An open letter to netlabels
Posted under: This is not your typical post here at the Zargon. I have been considering if I should write this post or not and finally decided to do so because I think that there is no point in keeping it to myself or to my close circle of friends.
As you might know, I recently started to write for Bit Rebels and one of the things I have started to make is the “Rebel Music” series that comes out every Monday. It is a way of celebrating #MusicMonday on Twitter and also a way to bring music from several netlabels to a wider audience.
I thought this was going to be something that would take me, maximum, 3h a week to complete. I counted on Thomas Raukamp‘s tweets during the week to set my targets, on Moritz Sauer‘s Netblabels.org to discover new things for myself and I also on a tweetgrid search to track #ccmusic, #music, #creativecommons and #netlabels tweets.
What I never thought was that, most of the netlabels, make it really difficult for those who want to promote their music. What I didn’t count on was that it is taking me 8h to complete every Bit Rebels’ compilation because of the total incompetence of people that I have no idea why they are running a netlabel.
In my attempt to make a 10 track compilation I have run into obstacles that usually led to frustration and that usually led to giving up including a artist on the compilation. So I have decided to voice the frustration that is inside of me and how revolted I am about what I have experienced in the last 3 weeks.
1. If you don’t know how to edit a wiki learn how to: Moritz gives all of us a space to promote our content at netlabels.org. The least you can do is to properly insert the information. Is not that difficult. Just copy the entry before yours and change the content but not the code.
2. Be professional about what you do even if you are not making any money out of it: To describe a release with two words (“Heavy shit”) tells me absolutely nothing and feels like you really don’t care about what you’re doing. How I am supposed to differentiate between your downtempo heavy shit and your techno heavy shit? See what the common word is? That is what it looks like to me: shit!
3. GET A PLAYER ON YOUR WEBSITE: If you are expecting me to go to your website, where you only have a small image of the release and a link to a zip file at the archive.org, and expect that I go the artist’s last.fm or myspace page to listen to the songs for that release only to go back to your website (ufffff…. deep breathing) to download your 70MB zip file just to be able to use a track… FOR-GET-IT!!! Come on! Are you kidding me? Do you really think that I am going to download a zip file without listening to the material? And do you really think I am going to download a zip file of a whole release just for one track? If you do you do not understand how this works you shouldn’t have a netlabel.
4. Be consistent in the way you name your releases. Get a catalog reference (PublicSpaces Lab uses [PSXXX] for example) and stick with it. Again this is about being professional. If you name one release XX009 and another XX666 just because you think is “cool” you will have people looking for the missing 567.
5. Most of the netlabels are uploading their releases to the Internet Archive. So WHY do you keep releasing stuff at 192 Kbps? Don’t your artists deserve better? It’s not like you’re paying for the download traffic. Come on, get your act straight!
6. If you don’t know what MP3 ID tags are, close down your netlabel. Implement a naming convention for your files, tag all files properly. Yes it takes time! But if you don’t have the time to do this I also don’t have the time to do your work.
7. Answer your mails: I know this might sound totally ridiculous but its not. From my 3 weeks experience only 4 of the 28 mails I sent to netlabels were answered. Is this how you are helping your artists?
8. Get your head out of your ass! If you think you are really important and cool because you have a netlabel you are doing it ALL WRONG. Your focus must be on your artists, on promoting them, on giving them the best of you. This is about music and not about you upgrading your cool status with the girls. If you are on this for the girls get in a fucking boys band.
9. Engage with your artists, support them, get to know them, challenge them: This is the only way you can promote your artists.
10. Don’t be a music spitting machine: Focus on quality not on quantity. Take care of the way you present each release, understand what the artists want to express, take your time to communicate it effectively. Be professional!
| Image Credits: Bill Campbell via Flickr |
“If you are on this for the girls get in a fucking boys band.” ROTFL! No, this is not your typical post but this is so you! Great post!
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by fjfonseca: @thomasraukamp @phlow @ronsens @remixtures Would appreciate your thoughts on this: http://zz.gd/31709a...
#MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: http://tr.im/GXXm :: #zargon
RT @fjfonseca: #MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: http://tr.im/GXXm :: #zargon
@fjfonseca might be kind of angry somehow, but all in all he is damn right: http://tr.im/GXXm (an open letter to #netlabels) #ccmusic
.@fjfonseca might be kind of angry somehow, but all in all he is damn right: http://tr.im/GXXm (an open letter to #netlabels) #ccmusic
RT @fjfonseca: #MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: http://tr.im/GXXm :: #zargon
[...] This post was Twitted by 12rec [...]
@warp50cd Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated: http://tr.im/GXXm
Have I told you lately that I love you, FF? This is more like an @shellykramer rant than like one of your normal, brilliantly brilliant posts. And I love it. Have to confess, I, too, loved the “if you’re on this for the girls” part … LOVE IT! You go get ‘em!
xo
Shelly
@adamsconsulting Hey Diana, see what happens when "they" step on my toes
http://tr.im/GXXm
I feel your pain… believe me, I really do. I’ve mentioned some of my issues with netlabels in previous netBloc liner-notes, but I’ve restrained myself a bit. Everything you’re writing about, I’ve experienced. In fact I’ve now come to expect that I won’t be able to include at least 2 tracks from the original line-up I initially pick to be on any given netBloc release (Only once was the final line-up the same as my initial line-up). Either a netlabel/artist is impossible to reach or they don’t have a lossless source. Professionalism is a major sore spot in the netlabel world. So is quality control. I won’t name names, but there are couple netlabels that really do make it a challenge to explore their catalogs. One of the two does have gems so I don’t give up on them completely, but I swear whenever I have to wade through the sea of crap to get to gems.
My biggest gripes are site design/organization/user-friendliness and file naming/tagging/quality consistency. I also can’t stand when you can’t depend on a label’s files to be in a particular bitrate. Sometimes 192… other times… 320… others still 128…. from the same netlabel!
Unfortunately all this is the price we pay for a vibrant REALLY independent music community. I wish these problems would go away, but unfortunately I suspect they won’t completely. All I can say is try to grin and bare it. Your project is noble one… a much appreciated one. Not just by me, but by the many folks who will be turned on to CC Music.
Thank you for “Rebel Music”!
Peace
Mike Gregoire
Founder/Curator blocSonic.com
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
RT @blocsonic: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
@booksbelow RThx Roger! Would like your opinion on this http://bit.ly/7PChQN when you have the time. Thank you!
Wow! And I thought I knew how to rant!
I’m a piker compared to you, Fernando.
