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Robots for Robots → Addicts → Why I like Netlabels so much!
Netlabels are Fortune Cookies
Here and than, I ask myself: What is so fascinating about netlabels, that I stayed in touch all over the years? Why am I so excited and keep digging into the wild woods of netlabelism? Isn
no one cares about netlables, because it's free.
since it's free there's, for example, no place for collecting artifacts and earning respect by showing off collection.
years on cbs forums assured me music isn't most important, even in community which was built around it.
Strong words my friend... I believe the internet (and other things) will bring a new generation where music is no longer something that you own, it becomes a experience, and it's worth for what it is (music)
Everybody should read this: http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature-read.aspx?id=879
I feel that the omnipresence of netlabelism has cheapened the works and efforts of many producers. Almost like they're not trying as hard to make something as good and GREAT as they can because it's so easy to publish now. And heck if no one else will put their music out then they start their own and start flinging their virtual track-dungs at us. There ARE benefits but the detriment I see and hear outweighs them for me currently.
big time. it's just like in the punk days: the concept of everybody picking up a guitar, playing one chord and ping, you have a song is great.. until everybody actually does it. and with todays preset junk its even easier to call yourself a musician..
thats why there will always be a need for filters, like the cbs was one.
I think i aint a musician to.
Maybe more a sound artist 
i think it's a good thing that it's easier these days to make/release music. it's giving back the music to it's rightful owners; the poeple. i think the idea of musicians vs normal deadly people is very much a western thing and not a very good one.
it was cassette tapes in the 80's and i guess it's netlabels now. but i agree, netlabels often suffer from low quality-control. probably because they don't have to worry about not selling enough etc etc. i guess it can be a positive thing too but somehow i think netlabels are usually not as good as the idea itself.
that's stupid, you say people produce worse music, because it's easier for everybody to produce/release nowadays?
i see no connection between it.
i disagree, in the past even in the days of punk for a song to be recorded and distributed, it needed to go through a certain process. And at each step there is a different pair of ears listening to it, that maybe might say "hang on this is a piece of shit, lets flush it down the toilet"
Nowadays, I could record myself farting in the bath, run it through some plug-in effects, add a 4 to floor kick drum and some crappy softsynth presets and 'release' it on my own netlabel.
People have always made really shit music, but in the past it stayed in their garage, because it was never going to get released because it was never going to make a label any money.
These days, it doesn't matter how crap something it is, some misguided fool with doughnuts for ears has the ability to desseminate it through the web.
@bias and r2dj: of course that connection is there.. if its easier to make stuff and no one tells you it's shit like labels, or distributors used to do, more crap gets ''released'' that used to stay in vaults..
@hans olof: of course there is a difference between musicians and normal people, it's called talent. just like there is a difference between normal people and painters, sculpturers and other artists.
and the problem is, no one except mr. larry levan above, is going to listen to tons of garbage to find the one gem. it's just not worth your time. so what is nreeded is something like a real label: quality control.
@bias and r2dj: of course that connection is there.. if its easier to make stuff and no one tells you it's shit like labels, or distributors used to do, more crap gets ''released'' that used to stay in vaults..
@hans olof: of course there is a difference between musicians and normal people, it's called talent. just like there is a difference between normal people and painters, sculpturers and other artists.
Many "normal people" would produce fine art if they had access to culture
3. A small vinyl label produces a limited copies of a release. If the release is sold out, it
thought topic title was "Why I like Netherlands so much" ... need new eyes
thought topic title was "Why I like Netherlands so much" ... need new eyes
who would open a such topic ? 
Funny thing is, i read that exact thing too
yeah, netherlands is great, nice weed and friendly robots..
was kidding ( but the weed is too strong for my taste )
me too (i mainly smoke hash there)
me too (i mainly smoke hash there)
If you like hash you should go to Portugal (closest place to Morocco)
@hans olof: of course there is a difference between musicians and normal people, it's called talent. just like there is a difference between normal people and painters, sculpturers and other artists.
and the problem is, no one except mr. larry levan above, is going to listen to tons of garbage to find the one gem. it's just not worth your time. so what is nreeded is something like a real label: quality control.
what humangigz said...
let people participate and they will learn. i don't think it's so much about talent as it is about interest.
in electronic and experimental music this is even more obvious.
i don't think any dude on stage with a bunch of machines, rocking his vocoder, is some kind of mega talented superstar. he is probably just like most of the people in the crowd, except maybe with more interest in making music and more hours of practicing it behind him.
ofcourse some people will be better than others, but everyone can do something. this goes for painters and other artists too. art belongs to the people. it's very western and boring imho to seperate these people who enjoy to practice art from the rest, making them superstars for the rest to gaze upon.
by making it possible for more people to make and release music, and by making it free, i think we can take a small step away from the idea that music is something made by a select few, and something you buy and collect.
i disagree, in the past even in the days of punk for a song to be recorded and distributed, it needed to go through a certain process. And at each step there is a different pair of ears listening to it, that maybe might say "hang on this is a piece of shit, lets flush it down the toilet"
Nowadays, I could record myself farting in the bath, run it through some plug-in effects, add a 4 to floor kick drum and some crappy softsynth presets and 'release' it on my own netlabel.
