It’s been 200 years since the golden age of piracy. And if that’s the case we may very well be in the platinum age. Piracy is more widespread and prevalent than ever before (though, Somalia withstanding, it’s mostly on the internet). Hell, the Pirate Party holds two seats in the European Parliament. The explosion of the internet has forced the music industry to try and come up with business models that can adapt to the change in music distribution. As of now, there have been no viable solutions. Sure some companies have found one a way to profit big of the anarchic music environment; Apple, evil bastards they are, offers products (music through iTunes) they neither make, nor can claim any natural right to distribute, all the while restricting its use to fit its own business model. But this kind of thing is not long term. The tension in the industry will only balloon as not only record companies cash in on others intellectual property, but now digital distrutors do as well.
The solution? F*** ‘em all. And that’s what starting to happen. Bands like Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and the Smashin Pumpkins have all foregone labels, and distributors to offer music for free to their audience. And money is still made. Some point out that perhaps only huge bands with established bases can pull that kind of thing off. That’s what makes the music industry so exciting… perceptions of it are so close-minded, stifling, and ass backwards, that it’s just begging for a major breakthrough. There will be innovative experiments and failures. No one has found the magic bullet, but who knows? Maybe one of us will.
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