Radiohead & Nine Inch Nails

We’ve all done it. Either asked a friend to a burn a CD for us or vice versa. We’ve swopped mp3’s and downloaded free tracks online. We’ve made mixed CD’s of multiple songs and maybe even used a protected track in a professional presentation or public venue. In some way or another, we’ve all most likely committed basic copyright infringement on a very small scale. All the above are protected by copyright laws, but for the most part it’s really hard to enforce unless the crime is committed on a large scale like Napster.

I can't remember who the pioneer was, or even the first time I heard of this- but when Radiohead (In Rainbows) & Nine Inch Nails (Ghosts & the Slip) gave away their albums, for free, online- I thought at first it was too good to be true. I followed the links and was amazed that the only thing I needed to offer up in exchange for music was my name and email. In moments I would be enjoying some new tracks by well respected musicians. It seemed crazy to me that any commercial artist or record label would allow people to have their work for free. Maybe they have just given into the fact that in this day with digital media, most people are going to get their hands on it anyway - and it's almost impossible to enforce.

What resulted was amazing, the publicity the free downloads generated for the bands couldn't have been executed any better with a traditional marketing campaign, I would even argue that the buzz it created brought more people into the bands scope. The bands/labels basically cut out the cost of marketing and used the digital media and their intellectual property as means to generate interest and drive fans to their concerts- where the bands make their real money. The way the music industry is handling it's product and approach to marketing is much different then it was ten years ago. Bands need a Myspace page, they need to tweet (ha), it's all part of the new digital frontier where the lines of intellectual property seem to blur. I don't think free downloads of full length albums will be the model of the future for the music industry, but it is an amazing way to get your product and promotional material in the hands of potentially millions of fans without ever leaving your home, office or studio.

I do think digital media should be enforced through copyright laws. I believe open source projects and sharing of idea's through digital means will increase and become more popular, but companies, artist's, and entertainer's will always protect their work and their means to earn a living. Like Metallica and Dr.Dre... I can't blame them or the record companies for going after Napster.