This is a very brilliant and well thought out post. It’s going to do a couple of things, I’ll predict. 1) It’s going to get more netlabels that are doing the unprofessional things you point out to step up their game. 2) It’s also going to drive serious artists your way.
Win/win. Well done! Great to see such passion expressed so well!
RT @blocsonic: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
great read RT @fjfonseca: #MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: http://tr.im/GXXm :: #zargon #music
@hipgnosis23 @solipsistic @deepgoa @vinilette @sml_ @malaventura_com @sr_aye Would like your thoughts on this: http://bit.ly/7PChQN TY!
#MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: http://tr.im/GXXm :: #zargon
I can understand your pain, it takes me at the very least 8 hours of research each week to prepare my 1 hour radio show (about 10 tracks). My main frustration comes from the badly tagged MP3s. I’m tired of renaming everything so that my collection stays clean and researchable. If the tags are messed-up, it will not be scrobbled properly in Last.fm and has a 100% chance of getting lost in my collection (audio players don’t care about file names). The comments field of the tags is often under-used. What a great place to put a link to the original release page. Tags are kinda like a business card: If you forget to put your phone number on it, nobody will be able to contact you.
I don’t think that the problem comes from a lack of interest or professionalism, it’s just a problem of know how. There’s an urgency to share the material, but sometimes there doesn’t seem to a big research on how to do it efficiently. There’s not a lot of resources around on how to manage a netlabel, I would suggest the new comers to have a look around on how it’s done and to ask a lot of questions if you are not sure of what you are doing. When I see something that could be improved, I always provide feedback and most of the time it’s well received ["thanks dude, I didn't thought about that"]. The netaudio community is a friendly and helpful place, people, please don’t be shy, ask !
There’s probably a lot of great albums I missed because I couldn’t find the download link. There’s also a few sales that didn’t happened because I never got a reply (I’m an impulsive buyer, make it easy or I’ll forget to come back).
About the file encoding, I think it has a lot to do with the internet speed available. Not everyone is blessed with a lightning fast connection and I think it must be a huge factor for some. I wouldn’t be surprised if the encoding rate would actually decrease over time. The mobile revolution is happening and I can imagine in the near future some netlabels running things with only with the help of smartphones (no computer or electricity available in the village for example).
I’ve been doing my radio show since 2007 and a lot as changed since then. It’s getting easier to get the releases, but there’s still a lot of place for improvement. If I were you, I would limit my choice to 5 tracks or else you’ll go crazy !
@eliterate Hey K! How are you? Have something for you to comment on, please: http://tr.im/GYp0
Fernando, that’s the best rant I’ve read in a long time! I don’t work in this space, but I feel your pain – I’ve had a few similar rants in my head about the basics of html email design and the inability of most designers to grasp them ? Maybe I should take your lead and put it on paper.
I think your idea about writing a Getting Started style guide for new users is a good call. Sounds like they need all the help they can get
Rants have their place, sometimes you have to shout for some people to hear you above the tumult of their own confusion. Hope this does some good, suspect will mostly fall on deaf ears but get through to a few. At least they know you’re serious!
@dkkipp I prefer the term "straight forward"
When you can read this to see for yourself: http://tr.im/GYvF
I can’t understand why netlabels (almost ALL of them), do not have a “Releases rss feed”. Isn’t that what netlabels do? RELEASE things? Isn’t that what differentiates you from a physical label, that you use the Internet to distribute?
Using RSS is a MINIMUM requirement for distribution and publication in the digital age. An rss feed for your site is good, but if you are a netlabel, YOU MUST HAVE A “RELEASES” RSS FEED.
In this RSS feed, you should have each entry go to a discrete page for that release, not to a long list of releases on one ridiculously long page. Worry less about clever flash-design than making your content easy to find, forward, and link to.
If I like your release I should be able to link to the page of THAT release, not a page of releases where the one I’m recommending is at the very bottom of a long page.
Thank you for your comment Mr. M, you are right, absolutely right about this one but you already know it so I shouldn’t be telling you, but I am anyway.
Simon thank you for your insight and advice that I will surely remember when my Saturday deadline is approaching every week. Regarding the encoding I think that we will also see bigger capacities on mobile devices and faster mobile speeds (4G is on its way) so, even if you are right about those that have limited access I think that in the future we will see more speed and more capacity even on mobile devices.
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
Very well said my friend. A must-read! – An open letter to netlabels – http://cli.gs/2t93g (via @fjfonseca)
RT @kalunga84: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
great post. I am astonished to say though that I had never heard of the netlabel wiki or archive.org and both are too useful to have been missing out on for so long, do you have more sites, resources, and tools for people doing the netlabel thing?
I will be posting some tips soon. Not a rant but just a guide.
@abletontutor @plague88 Hey guys, when you can your comments on this would be much appreciated http://cli.gs/2t93g TY
This beautifully summarizes why I spend so little time looking for new netlabels. Most specifically, point #3 is the one that gets me pissed off every time. It’s either arrogant or ignorant (or both) not to have embedded players on your netlabel site for all of the music featured there.
Archive.org zip links are simply not an option for me, either. When I’m looking for music, I like to fly through sites really efficiently, demoing new material quickly in order to gauge whether a particular release is worth downloading and listening to in the car, etc.
Great post!
@fjfonseca great post, Fernando. Again it really summarizes my irritation with a LOT of netlabels. – http://cli.gs/2t93g
@ublf Hi good morning! Your thoughts on this would appreciated: http://tr.im/GZ9S
@gurdonark Nice
) When you have the time would like your thoughts on this: http://tr.im/GZbd
It is really frustrating when you expect to find the mp3s easily in your library – then it’s a few minutes to get to where you need to go. Sometimes I have to be very creative to listen to some songs before I download the music. Sometimes I click on each song and let Quicktime do its job. If the head of the label is willing (or even sometimes the artist) to respond, I’m willing to overlook some shortfalls. I visited a netlabel last night where some of the descriptions I could have written better in crayon and scanned them in.
I’ll give props to one netlabel where the artists and the head of the label are very approachable. Their music is found on archive.org and when you download the tunes, they’re easy to distinguish and even though there might not be a main website for the group: you can head to archive and find the album you would like to use/hear/etc.
I’ve had some label heads email me after the show is over with – and that is okay, but as you’ve said – get back to the fans/shows/casts to make contacts fast. Communication is key and if you’re not willing to drop a simple line then what the heck! I’m kind of a rabid fan (if you haven’t noticed by following me on twitter) and I’m willing to share music with others more if they are willing to get back with me.
