Darkest Before Dawn by George Ziemann — December 30, 2010 The first decade of the 21st century has been rather rocky for the record industry. Can't help but wonder what is on the horizon that might turn things around for the future. Happened to see two stories this week which served as reminders that the RIAA still seems to think that copyright can stop technology and that they can somehow control every possible avenue for people to exchange information. On the copyright end, there's an effort to get the Canada's Supreme Court to rule that linking to something is the same thing as publishing the content that's at the other end of that link. The legal implications of this are so overwhelming that the chances of it getting passed seem miniscule if anyone in the room possesses a faint scrap of intelligence, as it would make the entire internet illegal by default. Are we expected to believe the RIAA (or CRIA, the Canadian iteration) are so clueless that they couldn't think far enough down that line of thought to see the obvious conclusion? How much money, time and effort have they wasted in legal fees to pursue pointless angles that they never had a chance in hell of winning? The other story involved getting MasterCard to block transactions for companies that allowed the exchange of large files because this equates to file-sharing. To really support the RIAA's position on this, you have to forget that there are a million reasons for normal people to share large files that have nothing whatsoever to do with the RIAA's music. The story did say that the sites were hosting content, though, so maybe it was actually some logical targeting. Even so, that's an endless task, the whack-a-mole game that they've been playing for a decade now. Maybe it's because the year is drawing to a close, which is also the end of the first decade of the 21st century, but the idea that the record labels have steadfastly pursued the negative instead of reinventing themselves to adapt. As much there is to dislike about the labels, the total disaster they have become is really kind of sad if you care about music at all. Think about the lawsuit campaign, which cost the RIAA about $64 for every $1 they collected trying to teach a lesson to those nasty pirates that were ruining the music business. Fear, threats and danger. It would certainly have been much more fun to see the industry do something creative and exciting to revitalize music instead of becoming oppressive toward the audience. It would have probably been cheaper to send a $10 coupon to everyone they caught sharing so they could go out and actually buy some music. Couldn't have turned out worse than suing them all. And they're still playing the "illegal downloading" angle, even though downloading has never been illegal and they never sued anyone for downloading, just distribution (sharing). And the media still repeats the "illegal downloading" mantra, which means that the people we should rely on for the truth failed to ever lift the veil. When a direct lie is the center of your "education" effort, you've got a serious problem. I've always thought that this was their greatest mistake. They certainly raised awareness of the problem that file-sharing presented to those who create content, but placed the public blame on the wrong end of the activity instead of trying to enlighten people how to avoid becoming part of the re-distribution process. They banked on shaming a generation who grew up with the internet into not doing what they view as normal behavior because it was "bad." It failed miserably. Fortunately, the state of music is not tied to the fate of the record industry as much as they would like us all to believe. Those interested in pursuing the art and science of recorded music have more tools than ever at their disposal, more ways to reach an audience, and a wider horizon than ever before. Some would argue that this has had a downside in that there is now so much music available from so many acts that, despite the potential global reach, it is more difficult than ever for your favorite band to cut through the clutter and stand out. The worst aspect of this opinion will tell you that there is too much undeserving content in the way, as if something you're not searching for is miraculously going to crowd out what you're trying to find. Just more shortsighted logic tied to the old paradigms of selling plastic disks within limited retail shelf space. The new complication is how artists are going to reap some income from it if no one is buying the physical product they produce. Artists have never really made any significant income from recordings, but the ability of the record labels to profit from them provided the incentive to invest in acts which, in turn, created the visibility, promotion and marketing needed to place a band firmly in the public eye. The internet has been helpful in gaining attention. If your YouTube video becomes viral, it's just as good, or maybe even better, then getting radio airplay used to be, at least in the short term. The shortcoming is that radio was "sticky" and the internet is not. If you had a radio hit, the station would keep playing your song for some time, maybe even forever. But this week's viral videos are going to be passé next month. And we've also seen artists with a catchy viral video that couldn't sustain the audience energy level at the shows. What hasn't changed is the necessity of being able to put on a compelling live show. That's where an artist's main income has always come from and the shortcomings of selling CDs have not seemed to adversely effect the willingness of the audience to shell out bucks to see a good live show. That really isn't all that different from the days of radio saturation. You've always had to be able to deliver live to endure. I think the record labels lost some of the important focus when the musicians that used to run things were replaced by accountants, lawyers and investment bankers. Things got too superficial and lost a lot of the depth that used to give things staying power. Too much trying to copy what was hot last month and do it again this month instead of forging new ground. Too much focus on the short term instead of the long haul. Right now we're in between the old way and new avenues. There are a million bands now, all trying to make it on their own, many relying on the one miracle to rocket them into the public eye, but not really prepared to take advantage of it when it happens. They may sparkle for a moment, but it's going to be a fleeting instant. The trickiest part of all of it is that, after all of these years, still no one knows what the secret element is to become a superstar. Frank Sinatra had it. Elvis had it. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin. The list goes on, but I don't want to get into a discussion of who was great. Those are just some easy examples of what was and still is successful. The public at large latches onto things for reasons that can probably be best described as magic. Anyone can make a song. Making magic is much more difficult, almost impossible to quantify, and even harder to maintain. In these days of instant gratification, who has what it truly takes to walk that road? And who out there is capable of spotting the magic, nurturing it and giving it the push necessary? Hard questions, with no easy answers. So the long haul becomes more important than ever. In some ways, it's a throwback to the early days. Strip away all the gimmicks, dancers, autotune, gizmoids and gadgets and what you still need to make the grade are the basics — a singer (or singers), solid material, and the ability to get people excited to watch and hear you play each and every time you step out onto the stage. You still have to rock the audience's world through an immediate, visceral reaction to your presence and the show you put on. You have to make them laugh, cry, jump up and down, trigger their emotions and touch their soul. Your music has to become their music. It's a tougher job than ever and not for the faint of heart. There's an entire new generation of talented musicians out there, most of them flailing in the dark, looking for the easy path to the spotlight. There isn't one. That's the obstacle that is going to stop 99 percent of the acts out there. But somewhere out there, there's magic happening, waiting for their chance, working hard, earning their place, waiting patiently for the skys to clear and the sun to come out again. People still love and need music in their lives. The dark days won't last forever.