Record Store Days Plays Only on Generational Nostalgia

Megan Seling wrote an interesting piece in The Stranger last week titled, "Damn the Man, Save Your Local Record Store: Why You Should Care About Record Store Day." Though I liked it, I didn't buy it (pun intended). Consider this column my response:

RECORD STORE DAY PLAYS ONLY ON GENERATIONAL NOSTALGIA
by Joseph Coscarelli
April 23, 2009

It was at a rooftop party in lower Manhattan that I encountered a unicorn. Well, not exactly a unicorn, but a creature equally elusive. I had been told these mythic creatures existed; promised that their purity surrounded me, even if I couldn't see them with my disbelieving eyes.

She was barely over five feet tall with loose brown curls, a ratty sweatshirt and black tights. She gushed about early '90s independent rock, lauding Stephen Malkmus while dismissing The Boss as "factory music." She was reverent, but just barely. I'd heard these vaguely derisive party lines before. Then she said it.

"I don't believe in downloading music," she said. "I go to record stores and I buy it."

I nearly stumbled off of the six story building. "Shady Lane" probably would have played in my head as my stunned body rushed toward the, uh, pavement. Regaining my composure, I pushed the issue. "Wait, so you buy. every. album?!" I stammered. "What was the last one you bought?"

Silence. I could practically hear the bum below shaking his change cup.

I knew it. My generation -- teens to early twentysomethings -- does not care about record stores. They love music, songwriters, bands, concerts, mp3s and the idea of record stores. But the racks of plastic, the bearded, bespectacled know-it-alls, and the prices that often match our age? Good riddance. And that's why Record Store Day -- the "holiday" created last April in which "independently owned record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music" -- will not and does not resonate with us.

When I picture a tiny record shop, I imagine it as a haven for the college student of yesteryear: the Berkeley, California activist or the Athens, Georgia scenester. It was a pit-stop on the way to the protest or the bonfire. An archaic place -- a speakeasy for conversation about Black Flag or Billy Corgan, forced to the margins and deemed unworthy by talk of Reagan's reelection or the WTO. These young mavens in the making found guidance in the gravelly voices of aging failed musicians -- another demographic that populated these temples of sound. It is for these types that Record Store Day exists, playing on their nostalgia as a sort of Veteran's Day for the Miles Davis set.

By the time my peers and I decided that Kurt Cobain's estate deserved our allowance money, mega-chains were dominating the market; Target and Wal-Mart cashed in before we even realized that they left out the dirty words. If we were lucky, a Tower Records or a Virgin Megastore was within driving distance, but they sell music with the intimacy that Steve Jobs sells iPods. Tower filed for bankruptcy in 2006; Virgin will close its remaining six locations this spring.

For those of us fortunate enough to live in an urban setting or vaguely alternative area, independent record stores may have been like candy shops, but more often than not there was a grizzled and jaded curmudgeon behind the counter -- not exactly welcoming to a wide-eyed tyke who has never heard Trout Mask Replica. So when advocates for this particular endangered species stress the importance of an erudite staff eager to recommend, I only feel the condescension and alienation of my youth.

In my experience, we prefer the comfort of our own bedrooms, but that hardly means we're sacrificing the knowledge of those older than us or with tastes more eclectic. From the days of Napster and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) to SoulSeek and AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), the filesharing community has been exactly that: a community. Popular pirate blogs like Bolachas Grátis and seminal message boards like Radiohead's Atease Web and Hipinion play host to critical conversations that feature more voices than could ever squeeze into an Amoeba, let alone Other Music.

Instant reviews flow as heavily as pre-release album leaks and recommendations are often a poster's currency -- forum personalities can live and die by the music they push, and with no monetary incentive for their promotion, trust is not an issue. After all, one could download it, give it a try and trash it before you had the plastic off of your Bob Dylan remaster.

If we're mourning for business -- for capitalistic decline and a faulty profit model -- that's one issue, and worth exploring. But let's not dress it up as the death of some higher level socialization, because a change of venue may even breathe new life into the world of critical thoughts on music and its fandom.

For the veteran of the record store, own it as a relic of your musical experience, but don't fault the youngster for making the journey their own. As the generational changeover moves irreversibly forward, likely eclipsing the record store as an abundant entity, embrace the shift and sure, while it lasts, keep your holiday. But don't lose what you love about the process -- let go of the tactile fixation and remember that it's about the community.

The Pirate Bay Captains Found Guilty

The founders of oft-discussed torrent website, The Pirate Bay were found guilty of "contributory copyright infringement" in Swedish court on Friday and sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay over $3 million in damages. And just like that, justice is served and filesharing is no more! Free of evildoers once again, the world can go on as it was before -- pristine and payed for.