There have been a few rare occasions where someone will shoot me a tune to let me hear and all the tags are a little bit askew… but that’s different – that’s in the flow of it all, the creative mode, and things later will be worked out. But if the album’s finished and all I get is something that is spit out fast from the label it is frustrating!
I’ve spent many a night (despite my show being once a month) just searching. One thing I’m thankful for from Public Spaces Lab and a few other netlabels (Budabeats, Just Plain Sounds, Dusted Wax Kingdom, Modular Field) are the connections they make with use show hosts/podcast hosts and fans.
Sorry for being cryptic about the netlabel in paragraph 2 – but the netlabel is Just Plain Sounds. (I may have missed their main website, and if so that is my fault – but from the top down they’ve been a joy to work with)
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
[...] This post was Twitted by UBLF [...]
RT @UBLF: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
Well thought out, valid points.
The main issue for me is how to ‘enforce’
the guidelines. Bodies such as Creative Commons could get involved in promoting the ‘how to run your netlabel’ for example. Simply having your points published by some kind of recognised authority would go a long way to standardising the things you mention.
Maybe an independent body (I’m not thinking government!) could be formed to rate/comment on labels – a central point of focus who could be contacted by people to effectively communicate and provide standards.
Hope it makes some kind of sense (it’s 7am here)
Read @fjfonseca's views on netlabels: http://bit.ly/7PChQN What do you think?
RT @solipsistic: Read @fjfonseca's views on netlabels: http://bit.ly/7PChQN What do you think?
My eyes are burning.
Good work. I hope your article has some effect on the CC netlabel scene. I’ve sketched out some rough notes for a similar article and hope to publish it within, er, the next decade or so. It seems that quite a few netlabel fans feels the same way you do about how some netlabels make them jump through hoops. Let’s hope that the situation will improve.
Truth through anger from @fjfonseca. Your heart's in the right place: getting blood pressure pills from the chemist.
http://bit.ly/7PChQN
I could have sworn I left a post here (not my Twitter one). Have I pressed the wrong button again? :$
This ‘rant’ is really spot on. Even as an Artist I feel I’ve managed to think about how to make it easy for people to access my work. It’s pretty frustrating to find other great artists, only to be forced to wade through a mess of links, bloated zip files etc. Maybe you ought to start a new repository and create a framework that would encourage Netlabels to promote their artists in a more coherent way? That said, how on earth would you fit that in on top of the myriad of things you are up to right now
Let’s just hope some Netlabels get feedback from this article filtering back to them should they need it!
Yes, it’s my traditional triple post, in which I post something, can’t find it, write a second post asking where my first post has gone, notice after writing my second post that the first post is awaiting moderation and so am forced to write a third post apologising for posts one, two and, er, three.
I do this all the time. Me idiot. Apologies.
This comment of Cathching The Waves could be a great post ROTFL! I have felt like that about moderation so many times!
RT @fjfonseca An open letter to netlabels :: http://bit.ly/5sU06y Comments are welcome!
[...] This post was Twitted by netaudioes [...]
All said what is to say here. I have a minor addition to point 3. In fact it is an ongoing trend only to present albums as zipped files and that’s it. For me it’s then quite simple. I don’t listen to it and don’t download it (only rare exceptions). Also for me it is more or less inevitable that you have direct download links to the single sound files of a release.
I already made a list of the big “sins” in 2005 here (in German):http://machtdose.de/webradio-dez-05.html
Points were:
- no streaming link (if you have no player offer a .m3u list)
- site completely in flash (but there are really good examples for the use of flash, but these are most of the times “hybrid” sites using flash and html)
- no links to single sound files (as mentioned above)
- no link to archive.org site – even if you find on that site the single sound files links. Often enough you only get the link to download the zip file
- Frames – is obsolete now, I think hardly no one is still using them
hey fernando!
you get to know all that difficulties now. since the beginning i am fighting with these obvious mistakes and i scratch my head and ask the same questions you do. years ago I wrote about exactly the same topic an article for a german music magazine called de:bug.
since then I just think that a lot of netlabels just act like my-cat-and-me-blogger. they don’t get it how to make something interesting. they are simply just unprofessional.
sadly noone of those netlabels will read your rant. BUT the good thing is, that while simon carless closes down monotonik because there is to much noise, this is on the other hand a opportunity for netlabels caring for their artists.
keep up your good work!
via @catchingthewave Truth through anger from @fjfonseca. Your heart's in the right place: http://bit.ly/7PChQN An open letter to netlabels
But I do think netlabels are fantastic & do great work. @EnglishFolkfan Re. the @fjfonseca open letter to netlabels. http://bit.ly/7PChQN
An open letter to netlabels – http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/
I agree! Your post is about doing things right the first time and weeding out the crap. Your post also reminds me of what I tell my students “get your act together or don’t get into this business!” Funny that this is pointed at “professionals?”
Please Read & Comment: "If you are on this for the girls get in a boys band": http://tr.im/GXXm
@fjfonseca has an open letter to netlabels. http://tr.im/GXXm Here, here – if you're just doing it for the girls, run a music tech blog.
RT @fjfonseca http://bit.ly/5f2E3h An open letter to netlabels. Be professional…
Please Read & Comment: "If you are on this for the girls get in a boys band": http://tr.im/GXXm
RT @ShellyKramer: Please Read & Comment: "If you are on this for the girls get in a boys band": http://tr.im/GXXm
@psenough Would love yoru comments on this: http://tr.im/GXXm
not much to say, you’re right about most points, on the other hand netlabel owners are hobbyist nonprofit
so they dont have time to invest in doing usability and promotion as properly as they would if their livelihood depended on it
might give a non professional feel, but bottom line it is a wysiwyg hobby for whomever will check. not a service to mankind
and thats what also what sets labels apart from those who do the extra mile and those who just want to idle with their friends
Hi,
as a netlabel/hybrid label curator or whatever you may call it I understand your problem, and I try to make everything as professional as one guy can make it, but i would like to stress some issues:
1. I’ve recently released a compilation which is the manifesto of the label and it took me 2 months approximately to ask musician for music (and carefully choose them)
2. 2 weeks to get all the design properly done (this includes original cover art, liner notes and website design)
3. Fortunately a friend of mine did the mastering (2 weeks)
4. Show and get approval from everyone involved (1-2 weeks)
5. Publish everything (1 day)
6. And now I’ll spend some time with promotion (at least 1 month)
Of course this is made after work time, but I do try to make all the best to promote the artists I feel like being good and I do want to release few and high quality music each year so I can focus on promting the label and the artists. But when I reach promotion, my problems start: I do spend like 3 days putting all the stuff in the usual places, and then try to find out people (radios/podcasts/forums) but sometimes I can’t find the right people to promote the stuff I’m releasing, and normally (with some honorable exceptions) no one ever leave me feedback about the music, or the events where the music is played.
