Before the Music Dies a Must-See by George Ziemann -- February 27, 2008 Last week, I said we needed to see Before the Music Dies, a documentary about the music business. Now that I've actually seen it (the film is currently running on IFC), and even though it's two years old, I'd like to upgrade my recommendation from "need to see" to "don't talk to me about the music business until you've seen it." Every time I go to slashdot and read the comments section on just about anything to do with the RIAA, the lawsuits, or the music business in general, the debate inevitably breaks down into three factions: The Legal Eagles -- These guys are talking about the law, court procedure, discovery, legal wrangling, motions, briefs, precendent, jurisdiction, and details, details, details. Personally, I find this interesting but I could see why a lot of people have no real interest in the legal minutae, as it's generally pretty boring and has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with music. The Pirates -- We're on ur inerwebs, stealing ur stuf. Can I haz cheezburger? The Defenders of the Status Quo (DSQ) -- These guys will tell you how a) you're stealing their stuff, b) music is a business, which is about making money, and c) you're stealing their stuff. They would also prefer if we didn't discuss what is happening in each case because they're tired of hearing about it. They're also tired of hearing about how the labels rip off the artists, which always happened "in the past." To the DSQ, it's a "you're with us or you must be a pirate" kind of thing. They cannot fathom that people stopped buying music for any other reason than because they can download mp3s. They feel that artists are entitled to be paid for every copy of every song they ever record. At least the ones signed to a major label. I usually try to speak up for the other 97 percent of musicians who are not. I am usually reminded by the DSQs that I cannot possibly speak for all the rest of the musicians because some of them agree with what the industry is saying. I've got to admit that they have a point there. I guess I can only speak for the hundreds of thousands of musicians that have posted our tunes on our own sites and places like mp3.com (the old one, not the new one), IUMA, vitaminic, DMusic, MySpace, FaceBook, GarageBand, iLike, Sonicbids and every other place they can find to promote themselves. We realize that people will not want your music if they never hear it. Some of us think we're pretty hot shit and it's only a matter of days before the rest of you realize it; some of us want to be rich and famous; some of us just want people to listen to our tunes and tell us if they like them or not. That latter group is the one I really try to speak for most. At this point in time, we will forego the cash, just for the opportunity to get on your iPod playlist, cuz if we can't get there, we can't get in your ears, and we figuratively do not exist. Everything the major labels do to "protect their content" serves the additional purpose of getting in our way. Whenever I take this position, the DSQs will insist that this is the wrong attitude. If we don't insist on payment, then we are undermining the entire business, selling ourselves short. Musicians need a label to promote them and the fans need the labels to tell them the difference between what is good and what is not. I've been making this argument for a long time now. I'm really tired of repeating it because I get the feeling that I'm some sort of relic, a lunatic who will not accept the fact that playing music is about money. Sure, some of my friends buy into my pitch but sometimes I think it's really just me, vainly trying to convince the world that they're doing it wrong. I watched Before the Music Dies yesterday. When it was over, the first thing I did was send an e-mail to Dave Matthews to say, "Thank you." My point of view sounds much more convincing when he explains it. "If you want to get rich and famous, you should go on Fear Factor." Matthews goes on to explain his experience with record labels, most of which involves telling them to go away, and his advice to musicians, which involves playing music because you love to do it whether you get paid or not and a lot of "If you get lucky..." You'll also learn specifically why the music on Clear Channel sucks, as well as a primer on how to make a mediocre (and I'm being nice) singer into a video star. Branford Marsalis on the biz ("Ray Charles would not get a shot today. Stevie Wonder would not get a shot. They're blind!") and his current crop of students ("They just want you to tell them how great they are."). There's a story about a blues artist who was led to believe he was a failure, only to find out he was Eric Clapton's favorite blues artist in the "last five years." He feels much better now. If you've been listening to those pesky DSQs and you were ready to give up hope on music, watch this film and you'll feel better, too.