Steal This Industry
MP3 may be the end of the world as big labels know it – and may start
a new one for artists
"If you don't own
the master, the master owns you," raps Chuck D in Public Enemy's
provocative new song Swindler's Lust. Last December, when PolyGram Records
forced him to remove MP3s of unreleased Public Enemy tracks from the
band's website, Chuck D jumped ship. He landed at the Internet-savvy
Atomic Pop label, which in July introduced his latest album, There's a
Poison Going On ... by streaming the record in its entirety.
Is this any way to run a record business? You bet it is. A new
generation of recording companies and artists is embracing the Net's
"viral marketing" by giving away music and hoping it spreads. "I believe
in the Wendy's concept," says Chuck D. "You get the fries free if you buy
the burger. Give three away, and people will come back to buy seven."
Major and independent labels are trying furiously to catch up with a
medium the public got its hands on first. Every day another label proudly
announces a "milestone strategic partnership" to market all or part of its
catalog in the MP3 format. Meanwhile, such high-profile acts as Alanis
Morissette, the Beastie Boys and Tom Petty generate press by offering new
or remixed MP3 tracks. You'd think radio, that quaint medium that gives
away the world's most popular music on a regular basis, had never been
inve nted. Or blank tape, for that matter. MP3's dirty little secret is
that despite its highly touted digital sound, it typically possesses about
as much audio fidelity as a decent FM-radio signal. And during the late
'60s, FM-radio stations regularly scooped competitors by airing the latest
Beatles and Stones albums in their entirety.
Portrait of musician/rapper Chuck D.