This is to say that I agree with you, although the process (at least for me) of releasing music is not that simple (and like any netlabel I’m doing it without earning money) so sometimes you should also get back to us (or the ones you know) and help us with your ideas and airplay
. Which by the way you did very well with this post.
Best regards,
Leonardo Rosado by FeedbackLoop Label
ps – and if by chance you feel like, drop by at http://feedbacklooplabel.blogspot.com and listen to the music I release
and promote it if you like it, but let me know if I’m missing something 
Leonardo, had a chance to see your website and to see the release and it looks beautiful, functional and all around a great experience. Even if subjective the selection is also great. You have a new listener. Being the head of a netlabel I do know how much work is put into making a release and I am privileged to have a great team that puts their hard work, during their free time, to get our releases out, to promote them, etc. If you need any help just let me know. Cheers!
Hi again, thanks for the words. And if I need any help I’ll let you know
…
[...] Read more [...]
I agree with all the points Fernando.
That’s something we already talked about in our EXPANDING’09 festival: if you’re running a netlabel, be professional!
I haven’t done podcasts or selections but I listen to new netlabels music every day and I find the same problems as you.
There are many netlabels that doesn’t care about how many people listen to their releases, so this can be a reason to avoid working in a proper release or promotion. They just upload the files and if there are people interested, they will find the way to listen to them.
This of course has no future.
On the other hand, I’ve personally tried to do some training about these topics to the netlabels.
I wrote an article of “how to promote your netlabel online” (only in spanish):
http://www.netaudio.es/blog/articulos/promociona-tu-musica-13-presencia-online/
And also last year in our “netAudio Barcelona 2008″ festival we had a mo from phlow giving a small workshop about the same issue. Here there is a complete video of the talk:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2020264049440102277&hl=en#
But, if I have to be honest, I think that almost nothing changed after the article and the workshop. People continue registering their netlabels in our catalogue sending a mySpace link or avoiding to put the audio files for download…
And how many netlabels will read this rant? Maybe we should email all of them with the link… but hey, only 4 of each 28 will read it
rec72 releases stuff at 320/350kbps
RT @vate: RT @fjfonseca http://bit.ly/5f2E3h An open letter to netlabels. Be professional…<< spot on!
and also the “YOU EXPECT ME TO GO TO AN ARTISTS MYSPACE TO LISTEN TO THE TRACKS BEFORE DOWNLOAD?!” thing is really self-centered, because yeah, I actually do expect people to go to my myspace to hear the tracks before they download, why? because all of my songs sound incredibly different, and on my myspace I have tracks featured from each album that I release, granted rec72 does have a music player and stuff but I would assume it’s just easier to go to the myspace. When you work with a label, you cant expect them to do everything for you, you need to work with yourself in conjunction with the label, were all in this together so why not help one another out? I get that’s what you’re trying to do with the list but it all seems so incredibly spiteful and angry, and you probably are angry! But theres no real reason to be. It’s so hard to please everybody and being a musician or owner of a netlabel, you have to realize that you cant please everyone! to do so would be impossible.
I hope nobody takes my messages as ill will to anybody, im just stating my opinion. Running a netlabel is really hard work, and as I said before, one of the things in mind is that you cant go out trying to please everyone.
First of all this is a rant. A rant written on the moment I found yet another “Heavy shit downtempo” tag attached to a 290MB zip file with no more information whatsoever on it. Mind you I do not repent from anything that I’ve written and I think that the comments that it has gathered show that it is a topic that deserves discussion. If you would know me better you would see that this is not “spiteful” is just my way of writing when I am pissed off: I write passionately about the things I have a passion for.
You are speaking apparently from the point of view of an artist: it is up to the netlabel to promote you by putting a link to your website/myspace/whatever to promote the artist but that is a second step.
Netlabels have to make the experience for the listener as easy as possible and that includes having all the songs of that release available for listening on the release pages, a link for individual downloads and a link for a zip download.
The old 3 clicks for content rule applies still today and is one that should always be kept in mind.
I can’t agree that is easier to go to myspace, listen to the tracks, go back to a website, download the whole zip, take the track that you want and upload it again to make a compilation, feature, podcast, you name it. Information should be centralized in one page only allowing the listener to focus on the release and not on myriad of websites.
I will give you one example without naming the netlabel in question: A compilation of 17 artists; just a zip file; 17 different links to myspace/last.fm/individual websites in order to listen to the individual tracks. Do you really think that anyone is going to do this? Seriously?
As I said I won’t and from what I can see in the comments from people I respect a lot, and know so much more than I do from the listeners side of the netlabel world, that is a general feeling.
From a netlabel’s co-head point of view, like myself , I can only tell you that I know how much hard work is put on every single release and that, even if I don’t expect everyone to like the music we release (subjective issue this one), I’m sure that we can at least make everything in our power to provide a user experience where nothing gets in the way of the relation between the music and the listener. That is what really counts.
[...] Read more [...]
As a listener I can only agree with you Fernando. I won’t download anything I can’ hear. I discovered great CC music through your posts because I can hear it on the site and the soundcloud plugin provides such a great experience.
Can you imagine a post about photography without any examples of the photos and only with links to download the photos in a zip file, or a bunch of links to the personal sites of the photographers? I can’t.
Thank you for one more great post.
@ctk1 Hey Tina, I know you love a good rant: You would love to see your comments on this one: http://tr.im/H2PT
@ctk1 Hey Tina, I know you love a good rant: I would love to see your comments on this one: http://tr.im/H2PT
k, here we go.
some chaotic attitudes in the netlabel scene have sometimes the charme of “one flew over the cuckoo’s nest” or tarantino’s “pulp fiction”. few days ago eldino was writing about the new symptom called bandcamp, today we are talking again about the quality of netlabels. in my opinion the first thing is the definition of quality and the (possible) discussion about. netlabels, users and blogs should be part of game. without a definition we ends in babylon city, no way. between desperado charme and pain in the ass the path of truth is really small. amen
Maybe it’s so hard to make a “definition of quality” because we still try to talk about netlabel scene as a whole substance, while it’s too wide and too different at the moment.
Yes, sometimes this chaos inside the scene is charming, but sometimes is definately not.
Release catalog numbers and mirrors could be considered as common technical rules for everyone, while built-in player and option for downloading individual tracks will always be a personal choise of netlabel owners I guess, in spite of open letters like this.