All kidding aside, it's hard not to see the guilty verdict as fair, although jail time seems quite excessive. Maybe the RIAA should have just thrown us all in the slammer to teach us the lesson that their lawsuits obviously couldn't.

As for specifics, the above Wired blog writes, "Pirate Bay administrators Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Peter Sunde were found guilty in the case, along with Carl Lundström, who was accused of funding the five-year-old operation."

TPB's spokesman remained level-headed: "Stay calm — Nothing will happen to TPB, us personally or file sharing whatsoever. This is just a theater for the media."

I'm inclined to agree. This victory is purely symbolic, as I've said about this trial numerous times on this blog. If anyone could even begin to explain to me how this could translate into any tangible obstacles for filesharing, I would be more than happy to hear it, but the fact is that nothing will change. If anything, all of this press could even add to the burgeoning torrent userbase.

There's a very informative podcast on the subject at CNET, which documents the joy felt by "copyright holders" but acknowledges the uphill battle still left to fight. The battle? The culture industry. The war? TBA.

What Exactly Is A Pirate, Anyhow?

As we await a verdict in Sweden's Pirate Bay trial, another group of "pirates" has been dominating the news. I'm talking, of course, about the Somali pirates, who last week attacked an American ship and upon fleeing, took the captain hostage. He was eventually freed and the three remaining Somali pirates were shot dead. But with the term "pirate" now strong in the public consciousness -- and we're not talking Johnny Depp -- you have to wonder who the publicist for these scruffy Swedes are.

Sure, they're fighting for free use and against "the man" but the word has recently taken on a far more sinister connotation -- something that doesn't bode well in a trial being played mostly in the media.

Frank Luntz, author of Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear, is known for his reliance on language in political campaigns and is credited with coining phrases like "deep sea energy exploration" (aka drilling). Maybe they should consider hiring him.

And I only bring up politics because these men on trial actually have a political party and call it none other than... the Pirate Party! But the implications of a negative connotation can go a long way and if TPB are in this for the long, gamechanging haul, they should consider a language-based makeover. There's already a call for papers in a journal equating pirates and piracy. Not a good sign for things to come...

This Is The First Song For Your Muxtape [An Interview With Muxtape Founder Justin Ouellette]

Muxtape CEO Justin Ouellette was kind enough to sit down with me and answer a few questions a few months back. I ended up profiling him as a media entrepreneur, but this little Q&A is a nice introduction to his mindset, his past and his pet project.

So, as I've read, the idea for Muxtape came to you when you were DJing in college?

It's not like it came to me fully formed but it got me thinking about music on the internet in general. The technology moves so fast, even in the last five years. So much more is possible. I couldn't not do it, basically. There was just too much potential.

What brought you to New York City?

I always dreamed of opportunity, fame and fortune. I moved here without a job, just the general idea of doing something in the visual arts. I was working as a photographer for a while and transitioned from that into being a web developer and eventually got hooked up with Vimeo.

From there, how was Muxtape developed?

I was definitely doing a lot of creating on the side. When I started working there, there were so many way more talented programmers than me and I got a lot more interested in it. It was one of many side projects, but there was definitely a sense that it was special and kind of cool and different. There was a hunger -- I think there was a need that was just waiting to be filled. A lot of people were waiting for something a lot like that and just didn't know it.

How important is the minimalist aspect of Muxtape's design?

It flew in the face of a lot of the other designs at the time. Also being limited to twelve tracks and not being able to search for the site. These are things we take for granted but are actually throwaway features.

But Muxtape had no marketing when it first launched, is that correct?

I definitely had people watching me already because of the stuff I had already done. Creative Ventures has a reputation of its own for being interesting. A lot of the right people were interested and I had the ear of all the right people. We didn't do any marketing, but it was something a lot of people had been waiting for.


When you created Muxtape, did you have a larger vision for it as the future for bands and labels alike or was it more of a fun project?
We were definitely thinking about the larger picture and so were bands. Musicians started using it that way right away without us saying anything or recommending anything. Anything related to audio was up on the site.


How did you plan on making money?

We didn't really have any ideas except slamming it with advertising and that's what would have had to happened eventually.

And then what happened with the RIAA?

As it was going on, people just assumed that the record labels didn't know about it or something. That wasn't the case at all. They knew within a couple of days. The heartbreaking part about it was that I had engaged in these really intense licensing talk with all of the big labels and then all of a sudden there was a takedown.

The day before it was shut up down I had no idea it would be gone the next morning. There had been a handful of takedown notices that I had complied with - randomly, people focusing on leaks. But it's pretty standard and then I started working with the labels and then they just stopped calling.

