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Pitchfork cyberbullies & slutshames Best Coast, calls her an 'inauthentic two-timing sell out panderer' (10 comments) |
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LANAMANIA hits Los Angeles, frenzied fans begin sobbing in Lana Del Rey's presence (13 comments) |
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"BUZZ BANDS" was a category on Jeopardy. Have BUZZ BANDS crossed over 2 the mnstrm? (10 comments) |
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Introducing PRAYER WATCH 2K12 A CandleLight Vigil 4 Carles #pray4carles (22 comments) |
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Lana Del Rey wears baseball cap, looks TOTALLY EFFING keut (7 comments) |
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Lana Del Rey responds to hateful critics by purchasing major takeover ads on indie websites (9 comments) |
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Lance Armstrong supports Bon Iver against Carles & other anonymous cowards (33 comments) |
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Lana Del Rey sells MAD albums, is officially RICH, FAMOUS, and SUCCESSFUL (11 comments) |
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Bon Iver Vs. Carles: Who stands in solidarity with the Corrupt Indie Machine? (5 comments) |
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Did u see Madonna's wardrobe malfunction pussy lip slip at the Super Bowl? (125 comments) |
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Skrillex spotted bronoodling with nostalgic human meme Mr. Belding in relevant VIP section (3 comments) |
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Was M.I.A.'s Super Bowl flip off the first shameless slutwave marketing act in the post-LDR era? (26 comments) |
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Lana Del Rey Album Sales: 'Born to Die' projected to sell ~60k copies, will land at #2 (12 comments) |
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MIA's life continues to unravel, left by fiance, exposed as a deadbeat mom (12 comments) |
This post has been a part of Mainstream=Alt: An eArt Gallery Presented by the Popular Weblog HIPSTER RUNOFFS.
/// What does MP3 blogging mean 2 u?
/// What is ur fave MP3 blog?
/// What do u look 4 in a good MP3 blog?
/// Are MP3 blogs important 2 u?
/// Are MP3 blogs ruining everything?
/// I am my own personal hype machine.
/// (a personal branding strategy)
Yall, I just watched this series on IFC.com about 'the future of the music industry.' They talked about a lot about the future, and answered a lot of important questions that keep me awake at night.
Will we ever find out what 'indie' means?
Are blogs bad 4 music?
Are bloggers dummies?
Are traditional music journalists going to be executed in public?
Will Pitchfork purchase the Hype Machine?
Is the Hype Machine the only authentic 'music service' on the internet?
Did the Hype Machine create a terrible place for artists to lose money, and crappy bloggers to get more hits than they deserve per day?
Do artists deserve 2 make money?
Are bands just memes?
Is the guy who made Pitchfork more of an altBro, a cool dad, an AuthenticAlt (altPro), or a mainstreamer capitalizing off alts, or just 'a guy who likes music a lot'?
Do people want a music service like 'muxtapey' or are they satisfied with myspace music?
Should the government deregulate the music industry kinda like the airline industry?
When will we get tired of remixes and take artists seriously if they 'think remixes are bad for their product'?
I know all of yall read a lot of music blogs, so u like feeling important when people talk about u being on the cutting edge of culture.
/////THE FUTURE OF MUSIC JOURNALISM//////
Part 1
Part 2
Music blogs are okay, but at this point, they aren't terribly important on their own. The Hype Machine is important. However, each individual crappy blog isn't THAT important, unless they have been blogging for 2+ years, then you can make a case. I think the point of 'ur personal mp3 blog' is to create an authentic content stream without any sort of outside influence.
All bloggers get the same emails from the same marketing companies who are getting paid to let me know about krappy new indie bands. I think the difficult part about 'creating a good blog' is a blogger being able to ask himself 'Do I REALLY care about this band/newsbit/mp3 or do I feel pressure to blog about it because I think it's what people want to hear about?'