Some comments to this post confirm this point of view.
Cheers!
-Alexander
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
@sonoplastico I've a rant going at my blog that i think you might find interesting: http://tr.im/H3i0
Although I’m not a netlabel owner, I have worked in a lot of audio projects myself and I know how time consuming the search of what you’re looking for can be. I don’t need to say anything. Professionalism is what really makes you stand out from the crowd. Good one, Fernando.
Nothing to comment man! I totally agree with this. Basically, all these points are in one. BE PROFESSIONAL, which holds: practical/logical/hardworker actions. And it applies not only to netlabels, it applies to other free-web based releases like podcasts.
By the way, I was thinking on creating a netlabel, but it was only for the girls, so, now I’m thinking in creating a boysBand. Anyone?
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
RT @1616DotOrg: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
very interesting and “yes!” to nearly everything.
but i don’t agree with one statement in 3) “And do you really think I am going to download a zip file of a whole release just for one track”
netlabel-releases are not made for people who compile beautiful mixes.
they’re made to promote albums from artists, not single tracks.
yes, a music-player is a ‘must-have’ on every netlabel-site, but i think ‘single-download’ of tracks should be limited strictly to compilations – every normal album by netaudio-artists should only be downloadable as a whole album.
if that’s a problem for netaudio-djs who’re making netaudio-mixes it’s their problem. artists/albums deserve more than single track download.
the concept-album isn’t dead!
[btw. albums without any concept shouldn't be released at all!]
Hi! Thank you for your comment. I am glad we agree that there must be a player for every release.
In what comes to the single download or whole release download I think it is an option that has to be made on a case by case but always with the final “client” in mind. My experience is usually people download the whole release but there are those that only appreciate one track. I think that those listeners will be the ones that will be pleased to be able to download just one track and probably come back for more. As long as the artists don’t mind it I think that single downloads should be allowed on all releases.
As for conceptual albums.. I can speak about it from the standpoint that all my own releases (with the QuarterBit project) are probably more appreciated for their concept than for the final audio result. Having said this I think it is great and refreshing to listen to something that the only concept is no concept at all. But this is something that is already subjective and every netlabel should choose to publish who they see fit under the guidelines they see fit.
?My experience is usually people download the whole release but there are those that only appreciate one track?
And mine is different
We are just opened and we are a multigenre netlabel (they would probably say it’s irrational way), so people prefer to download tracks separately.
But this is our statement based on expirience of watching netlabel and “usual” industry for years, and based on our current possibilities.
So we have a player, direct links to d/load both individual tracks and a whole zip. We have mirrors as well
Cheers Leonardo!
-Alexander
Oops. My comment was adressed to Zargon. Sorry.
is it really about ‘the final “client”’?
in my opinion netlabels should be free to design their site for a ‘desired “client”‘ not for the final one…
if only the netaudio-djs would come along who usually just download the one track for their next mix, netlabels could all go to bandcamp (friendly greetings to eldino!
http://eldino.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/en-netlabels-on-bandcamp-the-rise-of-anti-usability/
it’s kind of like going to a record-shop [anyone remember that?] in primeval times: you’ll find records with especially one song that you got to have and you have to decide if to buy it or not. there are maybe reasons not to buy it [other shitty songs or maybe not enough money]. alltogether these are the arguments that govern the decision to buy or not to buy.
and netaudio-djs only like to play 7″…
but netlabels shouldn’t be designed especially for netaudio-djs
or like i said somewhere else here in the comments:
“the willingness / acceptance to download an album as a whole is the best indicator of favour. the question is: how much do you want/like/need this single track which is included in this zip? is it good enough to bear the download…”?
so don’t put that track in your mix if you wouldn’t download the whole album to get it, you know?
I think that the main difference between our points of view is one: You want to force listeners to download the whole release even if they just want one track and I am a strong advocate that people should be given a choice.
And yes you can design your website as you want, and you can do whatever you want with your releases, heck you can even put them available only for 5m every day on a torrent site for users to download it. The fact that you can do whatever you want doesn’t mean that its right.
You come up with the record shop analogy forgetting to add something vital: Singles. Remember those? Well they are still around.
When you say “So don’t put that track in your mix if you wouldn’t download the whole album to get it, you know?” you are failing your artists. You are actually saying for all of those trying to promote your artists’ work to give up because you want to force them into doing something that they don’t have the time for.
“failing your artists”?
sorry, but you got something wrong here.
probably.
i referred to your statement ““And do you really think I am going to download a zip file of a whole release just for one track?”
so why should anyone seriously promote a single track of an album he isn’t even willing to download?
maybe i do not understand how this kind of promotion works, but if the promoter cannot even afford the time for downloading a whole album he fails the artists he allegedly wants to promote.
if your mix should be online every week maybe you have to put in more time in his mix than those netlabel-admins who are constantly upgrading their cool status with the girls while not having time for taggin their files acurately.
if the artists main intention would be only to release single tracks rather than albums they should not send albums to netlabels anymore…
[btw. i guess i referred to singles when i wrote "netaudio-djs only like to play 7?…"]
Where is Google Wave when I need it? Replying to beadmaze latest comment:
1. So why should anyone seriously promote a single track of an album he isn’t even willing to download?
You miss the point here. I am not willing to download a zip file that I don’t know what is made of. My comment and critic is to the lack of a preview on most of the netlabel’s websites of the release. Would you buy a record without listening to it first? I guess that is why all record shops have those listening booths right? And even stores have listening posts for CDs. Why, please do tell me, should it be different with netlabels?
If netlabels don’t have a way for listeners to preview their releases they are failing their artists.
sir!
with a lot of respect for all you’re saying elsewhere, please try to be more precise here.
i know it was just a rant, but you’ve been talking about “to download your 70MB zip file just to be able to use a track…”, not “to listen” – ok?
this is kind of misleading if you only meant “the lack of a preview”
in the whole context of 3) i understood your statement “And do you really think I am going to download a zip file of a whole release just for one track?” as the refusal to download a whole album to get only one track.
anyways you’re argumentation here is a tiny little bit superficial because you’re not answering any of my notion here…
and if you’re wrong you shouldn’t try to blame it to google
btw. wasn’t it you with all these wave-invitations remaining?
me too, me too, me too!
you argueing “superficially” means that in my opinion we’ve been talking about single downloads or whole album downloads and NOT about “Get a player on your website”
please read your own postings:
“In what comes to the single download or whole release download I think it is an option that has to be made on a case by case but always with the final “client” in mind.”
so where’s your arguement?
did i miss it?
You mean #3 “Get a player on your website”?
