The
Godfather: The typically bombastic Chuck D, promoting Rapstation.com, said, "I don't
have a lot to say. I'm just here to listen. I came here to shake
some hands -- depending on who washed their hands in the bathroom."
But he did manage to get in a few comments.
"What a difference a year makes. Last year, we were a bunch of
crack pots. Now, everybody wants to crack the pot. [The RIAA's]
Hillary Rosen got 2 minutes left and she's down by 15 touchdowns.
Right now, we've got undercover executives walking around, asking,
'How can I dot-com?'"
Chuck D explained the current state of music. "Record companies
shake on a little marketing, shake on a little promotion, and poof!
You've got Brittney Spears with implants," he said.
Then he predicted, "In two years, 95 percent of all music will be
free. We're going to see 5,000 more labels and another million
artists." Chuck D has also predicted "another million bootleggers."
The MP3 Superstar: Ray Anderson, a member of Blue Van Gogh, one of the
most successful MP3 bands that nobody's ever heard of, said that he
didn't mind not being a major label superstar.
He said that he used the Internet as "a major schmooze" to keep
in touch with fans and contacts. "I'm a mini-mogul of my own little
universe," he added, "And, yeah, I'm a nobody. But it makes me feel
great."
The Indie Darling: David Fagin of the band the Rosenbergs recounted his
negative experience with the online label FarmClub. When the
Rosenbergs realized that a 23-page FarmClub contract required bands
to sign over more online rights than the band felt was fair just to
play an online webcast, they sent out e-mails to thirty friends.
Those emails were picked up my mainstream press and the band and
became overnight leaders of the indie revolution. The only problem,
Fagin added, was that "now we're the Joan of Arc of the independent
movement, and if me make a dime we'll be ostracized and castrated."
The Hustler: But leave it to hard-core rapper Ice-T to
break it down. He pointed out the fact that most of the older music
celebrities hawking independent start-ups wouldn't be celebrities if
it weren't for the music labels.
"They found you on the street when you had nothing but a demo.
They made you," he said. "I wouldn't have the Ice-T stuff if I
hadn't signed to a major label and they hadn't promoted me. So I
say, use them to make you and then get off and move onto something
else."
Besieged by reporters after his keynote speech asking about his
role, Ice-T promoted online label SomeMusic and said, "This is
not half as fun as the porno Internet convention. Now they've got
money. That's our goal. To be living like the Internet porno geeks.
I'm a hustler. I've always been a hustler. MP3, MP22, whatever.
I'm just trying to make a buck."
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