Me, Ted, Amanda, and Ariel

Honestly, though, what makes social media events like this fun aren’t really the events. It’s the socializing. Getting to talk about indie music promotion with Ariel is always a highlight. Hearing stories of touring with Van Halen and Prince and the like from Ted Cohen never gets old. And Amanda Palmer? Yeah, she’s as groovy as I anticipated. Busiest woman I’ve ever seen, though, she’s literally the CEO of her own company just like me. Her business is significantly larger, though, so I can see why she needs caffeine. What we talked about on stage mirrored what was happening backstage: Talk to people online, Don’t just promote shit, actually converse. If you’re not interacting with your fans as a human being, you’re not interacting with your fans.

Me and Derrick

The dinner afterwards sealed the day perfectly. NY Times best-selling author Julien Smith sponsored this indie rocker’s meal that night, and man am I grateful. I got to spend the final hours of the day talking with friends like CC Chapman, Chris Penn, Chel Pixie (who organized the dinner), Jeffrey Sass and his aspiring-rock-star son, and more. These kind of people create a notable change in conversation every time I’m around them. I’m usually among folks who create or manage technology- networking, storage, programming, etc. -but the people I ate dinner with are a different kind of cutting edge. They don’t make the tools, they use them in ways nobody else imagines. It’s refreshing to hear from people who are paving new roads using the toys that my other friends are crafting. It’s a hell of a perspective and I’m thankful for the opportunity to see all sides of the picture.

So here’s to the con-goers at 140 Characters. I hope to see you all next year!

Last month a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you’re entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days.

I won’t set foot down the “we’re becoming a police state” path, I just want to focus on what this means for traveling musicians and businessfolk. So, to quote the legendary Dick Clark:

Protect your ass at all times.

If you haven’t figured out by now that Geek Squad, Apple technicians, and any other hardware support people can (and typically will) copy your music library for their own personal collection (if not your entire hard drive), then you’re just not paying attention. Heck, even auto mechanics will rip all the CD’s in your car if you leave it with them overnight.

The best solution for us Mac people has got to be the sparse disk image. Using Disk Utility, you can make a file that acts just like a disk- a 256-bit encrypted password-protected disk. That’s the kind of protection that requires a supercomputer to unravel. If the government thinks you’re a terrorist, they can get past it, but the time and computing power necessary will be reserved for more than casual use.

What about FileVault? If you’ve used it for more than a week, you’re probably sick of it already. It’s slow, cumbersome, and breaks a lot of the Mac’s functionality (like Automator). A sparse disk image is only as big as the files you store in it (unlike regular disk images) and gives the same level of software encryption.

So if you have sensitive financial data, intellectual property, trade secrets, or that DVD rip of Hot Grannies In Thongs IV (you’re weird, by the way), you can at least protect yourself from casual snoops and identity theft by keeping it all under lock and key… without having to lock down your entire hard drive.

Any other recommendations? Please discuss. Any America-bashing or even government-bashing will not be tolerated, so please remain civil.

[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, police state, Christopher Penn, C.C. Chapman, laptop security, Bruce Schneier, sparse disk image, encryption, Geek Squad, Apple, theives, identity theft[/tags]

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[tags]Matthew Ebel, piano rock, Dan Patterson, CC Chapman, Whitney Hoffman, Christopher Penn, Podcamp NYC, PCNYC, PCNYC2, politics, social media[/tags]

I’ve noticed a disturbing trend (no, not that disturbing trend, another one) in discussions of where the music industry is headed: Seldom does anyone bother to ask the musicians. You would think that if people were discussing the future of agriculture, they’d have a farmer or two on their panel. It just makes sense when discussing the industry and the business to involve the people actually making the product.

A few specific examples…

Culprit #1: Leo Laporte. Or, more specifically, This Week in Tech (TWiT). I am a regular listener to both TWiT and MacBreak Weekly, tuning in to every episode. For months now I’ve been listening to Leo and friends talk about how “CD’s are dead” and how the recording industry is spiraling out of control… yet not once have they ever brought an actual musician onto either show for some perspective.

Hello, Leo? It’s Matthew. I’m a new media geek, a Mac user, and a musician. Call me.

Culprit #2: The “Podcasting and the Music Industry” panel at PodCamp Boston 2. The panel lineup from the official schedule:

Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity. Other panelists will include Adam Lewis of the Planetary Group, Kevin Greenstein of Bandletter, Matthew Wilkening of What Are Records.

My pal CC Chapman also got drafted onto that panel as well. Looks like an impressive lineup… except for no musicians whatsoever. I sat in the back and bit my tongue through most of the panel since I knew if I started talking I’d take up most of the panel’s time. They seemed like really earnest people committed to the music business, but not one of them was a touring act. I even heard them give the “CD’s are dead” argument as well.

Clue-by-four, people… Fans will always want something autographed at a concert. If not CD’s, then what? You can’t sign an iPod, and people aren’t as likely to buy an 8×10 photo.

Culprit #3: SLCC. Old story, but if they’d have involved actual musicians in the pre-game process, they could’ve avoided the PR nightmare they got themselves into.

The moral of this story is simple: Don’t purport to cover the music industry unless you’re involving the people actually making the product. We’ve got valid viewpoints, and we see things that the rest of the music industry doesn’t. Invite us to the conversation, otherwise you’re not covering the complete story.

Note: Leo, I’m serious. You don’t answer email, so I tagged your name about fifty times in this post so you’d catch it. Call me next time you plan on talking about the music industry.

[tags]evolution, Leo Laporte, MacBreak Weekly, Matthew Ebel, Music, SLCC, Ariel Publiciy, CC Chapman, Ariel Hyatt, Kevin Greenstein, Matthew Wilkening, Adam Lewis, Bandletter, What Are Records, The Planetary Group, music industry, piano rock, revolution, RIAA, This Week in Tech, TwiT[/tags]

Like, for example, audio tapes of CC when he was 5 years old. And some stories about [tag]childhood[/tag]. And some [tag]college radio[/tag] clips.

Head on over to hear the episode right here, and share it with a friend!

Listen to the brand-new [tag]Matthew Ebel[/tag] song, “[tag]Every Color[/tag]“, Right Here.

Take a listen, and stay tuned for more information.

Not only is it a whole episode of CC and I, we even played an exclusive album track that you won’t hear on any other [tag]podcast[/tag]!

If you’re not subscribed, you ought to be. You can hear the interview or add Accident Hash to your playlist HERE.
[tags]Matthew Ebel, music[/tags]