Like it or not, digital mp3's are the most popular new medium - a result of advancements in technology. It happened to 8-tracks, it happened to vinyl (making a comeback I know), and now it's happening to CD's.

Eventually cars will no longer come equipped with CD players, they'll just have hookups for iPods or other digital player devices, as most already do.

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PoliticsOfStarving (February 28, 2009)

Exactly. And it just happens that newest format is the most easiest to steal/copy/pirate.

On another note. CDs have always been fucking useless. When they first appeared we had idiots like Molly Meldrum on tv telling us how you can do anything to them and they 'won't break like your vinyl' and we don't have to worry about them 'getting scratched up like vinyl'.

But here i am having gone through about 7 CD players in ten years, and yet I'm still listening to vinyl on the very first record player I ever bought.

CDs were fucked from the beginning.

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HeyBarmold (February 28, 2009)

That's because fans are now downloading soulja boy for 99 cents instead of buying a whole cd full of douchebaggery for $15.99, but the record industry hasn't adjusted its business model, even though they've had almost a decade.

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fallingupwards84 (March 1, 2009)

not that the people who post here listen to that kind of music, but the number of albums going platinum nowdays are few and far between. it used to be nothing for a major-label artist to sell gold or platinum, now the standard is 100,000-200,000 in sales - still not anything to laugh at, but a drop nonetheless

Let it burn!

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

i always thought that song was silly as Fat is distributed by Sony.

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RedScare (February 28, 2009)

Wrong. They have multiple distributors and sell direct to plenty of stores.



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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

i know you are friends with them so i won't argue. but i know a few people who work at RED and have talked them specifically about working with Fat.

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telegraphrocks (February 28, 2009)

Well, it appears you know everyone and everything, so...

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MisFit4Me (February 28, 2009)

Fat Mike knows everyone so I know Fat Mike.

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FuckYouOiOiOi (February 28, 2009)

"look at me, i know people!"


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android (March 1, 2009)

toby used to work at FAT so I think he knows best.

3 months after a layoff and still unemployed. I guess I have some sympathy to spare, but not too much left.

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

my fiancee was laid of twice last year and hasn't been to work since October so i'm supporting 2 people right now in new york city with only the help of unemployment which will run out in 2 months. i'm in a similar boat and it makes me sympathize more. i'm glad i don't have kids or a mortgage or a ton of debt or anything like.

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IamtheAvatar (February 28, 2009)

Dude, that's terrible. I really hope this shit's cleared up by the time I graduate.

12 year old girls and dead people? schwing!

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Dudley_Shale (February 28, 2009)

Well one could never say no, and the other just did it because if not the mean man would tell their parents.

But what about the accusations that the artists weren't compensated by the RIAA, that it was only the record labels?

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RedScare (February 28, 2009)

Wait, labels have been compensated by the RIAA?!?! I need to get in on that!

As with anything, as an artist/band you would rely on your label to pay you. If that model doesn't work for you, you can be like like BYO, Fat, AMR and start your own imprint. Of course that means you're going to have to pay for your own recording, do your own distro, advertising, publicity, etc etc.



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Damo (February 28, 2009)

sorry to be thick but what does starting their own imprint mean? do Fat not do everything (promote, pay for recordings etc)? if not why would TBR move from Red scare to Fat?

am a bit ignorant on this i'm afraid

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

fucking record label employees work their asses of and deserve to make a living too.

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dlangl4 (February 28, 2009)

Did you even read what he wrote?

They were trying to compensate major record labels/media conglomerates, not artists. Non-RIAA groups make up a truly massive portion of pirated music; the RIAA claimed to speak for all of them but only a witheringly small number of industry heavyweights would ever see a dime from all the teenage girls being shaken down.

"Gaining fans" is awesome. But how are bands going to pay for recording?

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Ragdoll (February 28, 2009)

Let's ask Bomb the Music Industry!, whose last album cost them $50 to record.

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Jake358 (March 1, 2009)

Well they have professional sound engineers in that band so that probably helped.
Most bands cannot record on that budget, unless you know what the fuck you're doing.

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MisFit4Me (February 28, 2009)

You do realize that you can record a professional sounding record in a bedroom, a basement, or a closet nowadays, right? I mean, if you don't know what the fuck you're doing, you probably need professional help, but it's really not all that hard how to figure out where to place a microphone.

And yeah, I wonder how Jeff Rosenstock lives with himself.

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MisFit4Me (February 28, 2009)

Oh, and let's not forget the entire SST and Dischord lineup in the 80s. God, what would we do if their albums weren't recorded for thousands of dollars in a professional studio? Oh wait.