And yes I am the one with 129 Google Wave invites to give away and no one wants them. #lame I know
PS: I mentioned Google Wave because I thought that my comment would not be correctly indexed. But it was. Or maybe I was just trying to tell everyone that I still all of those invites
no.
hmmm… did i really fail to see your argument or is there none?
Apparently yes.
Point #3 is about Having a player on the website. Its there in BOLD letters that is what point 3 is about. Believe me, I know, I wrote it.
obviously your argumentation lacks some consistency on this specific point of view…
oh, sorry.
you did not mean: “In what comes to the single download or whole release download I think …”
did you?
RT beadmaze
you argueing “superficially” means that in my opinion we’ve been talking about single downloads or whole album downloads and NOT about “Get a player on your website”
please read your own postings:
“In what comes to the single download or whole release download I think it is an option that has to be made on a case by case but always with the final “client” in mind.”
so where’s your arguement?
did i miss it?
“Apparently yes.”
means there is none?
i guess it will help you discovering what “we” were talking about if you’d read my initially posting…
[...] Tweets about this great post on TwittLink.com [...]
[...] seines Zeichens Macher der CC-Rebel Music-Serie auf Bit Rebels, holt richtig aus und zielt voll auf die Zwölf. Nicht zu Unrecht, denn er trifft punktgenau. Wer vorhaben sollte in absehbarer Zeit ein Netlabel [...]
it has been a long time since I've been reading something like that. http://bit.ly/5f2E3h #netlabel #zargon #openletter #musicindustry @
RT @ashortcut: http://bit.ly/5f2E3h #netlabel #zargon #openletter #musicindustry it has been a long time since I've been reading somet…
ps.: the willingness / acceptance to download an album as a whole is the best indicator of favour.
the question is: how much do you want/like/need this single track which is included in this zip? is it good enough to bear the download…
The Creative UnCommon’s reply to the open letter… http://tinyurl.com/yb9dcrp
I think Backporch Revolution gets a 9/10 on this netlabel wishlist… Via @AbletonTutor @fjfonseca http://cli.gs/2t93g
RT @countrymarxist: I think Backporch Revolution gets a 9/10 on this netlabel wishlist… Via @AbletonTutor @fjfonseca http://cli.gs/2t93g
RT @radioscotvoid: An open letter to netlabels – http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/
Good feedback — one thing I’d add is: have a freaking RSS feed. It’s astonishing the number of netlabels whose websites fail to have RSS feeds.
agree!
RT @radioscotvoid: An open letter to netlabels – http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/
Rant Away!! -RT @fjfonseca: @ctk1 Hey Tina, I know you love a good rant: I would love to see your comments on this one: http://tr.im/H2PT
Labels, Artists, etc: An Open Letter to Netlabels by @fjfonseca http://bit.ly/8J8IPJ
I really appreciate the hours you put in to these compilations. It’s new music to my ears w/a personality behind it to boot.
Rant (and Rock) on, baby!
Krys
RT @joshuadenney Labels, Artists, etc: An Open Letter to Netlabels by @fjfonseca http://bit.ly/8J8IPJ
First of all: You said what I’ve been thinking for a LONG time. Thank you for that, and I’m glad it got such a reader-base. I look forward to seeing even 5% of labels out there using this “top-10″ list as a loose guide for improvement.
I have yet to find a single netlabel that is easy to navigate and easy to use. There are a few that are better than others, but I don’t want to insult anyone on someone elses turf! Even Chuck D’s netlabel looks, navigates, and performs poorly. (I don’t mean to pick on him, I just chose him because I know he’s very successful and can take one small criticism
)
Long live CC, long live free music, long live netlabels, and lets hope we start to see a quality few “push the bar” and raise the overall quality up a few notches!
RT @radioscotvoid: An open letter to netlabels – http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/
Basic points, but well worth repeating. RT @radioscotvoid An open letter to netlabels – http://cli.gs/PVPNve
You are frustated after your attempt to make a 10 track compilation but that is only a little part of the entire job involved in managing netlabels. Try to do also web design, cover design, programming, marketing, promotion, promos, events, etc etc etc etc and much more and and try to do all this along the YEARS not only a unique attemp.
That is the netlabel management.
http://lab.pubspaces.com should answer to your critics, I think.
I would strongly advise you to, before making such a comment, to make a background check and also to read all the comments. You would find that I, and my team, have been doing that and much more, for some YEARS now.
You lost a good opportunity on this one. #fail
@Cool Are you really serios? Fernando has been the guy behind PublicSpaces Lab since the beginning with Alex and the the love he puts into it knows no limits. From all of us he is the one that puts more work into it and that pushes us to want to do better. Ask any artist that has ever been released by PublicSpaces Lab and I think you will come here and apologise for this comment that is what we call in Spain una mierda.
Y más, your website sucks!
Thanks for your oh so mighthy insight, Cool. I guess that your netlabel management is done purely based on sound, right? because it is very clear you cant read.
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
RT @sr_aye: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
I’ve received nothing but the highest level of support in every aspect of “artist” management (the quotation marks are because I’m still uncomfortable counting myself alongside the other PublicSpaces artists) from Fernando and the entire team at PSL.
I’d be 100% confident in betting that every artist the label has released would share this view. An unbelievable sense of balance between supporting (challenging as Fernando correctly states) the artist and allowing the creative freedom which every composer, musician, producer, mastering engineer, graphic designer needs to breathe and flourish.
Rather than sit back and delight in the fact that his label rises head and shoulders above the others, Fernando – in his selfless way – is sharing his belief that listeners deserve the best. If he’s going to the trouble of promoting “competitors” (and I’ll bet he doesn’t see it like that), is it not fair that he grumbles (even rants) when they have such a complacent approach?
Netlabels: Do yourselves a favour. Seek out quality. Support your artists. Grow your label. Share the talent.
Kieron, you’re so right on “and I’ll bet he doesn’t see it like that” about competitors. I’ve told him, in my economic point of you “good for you if competitors suck” (lol, yes, I’m that cold) and he answered “no, you’re wrong: this is the whole of netlabels, this is netlabelism; if all do things in the best way, all win”. as always with Fernando, this is a matter of cooperation and help, not competition.
RT @remixtures: This deserves a ReReTweet RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN (yes, yes, yes)
RT @AbletonTutor: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN (yes, yes, yes)
RT @netlabelLover @AbletonTutor: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN (yes, yes, yes)
RT @AbletonTutor: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN (yes, yes, yes)
RT @AbletonTutor: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN (yes, yes, yes)
RT @abletonATX: RT @AbletonTutor: RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN (yes, yes, yes)
…and please, DON’T use capital letters to name tracks.