You can call this theory the 'Popular Artists on HypeMachine' theory. When entry level bloggers see that 'a lot of people are downloading radiohead', they think that their blog becomes a more valuable resource if they reBlog a popular song to increase their traffic. At the same time, entry level alts see that Radiohead is #1 and feel like 'I am supposed to appreciate this band/music because a lot of other people are appreciating it.' Is Radiohead GENUINELY buzzworthy, or is it just too many content sources caught in a cycle of 'letting people know about news that they thought they were supposed to know about but didn't know why.'
While I think blogging about 'what you think uninteresting people need to hear about' is good for news source type blogs, I think the best blogs for 'pure tastemaking' are just 'authentic content streams' that people can cultivate their personality from [via MP3s]. There is a traffic ceiling for these types of blogs 'but at least u get 2 b respected/perceived as authentic.'
Another issue is that 'mp3 blogs' turn into mp3 blogs because they derive their value from 'posting mp3s.' This doesn't always make your blog more valuable. It usually just makes the hypemachine more valuable. If u really 'care about music', I think more bloggers should focus on creating 'music blogs' instead of 'mp3 blogs.' Does n e 1 else hate those crappy blogs that post a video/picture and only an mp3? I guess I'm just a [HIGHLY SKILLED] blurber, so maybe I should try 2 b a little bit more compassionate.
I also wonder what my blogging goals should be? How authentic can HRO be? Should I just try to drive traffic and report news even if 'it's not that interesting'/capitalizing on the demographic of 'people who feel like they are supposed to know about stuff like Kanye being arrested.'
Yall! Blogs are gonna die after they invent _________.
I read on a tech blog that Hypemachine is gonna start aggregating MP3s from my local radio station, since they started playing indie music like "Paper Planes."
*****************
Watch more panels with important people in the altMusic Industry (various cool Dads)
http://www.ifc.com/video/music/music-panels/1791637224
Topics include "Entrepreneurial Sites" (like the hypemachine & muxtapey), "The Music Video bein' killed by websites/TV", and answering the question "What is Indie Music?"
Gorilla Vs. Bear is a popular lofi chillwave no-wave shitgaze wavewave fuzzy buzzy indie mp3 blog that posts some of 'the best undiscovered blog bands in the world.' Sometimes the bloggers from the blog go to festivals and concerts, and take intimiate, non-sexual photographs of buzzbands with polaroid cameras. For some reason, the New York Times did a 'profile piece' on Gorilla Vs Bear, talking to them about 'the sweet ass polaroids that they take'.
Do yall respect Polaroid photography more than 'ass hole photographers with DSLRs who want to be paid $1000 per .jpg?'
Is concert photography 'bullshit'?
Are photographers 'artists', or just ppl who want to 'buy back' their investment in a DSLR?
Seems like Radiohead's Thom Yorke wasn't 'alt enough to 'get' polaroids:
Mr. Bartholow, 30, takes many of the photographs for the Gorilla vs. Bear music blog and is also its creative director. His camera gets noticed because it is a plastic Polaroid. That tends to disarm and surprise his frequently photographed subjects. “A lot of times they’re really intrigued by the Polaroid,” Mr. Bartholow said.
Some — like Thom Yorke of Radiohead — are downright incredulous, as Mr. Bartholow recalled about a 2008 show. “My wiry arm emerges with this plastic camera that looks like a toy, something out of 1982, and I vividly remember him looking at me like, ‘What are you doing here, kid.’”
Damn. Thom. Cmon bro.
Do yall appreciate mp3 blogs with a 'stunning, visual, engaging aesthetic', or do u like blogs that try to look 'professional in a forgettable way'?
Music blogs tend to rely on stock images of performances and on scans of vinyl album covers. So the use of original artwork on Gorilla vs. Bear means that visitors frequently come across photos of artists they’ve seen nowhere else.
Should I start a buzzworthy mp3 blog, discovering unsigned, unheard artists?
Should GVB 'expand' into nude alt polaroids, marketed as high-end, barely legal alt porn?
Was it a bad idea that the ALT REPORT HQ just invested in $20,000 worth of polaroid camera technology to start a better blog + get an NY Times writeup?
Did Polaroids die, or was that just a marketing gimmick/rumor?