People have always made really shit music, but in the past it stayed in their garage, because it was never going to get released because it was never going to make a label any money.
These days, it doesn't matter how crap something it is, some misguided fool with doughnuts for ears has the ability to desseminate it through the web.
that little story can easily be translated to how it was in the 80's with many tape labels for example. i don't think it was very hard to convince your gang of arty band buddies that farting in the bath was the next big thing.
ofcourse there will always be a lot of shitty music, because people are shit. it doesn't matter if you have label bosses controlling what is gonna be released or not. label bosses are shit too. dig through any large record store and there will be more shit than you can carry home.
my point here is that recording, record labels, control over what people should hear, is still a brand new thing from a larger perspective. but music is just as old as mankind. i think it's a good thing to give back the music to the people.
the bad music will hopefully be forgotten over time.
Since there IS so much music at our disposal now I find it hard to muster up any energy to look for "gems". It's usually a disappointment. If I do check new music out it's usually online record stores (which is already a filter so it helps SOMEwhat). I don't even take notice or comply when so many people are giving away their albums for free on MySpace etc. It starts to feel disposable when I'm unsure about artist's efforts and I suspect that it doesn't cost anybody in the line of creation and distribution anything to pass it along. If they don't care, why should I?
This is of course not all-encompassing but some impressions of mine regarding this digital distribution age.
Another facet that needs mentioning is context and relevance - historical, social, musical, etc.
Extreme example for consision: A recording of a speech that eventually freed a nation from outside rule is more important and valuable than a recording of another pop song.
@bias and r2dj: of course that connection is there.. if its easier to make stuff and no one tells you it's shit like labels, or distributors used to do, more crap gets ''released'' that used to stay in vaults..
@hans olof: of course there is a difference between musicians and normal people, it's called talent. just like there is a difference between normal people and painters, sculpturers and other artists.
and the problem is, no one except mr. larry levan above, is going to listen to tons of garbage to find the one gem. it's just not worth your time. so what is nreeded is something like a real label: quality control.
i gotta sit on the fence on this one.... i dont know about netlabels really but i am finding the quality control arguement
of a record label a bit weak. there were too many shitty record labels to even start listing here.
there are like a billion 1 euro bins at a million record shops totally packed with shitty music from crappy labels.
at least a shitty netlabel isnt stinking up the planet with useless vinyl.
i think if a label was really smart they would use netlabel approach to test tracks possible future vinyl or cd releases....
Netlabels are a double-edged sword, as I learnt over the past few years.
When they started popping out together with pay sites such as Beatport, I mistakenly got drunk on this 'finally the revolution is here' sort of thing. Coming from the bad side of many a major label rip-off or several, this was my idea of revenge, and at first I revelled in it. No more will I be told to fuck off politely, I said...no more bullshit to put up with, etc. But as someone pointed out on this thread earlier, I didn't see the proliferation of millions of shit tunes i had to sift through in order to find that one good track to spin. Furthermore, Beatport now shows signs of getting drunk on its own bloated ego, and I'm hearing some surreal tales coming from that side, not to mention their pathetic way of categorising music. As I type, I admit that this is tiring me to the point of total apathy...
So where do we go from here? MP3 should live on, but so should vinyl and CD - not for reasons that fanboys come up with, but because I think that the lack of physical mediums on which music used to be mostly put on has been the main reason why music has become so disposable, not to mention that sense of identity and belonging that a well designed cover gives to the listener/buyer. But make no mistake - I don't seem to see any future in earning money from any medium I have mentioned. Unfortunately, the majors' greed has made us so apathetic about any solid justification in spending 18EUR for a CD, so prices have to be kept down to a minimum and any money that the artist can really earn has to be via live performance.
Forgive me in advance for any oversights, errors and omissions in my contribution here - I just spat out what came out of my head. But I'm sure that I covered a couple of bases that would give some food for thought and room for improved dialogue...over to you!
Thanks for your post Woody Aki, always welcome
jonny five wrote:me too (i mainly smoke hash there)
you should go to Portugal (closest place to Morocco)
i must have missed something...
you should go back seeing a map dude
and the problem is, no one except mr. larry levan above, is going to listen to tons of garbage to find the one gem. it's just not worth your time. so what is nreeded is something like a real label: quality control.
Hear! Hear! Quality control is a problem with netlabels because there is no boundry to release a record there is nothing holding most record labels to release mediocre music. I know a couple of people who put a lot of stuff on their netlabel because it is not 'that bad'. If you have a proper recordlabel you only release if you think it is really good because you are putting a lot of money in that release.
And yes sometimes a good artist will emerge from a netlabel, now how many good artists are coming out of proper labels? How many netlabel artists do you see playing at good parties and how many from netlabels? Now of course you can say it is just because proper labels control everuthing or something like that but... it is simply that their releases have better music period.
actually this is a problem not just with netlabels, but i see it also with artists that start on ''bigger'' labels and then start their own label. almost inevitably, their own releases never have the impact their earlier work did, and i think it has a lot to do with that same problem: quality control. doesn't necessarily have to be om purpose either. i'm sure many artists will realize that they sell an X amount of copies no matter what, just because they are hip or have a loyal fanbase (hell, i bought every new order release, even stuff i didn't really like), but there are just as many that simply lack the feeling which of their tracks are worthy of releasing...
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