One rant = 66 RTs = 65 comments Who said people don't comment on blogs any longer? http://tr.im/Haz3
hilarious and true! RT @fjfonseca: #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
RT @deepstereo_: hilarious and true! RT @fjfonseca: #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
Zargon's open letter to netlabels. Much of it applies to some other artists and labels too. Not all, thankfully. http://bit.ly/73RIay
yeah, i recognise a lot of this, there are also a lot of netlabels that even have no rss-feed to watch! it’s so contradictory, offering digital music on the internet, while ignoring it’s wonderful tools …
The easiest thing for me (i’m also a promotor) is to follow the rss-feeds of the netlabel-collection on the archive.org, but even there, a lot of netlabels have not installed their collection page. So, dear netlabel owner, if you read this: ask for your collection at Simon – at – archive.org, and let me know. You can find a list at my website of the collections i am following (with info about their existence at archive.org and feeds):
http://www.netwaves.org/links/netlabels
cheers!
RT @netlabelLover @deepstereo_: das stimmt leider alles -> "An open letter to #netlabels" http://bit.ly/7PChQN #netlabel
An open letter to netlabels by Zargon – http://is.gd/5i184 ( via @aaahh_records ) – there's indeed a lot of truth in it !
Great article, and one that I will *attempt* to follow. Rack & Ruin records has been running for close to two years now, and although we follow most of what is written above I think that it is worth mentioning that there are *many* useful resources out there that should be mentioned – earlabs and FOEM immediately spring to mind. Both resources have very up to date information, and could be of equal value to you as netlabels.org is.
The quality over quantity issue is also one I have to mention. We’ve put out a fairly huge 150+ releases in two years, and so we could quite easily fall into your grievances. However, we also have rejected many more than we have released. Labels of all types will have some sort of quality control, I’m sure of it, and quality control will play a part – because you don’t like one labels output may be down to your actual taste, rather than the quality being released. I know that we have put out a lot of lo-fi records that will not appeal to many, likewise a fair few avant-garde, noise or experimental releases that will also have their own niche.
Great post though.
Best
Dean
http://www.rackandruinrecords.com
RT @fjfonseca: MusicMonday #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " :: :: #zargon http://bit.ly/7PChQN
Thanks Zargon, I love this open letter. Everything that you wrote is true, but I think that the netlabels who will survive will be the more professional netlabels.
Try to promote punk from South America with band with low budget and resources to record a decent album and then tell me if is hard to keep alive a netlabel, but with responsibility and dedication you can have a decent and professional netlabel.
Thanks again Zargon
I totally agree with the 10 points which Fernando mentions in his “tabula rasa” about netlabels.
As a netlabel manager myself and others did already state; the monster devastating TIME is a fact for running a (Creative Commons motivated) netlabel. So one shouldn’t complain about that – it’s reality. On the other hand: Do you as netlabel owner really want the listeners and promoters of your artists’ music spent the same time to reach the sound? You can’t be serious, when you head that way. If your catalogue doesn’t count any downloads you are sort of doing something wrong. I guess. An Easy-to-achieve-way for listening and downloading music of our artists – should be the Prime Directive for Netlabel-Trackies.
Get the show on the road
All presented technical and intellectual suggestions here make sense and will aid current and future netlabel owners to reach a large audience plus a grand promoter’s list (blogosphere, podcasting, radio, press, communities etc.). Especially the last group of people will be announcing interesting releases with big impact and thus give the artists – who are in centre of the show – the props they deserve!
Separate the wheat from the chaff
The many many statements given by Fernando, Phlow, David ‘sml’ Domingo Michael, Gregoire, DigitalDoyle, Simon Roy, Nick Maxwell UBLF, Catching The Wace, Leonardo Rosado, Daniel Costalis and Ronald serve as a manual for netlabels and their working process. But listeners and promotors shouldn’t sort out those who won’t follow the line and spread their output in another mode. Some day we know how to deal with simple “archive netlabels” and those who work on a large scale programme being easy to use and appealing – in quality and diversity.
“Catching The Wace”? After Mo at Phlow lost the rest of his hair in numerous attempts to post a link to my CC Netlabel Moments of 2009, I can only conclude that I am allergic to the internet and my life is complete.
ROTFL!!!!
Great post by @fjfonseca http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/ would be great if netlabels could somehow get on board
RT @thomasraukamp: http://ow.ly/KJhL (@fjfonseca) #creativecommons RT @rec72: Please follow the prosperous open letter #netlabel #discu…
[...] This post was Twitted by frankferrer [...]
RT @frankferrer: http://ow.ly/KJhL (@fjfonseca) RT @rec72: Please follow the prosperous open letter #netlabel #discussion at TheZargon:…
@kate_butler @SentricMusic Hi! When you have the time your thoughts about this open letter to netlabels would be welocome: http://tr.im/Hjn3
Lots of good points here.
1. If you don’t know how to edit a wiki
Sometimes folks don’t know how to edit a wiki. I know how to edit a wiki, and yet I find that life is full of an awful lot of wikis to fill out. If I have a regret, it’s that we don’t fill out the netlabelism wiki as we should.
2. Be professional about what you do even if you are not making any money out of it:
I think this is a good point. I find writing the liner notes a lot of fun. Yet even those not inclined to writing could add listeners just by describing the genre, the sound and the “feel” of a piece. You can see the download counts vary according to how appealing, say, the yahoo netaudio announcement is to the reader.
3. GET A PLAYER ON YOUR WEBSITE: I like to have a player. I don’t mind if the player is a simple box.net player. It can be done without too much hassle. At the same time, I can live without a player, but I want individual track downloads no matter what.
4. Be consistent in the way you name your releases.
This is part of the fun of being a netlabel–album numbering is like cotton candy–spun sugar.
5. Most of the netlabels are uploading their releases to the Internet Archive. Lots of folks prefer things as low as 192, surprisingly.
We’ve offered variable download options and see traffic at different speeds. I am always amused, though, by folks who opt for a “demo” rate of 120ish, as if netlabels are about demos and bit rate teasers.
6. If you don’t know what MP3 ID tags are, close down your netlabel.
When I download a song, put it on an mp3 player, and the artist name shows as “unknown artist”, I think each play means an angel cries.
7. Answer your mails: A good point.
8. Get your head out of your ass!
Running a netlabel is about sharing. Even the most respected netlabels are merely those which share with discernment.
9. Engage with your artists, support them, get to know them, challenge them: This point did not resonate as much with me. Substitute the word “audience” and I’d be more in tune.