Is Gorilla Vs Bear the best 'pound for pound' mp3 blog on the internet?
Does Gorilla Vs. Bear 'transcend' the concept of the 'professional photographer'?
Did GVB 'invent' polaroid pictures of buzzbands?
Do photographers deserve to be paid, or should they just 'let go' and upload that shit 2 the internet?
Is .JPG capturing a unique service that humans should be paid 4?
What mp3/alt/music blogs do u read? What makes u like them?
Is 'concert photography' 'art', or should robots be installed in venues so that photographers don't 'take up spots at the front' from authentic fans?
Gorilla Vs. Bear is an influential MP3 blog that blogs abt lofi, fuzzy buzzy, chillwave, and authentic African American music.
Read more>>>>
Do u use the popular mp3 aggregator called 'The Hype Machine'? Apparently, it works just like Napster, except the mp3s are hosted on miscellaneous mp3 blogs. You can search for tons of songs and keep your finger on the pulse of 'what the blogosphere is buzzing about.' Can't believe this is what the Hype Machine looked like in 2005. Seems like that was over 200 blog years ago.
Do you prefer the new brand / functionality of the Hype Machine? Sorta weird how websites have to evolve to build a better community / functional tools for users, all just to get more hits, to get more indie alt internet dollars.
Sometime I wonder if alternative websites are 'in it 4 the right reasons' or if we are all just trying to make 'mad bank' from internet advertising dollars.
What is hype machine responsible for?
Has it hurt or helped 'the indie scene'?
Has it hurt or helped individual mp3 blogs?
Did mp3 blogs only become useful after the Hype Machine gave them a context/ecosystem?
Did mp3 blogs degenerate into 'shit holes' because they are just trying to get hits, and no longer have an independent voice?
Is the Hype Machine more influential than Pitchfork?
Did the Hype Machine ruin music journalism?
Did the Hype Machine make the 'indie scene' a better place because instead of having to 'scout' local bands, you can just monitor data + downloads + reaction on the internet?
Is the Hype Machine the second most important mp3-related invention behind the iPod?
Will the Hype Machine ever be shut down and how would the world react?
Do yall miss Napster?
What is the most authentic music recommendation site?
last.fm ?
pandora?
spotify?
iTunes?
lala?
cdnow.com?
Last Friday, a popular internet music weblog, Chocolate Bobka received a Blogger DMCA takedown notification since he posted bootlegged tracks by the popular internet indie band Animal Collective. This was 'devastating news', particularly after Blogger went on a controversial deletion spree, deleting blogs that had violated digital rights multiple times. Many MP3 bloggers find that this big brother-esque policy is unfair since some of these tracks are authorized, or at least 'widely distributed' on the internet.
Many bloggers and websites feel responsible for 'creating' Animal Collective with authentic internet blog buzz and coverage. This is possibly the biggest scandal in the history of internet music, since it seems like Animal Collective is 'fighting back' against the forces that theoretically 'made' them.
Here is a critical email that the Alt Report received from the Chocolate Bobka blogger describing the situation:
Hey,
So. Here's the deal. I went to the AnCo MPP Listening Party (thrown by Domino) on October 28th 2008 in NYC. 14 blog years ago. I then wrote up my 'thoughts' about the 'experience'/'album' on CB. (Here: http://chocolatebobka.blogspot.com/2008/10/animal-collective-listening-party.html)
At the bottom of the post I posted two mp3s that had been 'floating' around the WWW for months. They were from a widely circulated Lisbon, Portugal bootleg. The same show is available, for free, to download, in FLAC, on Archive.org. (here: http://www.archive.org/details/acollective2008-05-28.4061.flac16) DMCA/Blogger took down the post (made it a 'draft') claiming "certain content in your blog is alleged to infringe upon the copyrights of others." I then took out the old links, and added a link to the Archive DL. This shit is so whack. Ha.
