Bands Burn Their Own CDs to Replace Sony DRM’med Discs
Ooh look, the artists are biting the hand that feeds them bread and water. To Sony BMG (and the rest of the labels) when the very bands that you are ‘publishing’ for are having to self-publish their music so the fans get the product that they want (and are entitled to in law under the fair use doctrine) then something with your business model is wrong.
Mike Martinovich, manager for My Morning Jacket, says that even before the revelation of MediaMax’s security problems, his company had been mailing burned, unprotected copies of MMJ’s new album Z to fans who complained that MediaMax prevented them from transferring songs to their iPods. “It should have been enough that fans are annoyed,” he says. “But this should be the final reason.”
Link: Rolling Stone.
So bands are shipping direct to their customers. We’ve already seen countless examples of bands selling tens of thousands of CD’s on TPN Rock withuot major label support. A few more of these to break out and get their story out in the media are what’s needed now.
December 20th, 2005 at 6:19 pm
How long until Sony/BMG or the RIAA takes My Morning Jacket to court for breach of contract? I’d like to see that one won by the artists.
When will big music get a clue? Hopefully with a few more bungles like this they will put themselves totally out of business and the artists can control their own music again and fans will be treated like customers not nuisances.