Dan Zaccagnino // Blog

SXSW Update #4 - Piracy ARRRRR!

Wednesday March 12, 2008 at 01:02 AM
The topic of this post is going to be about Piracy… but first, if you can, please bear with me because I think to really understand what I’m getting at you have to understand a few things about SXSW – especially if you haven’t been here. Interactive (the portion of the conference that ended today) is all about the internet, technology, the future of media and how we will create, distribute, and consume it… It’s been amazing and we’ve certainly learned a lot from some of the most respected members of the nerdery elite.

Music, which started today, is a little different though…The jeans are a little tighter… There’s a little more plaid, a little more facial hair, and the air has just a touch of arrogance to it. That’s right, the musicians are starting to overpower the nerds. While I enjoyed Interactive immensely, I’m really looking forward to Music and all the great shows we’ll see. The panels will be very different as well. 

Last year, I have to say, I was disappointed in the Music panels. They were very backwards looking and more about saving a struggling, if not dying, business model than inventing a new one. Interactive was exactly the opposite and was only concerned with the future, occasionally (although rarely) going a little too far from my perspective as a musician. This juxtaposition can be summed but by two panels. This year, there was a panel today called “Record Labels – What Were They?”, whereas last year there was a panel at Music called “Can Art Survive Google?”. _SPLIT_I’m not saying either of these extreme views on the current industry is entirely correct or incorrect, but it does show the contrast of how these two groups think about music and where it is headed. I wish there was a day overlap that had both crowds and just discussed the future of music. Last year I was so frustrated with the lack of innovative thinking that I walked out of the “Can Art Survive Google” panel because a group of older musicians and record label attorneys essentially asserted that there was no good to be found on the internet for music. I can’t say I encountered anything like that during Interactive but there were some points today that showed that there is another end of the spectrum that I also do not entirely agree with. 

One panel that raised some controversial issues for me today was “How Piracy Will Save the Music Industry”. The description said, “This panel will discuss how piracy can be harnessed to our advantage and why it is a positive thing for the music industry.” It was facilitated by Jason Schwartz from Robber Baron Music and Randy Saaf from Media Defender, Inc. If you are not familiar with these two guys and their companies I’ll give you the elevator pitch as I understand it. Jason runs a very innovative record label that uses piracy channels such as P2P networks and Bit Torrents to promote their artists music by giving it away and encouraging fans to support the artist by voluntarily contributing money on their website, going to shows, buying merchandise, etc. Randy, quite to the contrary, runs a service that is used by many of the major labels and film studios, where they use large numbers of fake files to flood P2P networks and Bit Torrents so that users looking for illegal files through these services get so frustrated with the fake files they download instead of the real thing that they ultimately give up and look to a legal source. 

I think you can tell who this audience thought was the bad guy here, but Randy’s company isn’t really what I want to discuss here and it’s a whole different can of worms (although I do think this practice is an interesting conversation that is probably both helping and hurting the situation/perception of the music industry). 

My main observation was that what Jason’s label Robber Baron Music is doing actually has nothing to do with Piracy, other than that it harnesses the channels that music is pirated through. This is a key, key distinction in my mind. Jason’s artists have opted in to this system. They are waiving their rights or giving up some of them and allowing their music to be distributed in this way, often using Creative Commons licenses (which I think is fantastic). But the thing that bothered me about this as an example of how piracy is a good thing for the music industry is that people easily confuse what he and other artists are doing with music piracy. Music piracy is very clearly something different in my mind. It is the practice of downloading music that the music owner – be it the artist, the label, etc – has specifically said they do not want to be downloaded in this way.
 
Before I go too far, I do want to clarify a few things about how I feel about piracy (something I sometimes feel like I’m still figuring out). I think piracy may ultimately be a good thing because it was hugely disruptive and shook up the industry and I think we needed that. I have downloaded music in the past, mainly stuff that wasn’t on CD – live shows, rarities, B-sides, etc. It was a great way to discover music. But now, there are so many other ways to discover music that I don’t do it anymore. I don’t like the audio quality, I don’t like the time and patience it requires (thanks to people like Randy!) and I don’t like how I feel about taking something from artists and labels who don’t support that distribution model even if I think they should and (in the labels case) even if I think they have taken advantage of consumers in the past – I still respect them both because there’s a lot of good here and because it’s the law – as flawed as that is. Just to come entirely clean, I do still take music from my friends, although if I like it enough I’ll often buy it, sometimes on both CD and vinyl. 