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deadXlast (February 28, 2009)

Recording technology wasn't as widely available to individuals back then. It took a lot more work to get stuff sounding decent in a basement for bands then because they couldn't just plug some mics into their computers and edit their tracks later on. That was unheard of.

Exactly. Who is losing out here? Millionaires, conglomerations, corporations. If we all start only downloading music today, will there still be music tomorrow? YES.

I am paying for less music, and paying less for the music I'm buying, but I'm experiencing just as much music as I was before, and it's not radio forcing me to listen to shit. I'm listening to more music that I like.

Who cares if the industry dies? It only affects those in the industry, not the music fans. I feel no sympathy for the wax cylinder makers, no sympathy for Hummer, no sympathy for anybody who is charging for things that nobody wants. Your industry is dead, and it's your fault. Yes, innocent people will be hurt, but how can I feel sorry for stepping on their toes when there are millions of toes being stepped on? THAT'S LIFE. It sucks for you, but it doesn't for me.

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the_other_scott (February 28, 2009)

you know absolutely nothing about the music industry.

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Ragdoll (March 1, 2009)

Good point. You get a sucker.

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jacknife737 (February 28, 2009)

What about labels like Fat, No Idea, ect that have treated artists fairly and have promoted so many awesome bands? It's not just major labels that are "losing out".

People may have this "promised land" in their minds of every band recording albums in their garages, but in reality you're just going to be flooded with tons of mediocre bands, and people won't have the time or patients to shift through the mounds of shit to get to something worth listening to.

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sugarfull (February 28, 2009)

It's uncanny how well music blogs are capable of doing what you think that people won't have the time or patience for. There's still going to be a way of weeding out the chaff without a label to do it for you.

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Ragdoll (March 1, 2009)

Oh wake the fuck up. You don't think the market is flooded with mediocre, even shitty bands now? Have you SEEN the music video for the latest Brokencyde track?

Anyway, we're not even talking about labels; we're talking about the RIAA. Good. Fucking. Riddance.

And furthermore, if the label "system" became obsolete, and Fat and No Idea and all the rest of them died, then the market has decided they no longer have a need for them. I don't care if they're major or minor, if they're obsolete, then we have no use for them, and we have no need to waste our time and money on them. Sucks for them. Doesn't suck for anyone else.

How dare you even use Robert Smith and Max Bemis in the same sentence and comparison. The Cure has written some of the world's most memorable songs, and they are fucking huge all over on pretty much every continent. I've never even hear a song by say anything, and I don't want to.

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MisFit4Me (February 28, 2009)

Never said I didn't like the Cure. It was a reference to:
http://www.punknews.org/article/32488

The man's a dick. I don't care if he sells CDs, but why criticize those who decide they don't need to sell their own?

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RamblinBoyOfPleasure (March 1, 2009)

you rated a rise against gig in dublin that you weren't even at so your views are void.

So very true. I continually break the bank on shows and vinyl for bands whose records are always leaked, pirated and swapped. It's a new dynamic; some people are hurting now but it all will shake out.

What? Have you actually given it a listen? Some seriously poignant stuff on there dude, she's a better writer than you give her credit for. And her instrumentation is really creative throughout the album. I think it actually deserved a higher score.

that's why there are no record companies in the bible.

He doesn't deserve the balls it took to do that shit.

A.C.A.B.

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NotPatriotic (March 1, 2009)

So true

"Your uniform poisons your heart"

I wonder how many times does this happen and it doesn't get videotaped/exposed? I bet all the time.

you need to post this in a bigger thread.

Someone posted this in a bulletin on myspace earlier today. This hit home because I'm from King County. Shit's so wrong, man.

Nice, I have high hopes for my twins this season

Two reasons I wish I lived in Florida

A. Pre-season baseball
B. The Fest

thank you

This site has the full list of artists and SAT scores

http://thegrip.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/sat-scores-vs-m usic-you-listen-to/

Brian Fallon must have had a good SAT score due the place of the Counting Crows on the list.

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el_matt (February 28, 2009)

Apparently I listen exclusively to Surfjan Stevens. Good thing my score wasn't any higher, or I'd listen to absolutely nothing or Beethoven.

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WesMantooth (March 1, 2009)

i don't listen to beethoven at all, but according to this, that's the only thing i listen to

That shit made no sense.

Not at all, in fact, I'd tell everyone I could about it.

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FaceOnTheBarroomFloor (February 28, 2009)

Yeah, thanks.
Making sure I wasn't crazy.

That's not going to far, but sounds about right.

Look at this (straight from the RIAA website) :

"RIAA will continue to vigorously fight restrictive censorship measures in the months and years ahead… "

Irony, anyone?