New Facebook App Lights The Fuse For A Full-blown Music Revolution

Most of all, we need artists and fans to really take ownership of this community, and take advantage of the free options we’re putting out there. This really does need to be a team effort, and I think we have the strength and the ability as indie artists to build something huge, so we can have the kind of impact that we need in order to benefit all of the incredibly talented independent artists out there that are struggling right now, and also to impact the fans that are missing out on a lot of great music because of it. We’ve had a great response from artists so far, and we’re confident that these solutions will bring some big changes to the way the music industry operates in the coming years. The best is yet to come!”

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File Sharing 3.0

Today I ran across an article called “File sharing: Piracy or activism?” by Open Attitude blogger Andrew Currie. This is a legitimate question that we as a community have the responsibility and duty to decide on. The answer however may not be as unreachable as we think. In fact, I will reveal it very soon. The solution comes with a slight shift in the perspective of conventional thinking. The method is to seek out any problems that arise given the circumstances, in order to determine what a successful design should include. The problem here is simple and I think can be best explained by one of the comments that was in response to that blog article, by Reddit user PhastPhoodPhool: “When you start likening manufactured objects and digitally reproduced data as objects of value, then you have already presented an ethical dilemma. How can you charge full price for something that is free to reproduce? That is why it is so easy to download. It only represents a loss if you otherwise would have realistically paid for whatever you’re downloading. The whole side of the copyright holders is totally impartial to the facts.”

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Taylor Swift BMI Lawsuit

So as I’m sure you have heard, BMI has filed a lawsuit against a small Idaho sports bar for neglecting to pay licenses for playing songs specifically by major label contractee Taylor Swift. It never fails to amaze me how licensing companies like BMI, ASCAP and SEASAC don’t hesitate at a chance to sue considerably smaller establishments for lack of “proper licenses.” What is more shocking though, is the fact that though Taylor Swift is named as a plaintiff in the suit, she technically will have no say in the proceedings and probably won’t even be present for any hearings. BMI will control all aspects of this case, seeing as they pay substantially for full-time teams of impenetrable lawyers, just for such an occasion. It is also worth noting that WHEN BMI either wins the suit in court or as a result of a settlement, Taylor Swift will directly receive no monies whatsoever

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Music Without Labels & Beat-Play Interview with Lokeii

I am originally from Colorado.  I was born in Littleton, Colorado. When I was a year old, my family and I moved to California.  I lived in Orange County until I was six years old, then we relocated to Dallas, Texas.  After Dallas, we moved to St. Louis, MO and I lived there from fourth grade until I graduated from high school.  I normally tell people I am from four states.  Each state I have lived in is a deep part of my psyche and has formed my perception of the world.  The easy answer would be St. Louis because that is where I spent the majority of my life, but like I previously stated, I consider the other three states a very important part of my life.

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