I do agree with a major point that Jason made which is that copyright is in many ways a broken system and that it has failed to keep up with digital music, but that’s not a reason to promote piracy, it’s a reason to promote Creative Commons, labels like Robber Baron Music, and a reason for fans to call for labels and artists to embrace new models. 

I’ve started licensing music I create under Creative Commons because I want to support what they are enabling artists to do and I want people to be able to take my music and share it with others, as long as they give me credit. But I wouldn’t impose that on other artists as something they have to do – people pour their heart and souls into their musical creations and they should have some say in how that is distributed and consumed. 

I’m so frustrated writing this blog because I know it lacks a little structure, and I also know I could keep typing for hours and not get everything out that I would like to say. I’m conscious of the fact that people have probably already stopped reading by this point so I guess it doesn’t really matter! I suppose my main point is just that there are great opportunities for artists thanks to the internet but they shouldn’t be confused with stealing music that wasn’t meant to be stolen. Here’s a physical analogy: I don’t feel bad when a musician hands me a CD and says – here it’s free. But I don’t walk into CD stores and decide that because I feel like it should be free I’m just going to walk out with it.

One parting thought on the issue. Artists really haven’t had much say in how their music is distributed in the past. Major labels decide when, and if, they release your album, they own the and they make the decisions. This hasn’t ever felt right to me – imagine another company owning your own music! But it isn’t any better, in my mind, for consumers to say “you know what, labels can’t control it anymore so this is how it’s going to be.” How is that any more fair to the artist? In both situations they are the ones that get the short end of the deal. I don’t pretend to have a viable solution yet but I think the labels need to open up to the reality of what’s happening and embrace the power of the internet rather than fight it, consumers need to realize that they aren’t just “sticking it to The Man” and respect the rights of artists, and artists need to have more of, or even a majority of the say in the situation. I’m not sure we’ll ever get there but it’s a nice thought.

All of this is why I wish there was some overlap in the Music and Interactive portions of SXSW - to have this conversation with all parties present. Together we’ve all created a beautiful thing here at Indaba Music. There are over 30,000 musicians registered for this site and it’s growing very quickly. Let’s start to use that voice more and engage in an informed dialogue about what we want – professionals and amateurs alike. How would you like to see your music distributed and consumed and what would make you feel fairly compensated for that? If, by some miracle, you’re still reading this, leave a comment about what you think. 

Tags: piracy, Creative, commens
Best Album at the Grammy's

Monday February 11, 2008 at 09:39 AM
I'm a little torn about the results of Best Album last night. Granted I haven't given River: The Joni Mitchell Letters (Herbie Hancock) it's full due respect in terms of listening time, from what I have heard I have to say that I thought Graduation (Kanye West) was a better album and was more original in composition than revisiting the words and music of another artist. In fact, musically I think it's one of the best hip hop albums of all time.
 
What I'm torn about is that I know the Grammy's are largely a political process and entirely industry focused (the awards are voted on by members of the Recording Academy - producers, engineers, executives, etc - not by the public). I also know that there are fewer voting members that are likely to vote for a hip hop album than other genres. Finally, I know that Herbie Hancock is a legend who deserves many Grammy's, even if I have questions about this particular one. Those three ideas might lead me to believe that Kanye should have been awarded Best Album but it actually makes me wonder about the opposite...
 
Understanding that the process IS political and has always been, I think it is right that a Jazz album (that is a fantastic album) gets the award. As Herbie rightfully pointed out, The Academy broke the mold this time, "and in doing so honor[s] the giants upon who's shoulders I stand. Some of whom, like miles davis, john coltrane, unquestionably deserved this award in the past."
 
I completely agree with that sentiment, although one might argue that this is not a jazz album that honors those artists or even the genre in the way he describes. People like Norah Jones have received this honor in the past and she arguably had as much "jazz" in Come Away With Me as there is in this collection of Joni Mitchell songs with almost every song having a guest star that is not a jazz artist.
 
You also have to wonder if the same thing is happening with hip hop (and specifically with Kanye, who has made no qualms about publicly expressing how much he felt he deserved this award). Hip hop artists will get lots of great awards, but Best Album is different (and has never been won by a hip hop artist). Giving it to someone like Kanye says something larger about music and I'm not sure all of The Academy is ready for that. That seems almost as bad as not giving it to Miles Davis (not to directly compare the two).
 
It's really too bad... Graduation is a cohesive, hit filled, album that represents both musically and lyrically (for the most part) what is best about hip hop. I didn't hear a better album from start to finish this year.
 