But I didn't think it would be shut down, even myself. I was looking into some really expensive changes. It would have been really easy to let that machine keep running but I was looking forward.

What was your mindset after the takedown? Were you really crushed?

Yeah. Well, yes and no. I was relieved more than anything else because I could see it heading a space where I had less control over it. The more you play into the status quo -- the labels wanted ad revenue, they wanted editorial say, and marketing promises. And it was just more and more disappointing. So, when it came time to walk away I was relieved because whatever I made afterward, even if it didn't make as much of an initial splash, there would still be my vision and my control.

Will Muxtape be one of many tools or do you see yourself as competing with sites like MySpace?

Well, certainly. MySpace is the one that I feel the most. Muxtape is a lot different than everything else but MySpace is just such a behemoth and nobody even likes it. It just fills a need. People feel the need to be on there because there are no alternatives. People tell us it's foolish to go against something so big but my position is, if it's ever going to get better we have to make something that is better.

What is better about what you're doing?

I can make a list. A mile long. A lot of things. I think that MySpace is too huge of a context. Bands are so concerned with their image as they should be as artists. But we're offering for you to truly control your presence. Every other site that does this is focused on advertising or features that don't really mean anything but my main focus is putting music in a context that is best to hear it.

From a more practical standpoint, we can do a lot of things you can't do on MySpace. It's a social site that has had music shoehorned into it. With us, it'll be much easier to sell downloads and merchandise all in one place. Also, to manage how that music is heard.

Our position to bands is that we can't promise to make you famous, but no one can. That seems to be the million dollar question. Bands say, "Okay, we can be on the internet but how are we going to make any money?" And our answer is, well, there are a lot of answers to that question but step one in that process is exposing your music to as many people as possible. We'll get your music out there and systematically have control over where it goes.

What do you say to a band that asks where is the money going to come from?

You're no worse off than you were before. Instead of being screwed by a record company taking 95% of your royalties, you're still not making very much money on sales but you can cut out the middle man. In spite of having a hard time making money, you have a lot more potential to make money. Being able to expose yourself as wide as possible and reach a lot of ears just wasn't possible before.

I don't think buying music is going anywhere. At one point I thought it was just be untenable to have a system where you pay for music. But I don't think that's the case. Lots of people are comfortable with the idea of paying for music. It's not an issue of saving money, it's just a convenience thing. People will pay if the convenience comes along with it.

People are much more likely to buy things if it's presented to them in a context that shows there is some work and some effort going into it. With MySpace, it really cheapens it. It's a poor step toward trying to finance anything if it just looks like selling through MySpace.

Is a record store no longer the right context for people to buy from?

It's just not the first point of entry. You used to go into a record store and find a lot just by flipping through records. There was a lot of discovery happening. But it's not a good model for that for obvious reasons. But having music right there and presented with photo, videos, art, a background story and seeing other people into it, to have that right next to it...

Do you buy music?

Oh yeah, I buy lots of music. I love packaging. Another side effect of this is that people are really appreciating physical packaging more. The things that are out there are really special.
You were once a photographer. Could see yourself going back to just shooting?

I like that I don't have to live and die by it. That's a good thing.

Where does your income come from without ads?

A mutual investment in the site funds my salary and Luke's salary.

How would you react to a large-scale Google-sized buy out?

I wouldn't do it. I'm really not in it for the money. I really enjoy pursuing my own vision more than anything and it's important to me.

Even down the line?

I'm not depending on it at all. The more I can resist that, the better. I want to prove that you can do something like this without taking on millions of dollars that you don't even know what to do with. If I had millions now, I wouldn't even know what to do.

Radiohead Probably Won't Testify Against the RIAA

In a move that will disappoint fanboys everywhere, Pitchfork is reporting that Radiohead is NOT actually set to testify against the RIAA. They point to some earlier, unconfirmed announcements of news that the Brit boys would be defending a Boston University student in his million dollar fight for seven mp3s.

The band's statement? "No member of Radiohead has any plans to testify in this trial, [but] there was an informal meeting between the defense attorney and one of the band's managers."

Now, I'm not an expert on Radiohead's personal views on the illegal downloading of their music, but what I do know for a fact is that many artists have endorsed the practice. Why shouldn't these artists come to the aid of their fans in the courtroom? Sure, they may not own the music in all cases (that'd be the labels) but it would be in good faith for them to at least show some solidarity with the people that control their livelihood.

