Categories
labor issues popular music recordings

bands, labels, youtube, etc

I just caught this on a feed that I regularly watch.  It’s an open letter from the lead singer of the band OK Go to the band’s fans explaining why they cannot embed the band’s YouTube videos on their blogs or websites.  It shows how slow the industry (major record labels) is to respond to the changing nature of the online marketplace.  Everyone is looking to recoup their costs, and it’s hard to do when your content is floating around in the wilds of the internet.  It’s an interesting situation, because if you replace the band with Orchestral Association and the label with Musicians Union, you get an idea of why it’s so hard for recordings (either as physical product or as a streamed or downloaded file) to be made in the US these days.  I’m not assigning blame, just pointing out that the rules that worked so well for decades are starting to hurt us more than help us.  I wonder how long it will take for the necessary changes to take place.