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Yesterday’s San Diego Music Thing panel on “the resurgence of indie labels” saw moderator Josh Feingold (Songs Publishing), Jello Biafra (Alternative Tentacles Records/ Dead Kennedys), Justin Pearson (Three One G Records/The Locust), Scott Pactor (Zoo Music), and Scott Simoneaux (Aquarium Drunkard/Autumn Tone Records) on The Lafayette Hotel’s Mississippi Room seashell stage discussing the role of independent labels in the digital age
“I don’t know if there is a resurgence in indie labels or not,” said Biafra, who is 32 years and 450 releases deep with his San Francisco-based Alternative Tentacles label. “The question is, should we continue to exist or not when people can release music on their own? [...]
"The idea that vinyl is going to save music is a myth. File sharing is here to stay. We’re not in a recession, we’re in a fucking depression, and it’s only the beginning. People who have no money are file sharing… So think about who you are sharing. You’re hurting independent labels and maybe even hastening the breakup of the band…”
Later he asked, “where can you sell music and how, when there are fewer retail stores and clientele? How do you get rid of your vinyl and CDs, people?”
“You need bands touring and selling merch, at least for smaller labels,” posited a bespectacled Simoneaux.
“If an artist is an asteroid floating though space, a label is a star that can give that asteroid an orbit,” said Pactor. “File sharing is a supernova… shooting bands though space… but it’s also allowed bands to create new orbits… press 500 vinyl, get pressed only in the U.S., and still sell 10,000 digital copies worldwide.”
“For me, Three One G is about family,” Pearson said. “Not a genre, but a community. I don’t think major labels can wrap their heads around that… With the internet and file sharing, we lost something that used to be special. You had to read zines and go to record stores and talk to the people behind the counter [to find the music you wanted to hear]… We lost something special, so I’d like to see the black hole wipe all that shit out.”
“The market is flooded with shit,” Feingold added.
“The market has always been flooded with shit,” Biafra said, not without his characteristic sense of humor. “John Denver, the Eagles… Avril Lavigne, who was marketed as punk and never heard of the Sex Pistols.”
Biafra later stated that Wesley Willis, an overweight, schizophrenic, and prolific musician who produced over 50 albums worth of bizarre Technics keyboard preset beat track-based songs and who was known for his head-butt greetings was “the most punk artist [Alternative Tentacles] ever had. Just knowing that guy made all the money I ever lost on my label worth it.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2uRv8ZE_Tc
What do you think about digital downloads?
“I don’t give a shit about it,” Pearson said. “I don’t want to address nostalgia, but I have a thing for vinyl. The feel, the look, the liner notes… Digital stuff is there and you can’t avoid it… but digital is really good for press. You can send an electronic press kit to blogs and whatever and it makes it easier on smaller labels.”
“Historically, there were two ways to make money from music,” said Pactor, “physical copies and intellectual rights… Now, labels get 9/10 of a cent on streaming sites (such as Spotify) for a stream in Sweden or wherever, so instead of independent labels being screwed by artists going to major labels and their records going out of print, they still get paid for streams. Spotify may be something that people look at in five years and say, this is what changed everything around.”
Considering another caveat of digital music, Simoneaux said, “The idea of an album, digital or otherwise, might be fading away, especially among younger people who handpick the songs they want from the internet.”
Biafra resolutely responded, “As long as there are people who want to make albums, there will be albums.”
Pearson, who has appeared on the Jerry Spring Show and My Ghost Story, posed his own formula for advancing independent music:
“As far as getting your music out there, I say lie and go on reality TV.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqdw8wXqpA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=876B0DU5Ko8
Yesterday’s San Diego Music Thing panel on “the resurgence of indie labels” saw moderator Josh Feingold (Songs Publishing), Jello Biafra (Alternative Tentacles Records/ Dead Kennedys), Justin Pearson (Three One G Records/The Locust), Scott Pactor (Zoo Music), and Scott Simoneaux (Aquarium Drunkard/Autumn Tone Records) on The Lafayette Hotel’s Mississippi Room seashell stage discussing the role of independent labels in the digital age
“I don’t know if there is a resurgence in indie labels or not,” said Biafra, who is 32 years and 450 releases deep with his San Francisco-based Alternative Tentacles label. “The question is, should we continue to exist or not when people can release music on their own? [...]
"The idea that vinyl is going to save music is a myth. File sharing is here to stay. We’re not in a recession, we’re in a fucking depression, and it’s only the beginning. People who have no money are file sharing… So think about who you are sharing. You’re hurting independent labels and maybe even hastening the breakup of the band…”
Later he asked, “where can you sell music and how, when there are fewer retail stores and clientele? How do you get rid of your vinyl and CDs, people?”
“You need bands touring and selling merch, at least for smaller labels,” posited a bespectacled Simoneaux.
“If an artist is an asteroid floating though space, a label is a star that can give that asteroid an orbit,” said Pactor. “File sharing is a supernova… shooting bands though space… but it’s also allowed bands to create new orbits… press 500 vinyl, get pressed only in the U.S., and still sell 10,000 digital copies worldwide.”
“For me, Three One G is about family,” Pearson said. “Not a genre, but a community. I don’t think major labels can wrap their heads around that… With the internet and file sharing, we lost something that used to be special. You had to read zines and go to record stores and talk to the people behind the counter [to find the music you wanted to hear]… We lost something special, so I’d like to see the black hole wipe all that shit out.”
“The market is flooded with shit,” Feingold added.
“The market has always been flooded with shit,” Biafra said, not without his characteristic sense of humor. “John Denver, the Eagles… Avril Lavigne, who was marketed as punk and never heard of the Sex Pistols.”
Biafra later stated that Wesley Willis, an overweight, schizophrenic, and prolific musician who produced over 50 albums worth of bizarre Technics keyboard preset beat track-based songs and who was known for his head-butt greetings was “the most punk artist [Alternative Tentacles] ever had. Just knowing that guy made all the money I ever lost on my label worth it.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2uRv8ZE_Tc
What do you think about digital downloads?
“I don’t give a shit about it,” Pearson said. “I don’t want to address nostalgia, but I have a thing for vinyl. The feel, the look, the liner notes… Digital stuff is there and you can’t avoid it… but digital is really good for press. You can send an electronic press kit to blogs and whatever and it makes it easier on smaller labels.”
“Historically, there were two ways to make money from music,” said Pactor, “physical copies and intellectual rights… Now, labels get 9/10 of a cent on streaming sites (such as Spotify) for a stream in Sweden or wherever, so instead of independent labels being screwed by artists going to major labels and their records going out of print, they still get paid for streams. Spotify may be something that people look at in five years and say, this is what changed everything around.”
Considering another caveat of digital music, Simoneaux said, “The idea of an album, digital or otherwise, might be fading away, especially among younger people who handpick the songs they want from the internet.”
Biafra resolutely responded, “As long as there are people who want to make albums, there will be albums.”
Pearson, who has appeared on the Jerry Spring Show and My Ghost Story, posed his own formula for advancing independent music:
“As far as getting your music out there, I say lie and go on reality TV.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqdw8wXqpA4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=876B0DU5Ko8