10. Don’t be a music spitting machine: Really the key. Some people make your point with a haughty thing about quality control–but it’s more about creating an identity–a brand–for a netlabel. We find over time we get more and more good music and release less and less. The music is great–but it’s not “NSI”.
A few points you did not cover:
11. get the word out. tweet. yahoo. last.fm. weblog. share.
don’t worry what “big name” sites cover you–netlabel audiences
will find you, if you leave the bread crumbs out for them.
12. submit your artists to netradio. It can gain them exposure, and satisfaction, and airplay.
13. google your artists constantly. you’ll find podcasts, videos, and weblogs which mention them, and this helps you understand where your netlabel penetrates
14. what “sells” a netlabel release is not just music, but music,
presentation, graphics, and words. People love music, but they want a story. you help with the story.
15. netlabel owners become devoted netlabel listeners. it’s all about sharing.
Hey, thank you so much for your contribution to this discussion with great points. I didn’t even got to the promotion part or I would’ve written a treaty, but you are right about all of those.
Regarding #9 I think it is important to develop a relationship with your artists, a strong one. Of course the same applies to your audience.
Once more thank you so much for your insight, it is greatly appreciated.
Useful article: RT @fjfonseca: #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN
RT @wbrecordings: Useful article: RT @fjfonseca: #Netlabel " An open letter to netlabels " http://bit.ly/7PChQN
#Netlabels vs Professionalism: RT @fjfonseca: "An open letter to netlabels" http://bit.ly/5Y1hk8 #musicindustry #creativecommons
RT @shadybrain: #Netlabels vs Professionalism: RT @fjfonseca: "An open letter to netlabels" http://bit.ly/5Y1hk8 #musicindustry #creativ …
Thanks for an informative and thought-provoking article. My netlabel launched this past September — I release a single track with artwork and texts every Tuesday. Partially because of a busy release schedule and partly because I’m learning as I go, I have only started to explore the netlabel community on the web. Until reading your letter I didn’t realize that there are even websites that cover the netlabel scene and places like netlabels.org. Eye opening. As to the particular points you raise:
1) I certainly will register Workbench Recordings at netlabels.org. Seems to be under construction at the moment, but I’ll keep an eye on it.
2) I do try to present some context with every track I release, with artwork and notes, and sometimes links and other extras like out-take audio. Sometimes the texts deal with the inspiration for the piece, or about how it was made, or the creative process in general. Other times the texts are not directly related to the track, but hopefully provide another layer of meaning.
3) Phew. I do have a player on each page, for each track. At the moment there isn’t a radio player, or any other way to listen to the tracks back-to-back, that is, unless you download them. I have been debating whether to add a player like this — the upside is obvious, but the downside is that not having a player keeps the context around the track together. I suspect that I’ll eventually come up with some kind of player solution.
4) & 6) I agree that it’s important. I do keep the catalog numbers and tags consistent.
5) I do post 192 kbps audio. Originally it was straight 192, now I use a VBR. There are a few reasons that I chose 192. First, the quality is good, but the file size is small. Secondly, the site is not set up necessarily as a non-profit (though we might as well be at the moment). I partnered with the website indietorrent.org. Through indieTorrent, I offer FLAC files of the Workbench releases for $1, along with (usually) hi-res artwork. So far there has been zero interest in the FLAC option, and if that doesn’t change I’ll figure out another model. I haven’t received any complaints about the 192 kbps, on the other hand. I’m also going to be putting out small-run CDRs every few months in high quality packaging for folks (like myself, incidentally) who like to have a hard copy (and lossless sound).
& 9) Well, most of the releases on the site so far are my own. I’ve started folding in some other artists, and I have more that I’m scheduling for early 2010. Eventually I hope to have a ratio of something like 70/30 of other artists’ music to my own. Of course I do believe in supporting the artists. And the artists are also promoting the label. The more coverage and exposure the better it is for everybody.
10) Before I launched I was concerned that 1 track per week would be too little, but actually at this point the weekly schedule is quite intense, production-wise. And I get the impression that the fans of the site dig the pace. I hope so anyway.
MUST READ: An open letter to netlabels – http://cli.gs/2t93g (via @fjfonseca)
[...] This post was Twitted by joaopsmartins [...]
An open letter to netlabels | The Home Of Zargon http://ff.im/-cV5n7
Pelos vistos, não são só as netlasbels que precisam de ler isto http://bit.ly/5f2E3h no que à indexação diz respeito.
Thanks for this great article. Great way at looking at netlabels.
1. We’re there, and each new release is mentioned. As well as other websites and blogs.
2. We try hard at ON-Mix Media, but not always as good as we would want.
3. Each release has its own page and its own player. Works great. A saw that qurdonark mentioned he wanted a track to be downloaded individually. We’ve thought about it, and have used it in the past. We’re in doubt. Anybody?
4. Each release has its own number [onmp123]. No funky stuff, we’re just counting
5. We’re using 192kbps, no complaints so far. We’ll keep on doing so. We’re thinking about a payed download option for 320Kbps and wave files.
6. Couldn’t agree more.
7. Good point. We’re a netlabel, we thrive on communication (email, phone, sms, etc.).
8. We are merely a platform for artists to release their music. We’re humble. Besides we all have girlfriends
9. I’m missing the audience part here.
10. There are times when there are a bunch of releases in a rather short time. We’ll usually put a week between each release then. Thanks for the point, we’ll take another look at this.
[...] Best Rant Award: @fjfonseca: “An Open Letter to Netlabels” [...]
Great read. I too had neglected my rss feed… until now. Thanks
@displatypus you never read @fjfonseca's open letter to netlabels have you? http://bit.ly/cAqmCp
F'ing awesome! RT @PublicSpacesLab @displatypus you never read @fjfonseca's open letter to netlabels have you? http://bit.ly/cAqmCp
That was so well written RT @PublicSpacesLab @displatypus you never read @fjfonseca open letter to netlabels have you? http://bit.ly/cAqmCp
Love this ? "If you don’t know what MP3 ID tags are, close down your netlabel." http://bit.ly/cAqmCp
The comments are equally great! http://bit.ly/cAqmCp (@ fjfonseca @PublicSpacesLab)
After reading this, I need to rethink my netlabel list. http://bit.ly/cAqmCp (@ fjfonseca @PublicSpacesLab @jkn)
http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/ #netlabel #netlabels #netaudio
RT @MisterDeVo: http://thezargon.org/2009/12/an-open-letter-to-netlabels/ #netlabel #netlabels #netaudio