McG
ChocolateBobka.com
The-Report.org
In a previous interview with the Irish State Magazine, Noah Lennox goes on record, claiming that he supports fans sharing bootlegs:
Fans of the band have taken to documenting these gigs the old fashioned way – through bootlegging. Animal Collective are only too happy to let that continue – “It feels really good man,” Noah enthuses. “To realise people are so hyped on it that they are downloading bootlegs and trading tapes and all that. I know for some of the guys in the band – with bands like Pavement and Grateful Dead – they were part of a community who would trade tapes and stuff. So they are psyched they are doing that with our music too. It’d good that people care and like the music so much to do that kind of thing. ”
If AnCo is chill with bootlegging,why do u think they are 'going after' mp3 blogs for posting their material? Will blogs be scared to post Animal Collective in the future? Posting premature bootlegs + youtube videos of early Animal Collective and Panda Bear work has been critical in building buzz for their releases. It seems like the whole internet web marketing game is completely changing as artists protect their digital rights.
Is AnCo 'coming after' blogs + alt internet websites?
Should all Mp3 blogs move off Blogger?
Do artists have the right to 'protect their music', or should they embrace the blogosphere?
Will Animal Collective 'come after' Pitchfork for embedding their music on their website?
Are indie bands no longer in control of their own brand?
Will major label watch dogs prevent the free proliferation of music in the future [via premature album leaks]?
Does this mean we are no longer 'on the same team' with Animal Collective?
Should we just blame their record label, DOMINO RECORDS?
Is AnCo the Metallica of indie music?
Stereogum is widely branded as the biggest mp3 blog in the world. The site recently launched a 'redesign' with what we can assume are 3 key goals
Site fans are divided on whether or not the site looks better, or if it just looks 'forgettable' in an overdesigned way. In addition, the logo has been called 'generic' by a few anonymous web design experts.
Do yall think all music blogs should 'redesign' or do they need 2 stay true to their initial crappy blog design roots?
Should HIPSTER RUNOFF redesign, or is it already designed 'perfectly'?
What is perfect web design?
What does the perfect MP3 blog look like?
a) Pitchfork
b) HRO
c) GVB
d) gawker
e) pandora
f) last.fm
g) Stereogum
h) hypemachine
i) choose.ur.own.response
Stereogum, known as 'the internet's #1 music blog' added a fourth staff member to their blog. (Note: While Pitchfork gets the most traffic, it is not classified as a blog, it is a web magazine). Stereogum has come under fire in the past 2 years from their core fan base for 'broadening their content' as they have transformed into a mainstream music blog. Many of their core readers voice complaints in the comments when a post is either 'too alt' or 'too mainstream.'
As Stereogum staff introduced their new member, they were 'defensive', making sure to emphasize the organic/small scale of their operation, though they have morphed into a modern media conglomerate:
Back in January 2002 (remember teh Strokez?!) Stereogum got its start as Scott's LiveJournal. By 2006 he'd grown the site to the point that I didn't think twice about quitting my job as a lawyer to come on board [Sorry Mr. & Mrs. Singh! -Ed]; the next year we welcomed Brandon to the brain trust. And that's been it: Three dudes working from their apartments in Brooklyn, with their cats and dogs and piles of promos -- no offices, no interns, no daytime meetings, trying to cover the music we love as comprehensively as possible. (You are probably aware, but our parent company BUZZmedia handles the advertising that pays our rents ... rest assured our writers have nothing to do with sales, as it should be.) Still we're always wanting to do better, faster, stronger. Today we're happy to announce a long overdue expansion to the editorial staff to make that happen: We're going from three guys in Brooklyn to three guys and one lady from Brooklyn. Today Jessica Suarez joins the Stereogum team.
As indie becomes mainstream, we will see more content generators brought on board to alt blogs in order to create a deeper well of memes that Google search engine can index.
Rumors say that Stereogum was purchased for between $5-20 million in 2008. We can only assume that adding one more member to their staff will result in $1-5 million extra dollars per year.
Blogging is a serious business. Mad Hits are a serious business. Alt memes are a serious business.
We can only assume that more blogs will add more bloggers to generate more hits as the mp3 blogosphere evolves into the mainstream blogosphere.