Sure there are artists on the other side of the debate and of course they have a right to be paid for their services, but it's difficult not to come across as greedy, especially if you're the size of a band like, say, Radiohead. I'm obviously reminded of Lars Ulrich's embarrassing turn on Charlie Rose back in the Napster days in which he outed himself as a money hungry, out of touch bully. He debated Public Enemy's Chuck D and the clip can be seen here.

The OTHER Pirates in the News

Forget Somali pirates for just a minute. A verdict will likely be read Friday in the case against torrent mega-site The Pirate Bay, according to The Wall Street Journal. I've been following the trial for some time (check the archives, hopefully all of the posts are there, if not they will be soon--click 'The Pirate Bay' tag below) and I will be anxious to hear how the court rules.

This will obviously set a monumental precedent for how copyright infringement will be handled on a large scale as The Pirate Bay provides access to thousands and thousands of moves and music, through torrent files, all for free. The site claims 22 million users, but for now, eyes are on the four men that Swedish prosecutors targeted last year. They claim that only the index is theirs and that they have no control over what people do with it, according to the Journal, but if you ask me that sounds like a shaky defense. They could face up to a year in jail, but that won't begin to touch the market for this sort of large-scale piracy.

I don't know if this even sends a message of fear to the users, considering they are untouched. The hydra-head problem that these entertainment companies are facing is a daunting one and should The Pirate Bay shut down -- much like with OiNK's Pink Palace, may it rest in peace, the exclusive music torrent site that was closed in 2007 after a raid -- we will see many more copycats before these companies and lawmakers can breath a sign of relief.

iTunes, Obviously

Something fishy is going on at the iTunes music store...

Apparently, songs whose rankings were once respectable have fallen off. Curious, very curious. The song remains the same, as they say, but for some reason people just stopped buying it. Not only does this sales slump suck for Mr. Jobs, but someone else is suffering, namely the artist. What ever could it be?

Oh, yeah. iTunes raised the prices of some songs to $1.29! By golly, I think we've got it. Or Billboard does at least.

Though the price move is in its infancy, there are some signs that do not bode well for the future. Glenn Peoples writes:

On Wednesday, one day after the price increase, the iTunes Top 100 chart had 40 songs priced at $1.29 and 60 with the original $0.99 price point. The $1.29 songs lost an average of 5.3 places on the chart while the $0.99 songs gained an average of 2.5 chart positions.

They also have this helpful bar graph that even children could understand:
As it appears, the $1.29 price tag may hurt sales enough to render the revenue increase irrelevant. In short, everyone could make less money. Now we all know that whatever iTunes says, goes in terms of buying music online but they may have done something right now that they have a built-in clientele. An extra 30 cents is probably negligible to customers who routinely purchase their favorite hits from the online store and as the Peoples piece explains, "A song that drops from #7 to #10, for example, could lose about 4,500 units over two days but gain an incremental $3,600."

But I see this as a short-term solution to a long-term problem. See, downloading only gets easier while prices keep rising. CDs saw this problem, too -- as less and less people bought them, we saw more and more $17.99 price tags and eventually, the scale tips and the ease of illegality outweighs the loyalty one held for purchasing music. Time will tell, I guess, but let's just say I have a hunch.

Marilyn Bergman Bails From ASCAP

Marilyn Bergman, a Oscar winning songwriter, has stepped down as president and CEO of ASCAP, according to Reuters.

ASCAP is notable as a royalties collection group for musicians and the people who own their music. In other words, an artist or songwriter registers with ASCAP to assure that every time their music is used -- be it in a commercial or film or on a compilation -- they are compensated. The group also serves as a lobbyist for copyright laws, a decidedly tricky area in the interet age.

As noted in the Reuters piece, for the 15 years Bergman was in charge, the group's most notable accomplishment as a 1998 law that added 20 years to copyright protection. Before, it was on the books as the life of the author plus 50 years, but now 70 years is the key number. Of course, he who holds the copyright, cashes the check and in today's era of a struggling recording industry, everyone is clamoring for a piece of the royalty pie.

Put simply, Bergman's successor has their work cut out for them.

Unofficial Merger: The Pirate Bay and Facebook

TorrentFreak has a fascinating blog post up today about a new feature implemented by The Pirate Bay that allows Facebook users to list their favorite torrents on their profiles.

The 'Share on Facebook' link has been added to all torrent details pages and makes it so that there is absolutely no visit to The Pirate Bay site necessary -- users just click on their friends' profiles and the torrent will automatically begin to download if a torrent client is installed.

Obviously, the industry officials who have commented are pissed but it's curious that Facebook declined to comment on the issue. They surely have bigger fish to fry but I do wonder if this story will get any place in the long term. As a sort of "online globalization", the integration of websites will be an interesting phenonmenon to watch especially in terms of piracy.

