Chicago Mike was asking about selling podcasts and video casts; is iTunes the only game in town?

…It’s not the only game in town, it’s the most convenient…[Matthew Ebel dot net] is probably the best non-iTunes version that I know of.

We here at Matthew Ebel Entertainment and all its subsidiaries salute Chris and John for their recognition. The revolution thanks them and will make sure marble statues of these two are erected once the Robot Army finishes conquering this galaxy.

rev⋅o⋅lu⋅tion [rev-uh-LOO-shuhn] –noun

2. Sociology. a radical and pervasive change in society and the social structure
3. a sudden, complete or marked change in something

dictionary.reference.com

Back in the days when High Orbit was a weekly show, I named the spaceship the UTF Revolution. In those days there was an air of excitement, even fanaticism, about podcasting and downloads and new technology. The discovery that people could make and deliver content beyond the confines of TV, radio, and newspapers electrified the internet crowd. We called it a revolution. If the revolution started in 2004, it’s only beginning to come to a head now.

Revolutionary Communication

[flickr align='left' class='alignleft' hspace='5']photo:2602427250(thumbnail)[/flickr]If you’re reading this, chances are good you’re a fan of my music. You didn’t hear me on the radio, you didn’t see me on some prime-time contest show. You heard me on a podcast, in a virtual world, or on live video. I am doing nothing special; I am merely putting my music out there wherever I can. It is you who drive the revolution every time you use these channels. You make the choice to spend your time outside the pre-fab information streams set up by Rupert Murdoch and Robert Iger.

The past five years may have made this revolution seem… well, less revolutionary. After all, we’re not as jazzed up about the miracle of flight now that we can hop a shuttle from NY to Boston for less than a hundred bucks. Make no mistake about it, however, you are committing an act of rebellion with every new channel you support. The record labels and major networks are starting to realize they cannot make money anymore. Soon they will realize the nagging truth that some of us have been shouting from the town square for years: The artists and the fans no longer need them.

Revolutionary Thinking

Is that true? Are record labels obsolete? The answer isn’t a matter of sales figures or Billboard charts. The future of the revolution is in your mind. You must understand that as long as the old-media channels still claim a foothold in your brain, they are controlling you.

Here’s a revolutionary question:

If you’re a fan of my music, are you wondering when I’m going to get “discovered” by a record label?

If so, those record labels still control your brain. You are still chained down by a world where big companies decide what music is legitimate and what music is “just indie”. As the mon once said, “emancipate yourself from mental slavery.” Good videos don’t need a TV network, good news doesn’t need radio towers, and good music does not need a record label.

YOU are my record label. Yes, you. Do you like my music? Then my music is legitimate. I don’t need some guy in a crisp suit to own 80% of my artwork to make it good. All I need is for you to understand that as soon as you become a fan, you become part of my record label.

Revolutionary Action

[flickr align='left' class='alignleft' hspace='5']photo:2287769640(thumbnail)[/flickr]That’s right, you’re part of my record label. You are also your own TV and radio network. You are working for the best media conglomerate ever created; you contribute only what time and effort you see fit, you cannot be fired, and you are part of something truly revolutionary. In fact, depending on your iTunes playlist, you probably work for so many different record labels right now that your resumé should be 40 pages long. This revolution, however, cannot survive without action.

If you want to keep the revolution fueled, you have a few responsibilities (I’m not going to call them a manifesto, that’d be beating a dead analogy at this point).

• Evict the corporations from your mind.
  They aren’t the ones buying the music, YOU are. You are in control.
• Small sacrifices must be made.
  Have you bought an album? Picked up your favorite show’s official shirt/mug/chia pet? Congratulations, you are now a shareholder in the revolution.
• Grab your bullhorn.
  The #1 thing you can do to support your favorite artists and shows is spread the word about them. Whether they’re on a major label or not, all musicians need that key action from their fans.
• Show up for the battles.
  For musicians, it’s about live concerts and release parties. For podcasters, it’s the live recording events. Whatever division of the revolution you’re fighting with, they need warm bodies to man the barricades.
• Communicate, communicate, communicate!
  The artists, producers, and revolutionaries are only as good as their supporters make them. Talk to them. Comment on their blog posts, post your photos/videos in their Flickr group or Facebook page. Tell them what you like, what you don’t like, and most importantly where you want this revolution to go.

The Revolution Grows

Some of us have been a part of this revolution for years. Some of us just discovered yesterday that you can turn a Mac Mini into an entertainment center (yes, that’s a link to a how-to video). However long you’ve been a part of the revolution, make no mistake: the battle rages on. Until we’ve completely killed the notion that a show, artist, or band needs a major corporate partner to be considered “legitimate”, we are still subject to an oppressive regime.

Make the change happen. Take action, and long live the revolution!

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]