Also, in case you missed them, here is a list of the winners of the major awards:
 
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
River: The Joni Letters, Herbie Hancock

RECORD OF THE YEAR
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse

SONG OF THE YEAR
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)

NEW ARTIST
Amy Winehouse

RAP ALBUM
Graduation, Kanye West

ROCK ALBUM
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, Foo Fighters

ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM
Icky Thump, the White Stripes

POP VOCAL ALBUM
Back to Black, Amy Winehouse

COUNTRY ALBUM
These Days, Vince Gill

R&B ALBUM
Funk This, Chaka Khan

CONTEMPORARY R&B ALBUM
Because of You, Ne-Yo

FEMALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Rehab,'' Amy Winehouse

MALE POP VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''What Goes Around...Comes Around,'' Justin Timberlake

POP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
''Makes Me Wonder,'' Maroon 5

SOLO ROCK VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Radio Nowhere,'' Bruce Springsteen

ROCK PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCAL
''Icky Thump,'' the White Stripes

HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
''The Pretender,'' Foo Fighters

ROCK SONG
''Radio Nowhere,'' Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

FEMALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''No One,'' Alicia Keys

MALE R&B VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Future Baby Mama,'' Prince

R&B PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
''Disrespectful,'' Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige

R&B SONG
''No One,'' Alicia Keys

RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE
''Stronger,'' Kanye West

RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION
''Umbrella,'' Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z

RAP PEFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP
''Southside,'' Common Featuring Kanye West

RAP SONG
''Good Life,'' Kanye West Featuring T-Pain

FEMALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Before He Cheats,'' Carrie Underwood

MALE COUNTRY VOCAL PERFORMANCE
''Stupid Boy,'' Keith Urban

COUNTRY PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP WITH VOCALS
''How Long,'' the Eagles

COUNTRY SONG
''Before He Cheats,'' Carrie Underwood

BEST COMPILATION SOUNDTRACK ALBUM FOR MOTION PICTURE, TELEVISION OR OTHER VISUAL MEDIA
Love, the Beatles (George Martin and Giles Martin, producers)
 
 


 

 

Tags: Grammy
Making my virtual world smaller

Friday February 01, 2008 at 10:06 AM

I was surfing the information super, super highway this morning when I had a thought. For the millions or billions of pages on the interweb, I probably really only need a few. I came to this idea after reading this article about "stuff" which I found through this interesting music blog.

I've also found myself going to Wikipedia a lot more lately. Not because I'm itching to learn about things you'd find in a typical encyclopedia, but more because if I am not looking to purchase something, consume media like pictures, video, and audio, or actually interact with people/things, Wikipedia often gives me the best information and it is very comprehensive even on things as small as a band's album. 

Anyway, here is my short list of sites I'd like to frequent. The rest of my internetly posessions will get tossed away. It doesn't mean I won't stop by your favorite sites and admire your internet, but I don't want mine to be so cluttered anymore. Can you recommend anything I'm missing? 

 

Wikipedia: I am looking for information about something 

Indaba: I am looking to interact with people and media related to music. 

Google: I know exactly what I'm looking for but not exactly what I want back or I want a bunch of different options relating to what I'm looking for. 

Facebook: I'm looking for information about someone I know, or someone I don't. 

YouTube: If I want to see videos. 

Amazon.com: I want to buy new things

eBay: I want to buy used things 

Climate Culture: You haven't heard of this one yet, but it is where I will soon manage my impact on the environment and really understand what's going on with the climate change.

Pandora: I don't feel like sifting through my music to find something or I am looking for new music

Flickr: I want to see friends photos or photos by other great photographers. 

What am I missing? 

 

Tags: internet
Thank you Apple

Tuesday November 27, 2007 at 09:51 AM

I would like to thank the people at Apple for making a fine pair of headphones... They aren't as accurate as my SONY MDR 7506s, they aren't as comfortable as my Bose QuietComforts, and they don't block out noise like my SHURE E2c earphones but.... They do go through my washer and dryer and still come out working. They even smell like Bounce. Nice.

 

Tags: Apple
I prefer vampires

Monday November 19, 2007 at 10:50 AM

So I had a few rough nights last week where I was up from roughly 1-6am looking for the flesh eating mosquieeeeto who kept biting me when I fell asleep. Covered in huge bug bites and standing wide eyed, with all the lights on, trying to catch the little bastard when he passes through my line of site. I had no luck, and thus turned to the one place where you can find anything and where everything is true and accurate... the internet. I was told on one site to rub my entire body with Bounce... which surprisingly worked quite well, although it did lead to a dream that I was in a giant Washer/Dryer. Anyway, on one site I found this haunting image that I had to share:

 

Yes... yes, you are. 