Gizmodo's Bittorrent Tips and Tricks

Now, mostly I just wanted an excuse to post this picture, but tech blog Gizmodo's post today entitled "How To: Use BitTorrent Like a Pro" is an extremely helpful read for all of you budding lil' pirates out there. If it's all old hat for you, the piece is probably still worth a read just to make sure you have all of your bases covered.

RIAA Resumes Lawsuits

A new piece up at Ars Technica entitled "Hypocrisy or necessity? RIAA continues filing lawsuits" has a very interesting take on the decision by the Recording Industry Association of America to restart its campaign of lawsuits against online copyright infringers even after a promise to end the litigation.

As it turns out, the issue is far more complex than it may intially appear but a new lawsuit against a Nebraska man accused of sharing nine songs seems pretty cut-and-dry. Though the mass lawsuits have stopped in part, lawsuit leftovers are still trickling in from almost two years ago and it seems to be the RIAA's policy to push forward with them as they do come in. It seems that if the case was initiated before the summer of 2008, it will move forward. RIAA spokesperson Jonathan Lamy had the following to say to Ars Technica:

"We're obviously pleased to transition to a new program going forward but that doesn't mean we can give a free pass to those who downloaded music illegally in the past. How fair would it be to the thousands of individuals who took responsibility for their actions and settled their case while others are let off the hook? We're still in the business of deterrence and it must be credible."

They can always sound like dicks, can't they? Nate Anderson has all of the details and it's certainly worth a read.

RIAA vs. Everyone

Ray Beckerman's fascinating blog Recording Industry vs. The People was recently brought to my attention and is a fabulous resource for those interested in the legal side of this whole debate. He tirelessly chronicles every bit of legal news regarding the RIAA and its customers and clearly knows his stuff. In his words, the site is about "the RIAA's attempt to monopolize digital music and redefine copyright law."

Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in the subject and I'm disappointed in myself for finding it only now.

The Pirate Bay On Trial (continued)

The Fake TV Tumblr had the following dialogue posted earlier today:

Prosecutor: "When did you meet [Gottfrid] for the first time IRL?"
Judge: "IRL?"
Prosecutor: "in real life."
Pirate Bay defendant: "We do not use the expression IRL. No, everything is in real life. We use AFK—away from keyboard."
Prosecutor: "It seems I am a little bit out of date."
via
*I hear people are scalping tickets to this trial.

Lolz all around.

The Pirate Bay On Trial

My most-visited tech blog Gizmodo is following torrent tracker The Pirate Bay on trial beginning today. Wired also has some coverage.

Because The Pirate Bay hosts no files, they are actually being charged with "assisting in and preparing to committing copyright infringement" which adds an interesting caveat to this case and could affect how it will be used as a legal precedent. I will be interested to see this thing through even though the possibility for significant punishment is slim to none. The case, at least to Pirate Bay users and I'm sure the plaintiffs, is largely symbolic, but it's hard not to give the most focus to the bus that delivered the defendants today:I'll be following this case all the way through, but for more up to the day coverage, please do check out the links above.

The Weekly Voyage into Hot 100 Hell

Every Friday (approximately), the music blog Idolator, formerly of the Gawker Media empire, remembers that not only do some people still buy music (!!!) but they decide what to buy based on WHAT THEY HEAR ON THE RADIO. Believe it.

"100 and Single" is their witty tag for the weekly exploration of Billboard's Hot 100 and almost surprisingly, is always worth a read.

Today's column notes the impending comebacks of onetime platinum children Eminem and Kelly Clarkson and strikes me as a curious exercise. Whereas the top of the charts at one time represented the most immediately present part of the day's pop cultural consciousness, discussion of it is now reserved for niche media of the poptimist sort. A blog like Idolator is little more than a neo-trade publication and that leaves the Billboard charts to be fetishized like vinyl LPs.

mp3 Katy Perry- Hook Up (Demo)

A Statement of Intent

Mutiny on the Electronic Bay is an analytical aggregator---some sort of a hybrid Mars rover of a blogspot that will comb the web for relevant news, multimedia, and insight---about the online "piracy" of music, television and movies. My apologies: I cannot care about video games or computer programs.

Arrrgh, where's me torrent? I missed me Grey's Anatomy this week.

This blog will not necessarily condemn the process of downloading illegally and may even promote it in a roundabout way, yet I fully endorse the notion of supporting art that "deserves" it. Whatever that means.

I am improvising and this will be a work in progress all the way through. Your comments might help. Let's give this a shot...

[Note: Mutiny on the Electronic Bay comes from the Florida band Against Me! song of the same name. It applies perfectly. A shoddy live video is above.]