Good Day Gnomies!

My previous post here was a bit of a rant but, judging by the comments, it seemed like it was well received. I thought a follow up with a bit more detail on Bum Rush the Charts.

In my opinion, the entire point of March being "Boycott the RIAA Month" is to make a statement. We, as consumers, are the driving force of the music industry. Without our dollars, there is no industry. I get particularly snarky when someone tries to tell me how to spend my money. I also want my dollars to go to the musicians and not some label engaged in rampant lawsuits. &quotBum Rush the Charts" is a great way to make a statement. Each dollar we spend or do not spend is an economic vote.

Interwoven in this scenario is the fact that podcasters and podcast, at present, are not taken seriously. (I am of the opinion that the new royalty structures are nothing more than an attempt to try and keep it that way but that shall be saved for a future rant.) Mark your calendar, scribe in your PDA or write the date on your forehead. Whatever works for you. Just do it and remember that March 22 is the day to make a statement.

Please go to iTunes on March 22, 2007 and spend 99 cents as a vote. Purchase the song "Mine Again" by the band "Black Lab". The objective is to take the song to the top of the iTunes charts and make a statement about podcasting and independent music. Black Lab is a band that was dropped from two major labels and actually had to fight to get their music back. Their music was on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spider-Man, and other soundtracks. These guys get dropped and the industry tried to put K-Fed on tour?

I should also mention that the band had nothing to do with being chosen as the subject of this statement. You can listen to the lead vocalist’s statement on this here. A good chunk of your money will go to a scholarship fund. When you cast your vote, your money will be split up as follows:

• 14 cents goes to Apple
• 5 cents goes to the scholarship fund directly
• 40 cents goes to the band
• 40 cents goes to the scholarship fund via Black Lab’s donation

Consider the alternative choice of purchasing a 99 cent RIAA track (same source as above slightly modified by Lumpy);

• 19 cents goes to Apple
• 75 cents goes to the label-I am sure a chunk of this goes to fund lawyers suing college students
• 5 cents goes to the artist - who are likely to be dropped and have to fight to get their own music back
• 0 cents goes to a scholarship fund

Pretty simple math eh? But wait there is more… The Pod Father himself, Adam Curry is having a drawing. E-mail your receipt to him (adam{at}curry{dot}com) with "I made a Difference" in the subject line and he will draw one of them on his 30 March Podcast. The lucky winner will get a 100.00 dollar gift certificate for iTunes.

This means that the winner could go to RIAA Radar Indie 100, Amazon top 100 or any of these top ten list and actually cast 101 more "economic" votes!

So please, remember March 22, 2007.

Thanks for reading.

[tags]RIAA, BRTC, opinion, podcast, podsafe, music, activism[/tags]