Tags: mosquito, Sleep
Led Zeppelin Poopilation

Thursday November 15, 2007 at 07:29 PM

So I just listened to the new Zeppelin compilation, Mothership, which is fantastic, save a few key misses. First of all, let me clarify that I am not usually a huge fan of compilations. I find music more interesting in the context of albums. This is not so say that I'm one of the people who say that all music should be listened to as albums and that singles are killing music. In fact, interestingly enough, music wasn't always in albums. First it was singles, then it was singles with B-sides, then the album emerged, and only then was it looked at as an artistic statement as a whole. So, I say go with whatever works for you as an artist. If you created something to be a single then let it out. If you want something to be listened to as an album and a single is just a way to drive awareness of that album then I'm cool with that too. Which is why I both respect every artist who has put singles on iTunes and the ones who have refrained because iTunes will not allow sales of only albums (Dave Matthews for one, and more recently Jay Z - note I don't totally agree with this article for reasons I've already mentioned).

 Back to the task at hand. For me as a listener, I prefer to hear songs in the context of albums for a number of reasons. For one, bands who do see albums as an entire, related, artistic statement can do wonderful things that cannot happen in a single song. A good example recently for me is The Killers - great albums, not just great songs, and there are themes throghout. I also find it interesting to listen to the other songs that were probably written around the same time as the hits and look for pattern and similarities both in the music and the lyrics in terms of what the band/songwriter was thinking and to see how that evolves over time and albums. This is particularly interesting to see with bands who span long times and who's sound evovles. The Beatles are the obvious example. When you look at Beatles music and broader societal events there is obviously a correleation. The interesting question to me is: did The Beatles cause some of these social and lifestyle changes or did they react to them and create music that would fit in with what else was going on. I think the answer is both and that's what's so interesting. How music effects society and society, music.

Anyway, I'm getting off point - I've just never had a venue where I could talk about this stuff and have someone listen (other than a few key people like Pete and my cousin John). Actually, I think that's still the case but at least I'm putting it out there. I do see the value in compilations for less audiophiliac people who just want the hits and want someone else to do the work for them. What got this whole thought started was that I think, while I understand this it totally subjective, there are some key, KEY Zeppelin tunes left off the album. I know there is limited space, but I would trade Achilles Last Stand, In The Evening, Trampled Under Foot, and probably a few others for these great songs they left off:

 

Fool In The Rain

Tangerine

Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp

Going to California

Dancing Days

 

How the hell did they leave those off a best-of compilation!

 

 

Tags: album v single, Led Zeppelin, compilation, itunes
Amazing Bass

Wednesday November 14, 2007 at 01:33 PM

So I was chatting with Streeter last night and we were talking about Bela Fleck and The Flecktones. I'm not so hot on Futureman, but Bela and bassist Victor Wooten are two of my favorite musicians of all time. Check out this bass work by Victor Wooten. I didn't even know those harmonics existed!

Tags: video
The Boss

Monday October 22, 2007 at 09:09 AM
In the midst of everything that was going on with CMJ (we had 30 bands play at the Indaba Loft!) I managed to squeeze in two Bruce Springsteen concerts last week. They were both pretty incredible - wonderful seats thanks to a friend who works on the tour. So incredible my girlfriend actually fainted like it was a Beatles concert (in reality I think it was just really hot and none of us ate dinner, but it sounds better the other way).

 Anyway, at one point in the show he sang a new song, Livin' In The Future, that is about American politics and he prefaced it with some comments about the topic. A few people cheered, a few people said "No Politics!" but it all seemd to so quintessentially Springsteen. It got me thinking more about the topic though because people always seem to LOVE to get inside a songwriters head, to learn about what they were thinking when they wrote a song. Audiences almost demand a public view into very personal things, but once those things cross a line into a topic that is slightly more contentious, artists get blamed for using their fame to express their political views.

 I'm not saying I agree or disagree with the Boss about his political views (OK, I happen agree but that's not the point), but no matter what the views are does anyone else see it as hypocritical to be so interested in what a person writes a song about, unless it's something your not interested in hearing and then they are in the wrong for even saying it?

 

 

Tags: concert
ETM Benefit - Danny Boy

Monday October 08, 2007 at 10:09 PM

Video of a song I played at a benefit for Education Through Music last week at the Cutting Room in NYC.

 

 

 

Tags: ETM
ETM Benefit - She Moves

Monday October 08, 2007 at 09:47 PM

Ooooh, look at this new blog functionality.  Fancy.

 This video is from a benefit for Education Through Music at the Cutting Room in NYC last week.

 

 

Tags: ETM