You've really got to be
careful who you entrust your music to. There are a lot of services
out there designed merely to feed you to the industrial strength
pirates -- RIAA labels.
Got a newsletter from BandRadio today, which seems to be related to
Soundclick. Sadly, they have gone to the Dark Side.
It starts out promising. The e-mail subject line says, "Will the
lawsuits stop?" Except for a link that demonstrates that the
lawsuits are still continuing, the subject does not come up in the
body of the newsletter.
But the RIAA does.
10TH ANNUAL USA SONGWRITING COMPETITION
Win $50,000 Grand Prize worth of cash, cool music gear from Sony,
Steinberg, Ibanez Guitars, Audio-Techica and more! Not to mention
radio ariplay (sic) for winning songs. Judges include A&R from
Universal, BMG, EMI, Warner and Sony Music.
Sounded good until they invited the vultures. Let's see, the music
business is tanking, in large part due to the poor taste of the A&R
from Universal, BMG, EMI, Warner and Sony Music. That's without
taking into consideration the wholescale rape of artists that has
been going on for 70 years and continues today (See French Elvis
story).
These are the people who signed Ashlee Simpson and William Hung to
recording contracts and tossed Van Morrison to the wayside. These
"judges" are the last people you should seek an opinion from because
they are obviously idiots.
AIRWAVES VOLUME I IS AVAILABLE!!! Featuring 16 fantastic unsigned
bands distributed to a&r, publishers, radio, attorneys and more. BUY
THE CD NOW!!! Support Indie Music!
We all know that the RIAA members use "starving" as a verb in the
phrase "starving artists". When "independent" sites are supporting
Indie music by trying to push artists toward servitude for the
cartel, does it really help anyone?
I'm really not trying to pick on BandRadio, but it does bring the
question to mind of whether there is ANY market entry point (other
than DMusic, of course) that is not controlled by the RIAA? These
same questions could be asked of ASCAP or NARAS.
Are there any suggestions for market success that do NOT have a
recording deal with a major label as the ultimate goal? Can you get
a physical recording distributed or radio airplay without RIAA
member labels getting their paws on it?
Where's the real alternative to being owned for seven years to a
foreign-owned mega-corporation that may very well decide that your
work is not fit for public consumption because they "can't hear a
third single," but you absolutely cannot have it back.
The RIAA members claim to "create, manufacture and/or distribute
approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and
sold in the United States."
How much is too much? Do they have to merge into one huge
conglomerate before the government decides to break the monopoly?
The most important question, of course, is how the other 10% managed
to get in. Who are they and where is the road they took? But
everyone wants to shove your stuff in front of RIAA A&R leeches.
There has to be a better choice, from both financial and moral
viewpoints.
