A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by a friend’s house and we had a few beers and the conversation came back to the same old discussion about bands, copyright and piracy. He was in several local bands back in the 90’s up to about ’05, and he’s a huge defender of the big labels and blames piracy as to why he never made it big and famous.  We had a long talk and it had some agreements but most of the time we just didn’t see eye to eye on the situation. Now bear in mind he will not change his mind once it’s set, and if you disagree on just one thing you are the enemy, and anything you have to say is just plain wrong.

First off, I’d like to say I’m not defending those that choose to illegally download music and share with others. So read on before you judge and come back with a nasty comment!

We were watching some TV and he flipped to a news channel and caught a story about piracy, and well you can guess what happened to the chat. He went on and on about how anything sent on the internet is illegal and the government should lock down the internet and never let any music or media ever be sent without going through a paid for service. He blames piracy for his bands failure to get fans and ever sell many of their self-published CD. He seems to think one person bought one of their CDs, then that person uploaded it to the web, and millions of people illegally shared their songs and it ruined their chance of fame and fortune. I just started laughing, and asked if he’s looked up his band or songs on the web to see how many were sharing their stuff. He said no, so I brought in my laptop and said ok lets look and see. We searched for an hour and never found one song or mention of his band. But of course he brings up the fact that their album was released in 2000 and that its old school now, and it was all over the web back then and everyone was listening to their music illegally. No matter how many times I tried to explain that if their stuff was that popular back then, they would have probably actually been noticed and maybe became famous. And if it was so bad back then, you would still be able to find it out there today.

The problem is that there are so many garage bands out there trying to make their own sound and get signed and become famous. But for every band or artist that is signed by a big label, there are probably hundreds or thousands that never make it. It’s been that way long before the internet or file-sharing even existed. American Idol fans out there, you can agree with this. Out of the tens of thousands trying out to make it big, only one wins and maybe less than a dozen get a decent contract signed and possibly make it famous. It’s the same with the plain old bands out there trying to get fans, go on tour and become that hot band on the radio. Piracy isn’t to blame for all of those that never made it. Not everyone can be famous. That is just the way it is, and you can’t blame the internet because you are not the sound that everyone is looking for. Don’t put out a CD, and play a few local bars and then give up and blame others because you were too lazy to do some promotion and try to get a few gigs outside of town or send your music to a label or two.

I get so tired of all the teenage punks in a band out there that are scared to ever try to record their music or sell a few CDs because they are afraid someone will upload and pirate their music. If you are scared, then find a new line of work, because becoming the next big band on the air isn’t something you can handle. If I came up with some original songs and it was all over the web and getting listened to, I would freak out because people like us, not because they got it without paying me for it. Hell, if your music goes viral and gets noticed, the big labels will be knocking on your door, with papers in hand ready for you to sign your life over to them!

My best advice for bands trying to get started and want to get noticed is to practice until you have it right. Then record your song or songs and upload them to the web yourself, and make sure it’s got your name on it and how to contact you. Upload it in as many places as you can find. If you have something people want to hear, then they will spread your music like wildfire. It’s not like the old days where you had to play your ass off in the bars and hope someone came along and heard you, or go to the labels and beg and plead for them to sign you. There’s never been a better time for an unknown group of guys or girls, to record a song or two, and with a little bit of work recording and uploading, get their creation out to the entire world. Today, it’s so easy to make it famous with a little bit of self promotion and creativity on the web. Give it to them for free, make them come back for more and start selling it to them.

And remember you can’t just record a few songs, sign it over to the label and then sit on your ass and make millions. CD sales are not the money maker for the top of the chart bands and artists, it’s the labels making that money. It’s the concerts and merchandise sales that make the money for the musicians. Remember, those bands making it big don’t sit on their ass, they work their ass off putting on shows and touring.

The whole issue in the news today about piracy and how it’s causing the downfall of music and movies is because the labels are getting scared of change, and afraid their little cash cow is crumbling around them. The bands never made any real money from CD or album sales, and now they can cut out the middle man and still make it big. It’s not the music industry that is threatened by piracy, it’s the label and the recording industry that wants to keep its old ways and structure for artists to make it that is in trouble. Musicians will not stop making music, they will just find new ways to get that music out to the fans and get them to the concerts where the real money is made for the bands!!!

Yes, John you can get all butt hurt about this post and try to defend your views. Since you didn’t want to let me get a word in the other night, I thought I would get my thoughts out and let some others in on the issue as well. You can live in your little world thinking that the world owes you, or you can wake up and embrace the modern technology and make it work for you.