Go Forward, Move Ahead, 2009
Jan 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Remix Editors
REDEFINING THE INDUSTRY: RCRD LBL
Amid the onslaught of music blogs nowadays, RCRD LBL (www.rcrdlbl.com) provides a considerably more comprehensive and legit way to discover new tracks online. Launched in November 2007 by pioneering blogger Peter Rojas (founder of Gizmodo, www.gizmodo.com), RCRD LBL strives to bring quality music to the public — free of charge and without the possibility of being penalized.
While people called Rojas crazy for beginning a label/site based on legitimately giving away music, RCRD LBL has already aligned itself with powerhouse imprints such as Downtown and Warp. And to date, the site features MP3s from more than 1,000 artists, ranging from Mos Def and MSTRKRFT to Plastilina Mosh and Psychic Powers. Both the established and the emerging are getting down with the expanding network.
“Doing something with us is a much lower risk than doing something with a traditional label — especially a major label where you have to sort of sign away your soul for several years,” Rojas explains. “We offer a lot more flexibility than that.”
Given the freedom, some participating acts opt to offer only a song at a time as a stream while others allow full EPs for download. It's ultimately up to the artists how much they want to share. Of course, RCRD LBL doesn't offer the open-door policy of MySpace Music where any artist can join — you have to make it through Rojas and his discerning staff of blogger/A&Rs.
“We actually turn down more bands than we have capacity to work with,” Rojas says. “You never want to turn someone away, but we have only a limited capacity right now. Eventually, we'll figure out ways that we can work with more and more artists going forward.”
The good news for visitors of the site is that this selection process means you don't have to wade through wack material to find something worthwhile. And the upside for artists is that even if they have never been signed, they still have a strong chance to participate.
“Since we don't have to sell anything, the only thing that really matters is, do we think it's good?” Rojas says of the site's criteria. “So if somebody that is on the team really likes the band, that's about all it takes.”
More than just a site for free MP3s, RCRD LBL gives music fans a way to discover more about artists because the network also offers bios, links to Websites and photos.
As Rojas says, “All I want is for people to come to the site and find music that they like, get into it and, hopefully, find a band that they're gonna love.” — Max Herman
PRODUCERS ON THE RISE: THA BIZNESS
If Tha Bizness (www.thabizness.com) has anything to do with it, the future of the boom-bap is in very good hands. Composed of producers Chris “Dow Jones” Whitacre and Justin “Henny” Henderson, the beat brothers from separate mothers made 2008 their year, topping off a laundry list of big-name placements with the timely success of Young Jeezy's Nas-assisted collabo “My President.” And while other producers are busy on their treadmills churning out carbon-copy beat after beat, Dow Jones and Henny are planning on actually running the game, stepping up their MPC mojo for '09.
“Being an innovative producer is about making music that is totally from the realm of your own personality,” Henny says. “The main things that are essential when creating are knowledge and having an out-of-the-box mind state. We approach every piece of work with vision first.”
It is this vision that will likely propel the duo to the top of the food chain this year. Also, producing a hefty amount of tracks in the coming months on projects from Dr. Dre, T-Pain, Black Eyed Peas, Mistah F.A.B., Lil Wayne's Tha Carter 4 and 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct shouldn't hurt either. Crediting perseverance over Pro Tools when speaking of their imminent success, the pair is optimistic about the direction of the music and continues to explore the boundaries of its craft.
“We now have a better understanding of how to take our sound to the next level,” Dow Jones explains. “We just stay ahead of the curve and push the envelope of our interpretation of popular and innovative music. At the end of the day, it's not the gear that makes you great, it's what's inside you.” — Anthony Roberts
PREDICTION NO. 2: LIVE SHOWS — MORE IS LESS
People are dialing back their spending and stuffing cash in their mattresses. Entertainment typically fares well in a bad economy, but high-price shows may not this time around. Expect thinner crowds at shows for big-name artists who refuse to offer a bargain. The rest is a toss-up: Cheaper club shows will probably still appeal to dedicated music fans, though bigger adventures could face a pinch. — Paul Resnikoff
PREDICTION NO. 3: THE PAID DOWNLOAD — PLATEAU AHEAD
The paid download has surged into the billions since the iTunes Store (then the iTunes Music Store) debuted in 2003. But the excitement is starting to wane, especially as the iPod buzz wears off. And that is a problem, especially as the iPod is one of the biggest drivers of paid download sales. Expect paid downloads to flatten in 2009, especially as disposable cash shrinks. — Paul Resnikoff
iPRODUCERS VS. iJOCKEYS: iPHONE APPS
While nothing is for certain, based on the number of new music-friendly iPhone applications being developed or already selling at the iTunes App Store, we're betting 2009 unleashes a wave of artists incorporating their multitouch iPhones and iPod Touches into DJ or live P.A. sets.
For glimpses into the future of this trend, check out iPJ iPod Jockey (www.ip-j.net), a simple single-deck CDJ-like player with playlist support, easy syncing with iTunes, pitch control, simple looping, cue-point support and cool three-axis “Shake Effects” that play noises when you shake the iPhone up/down, left/right or forward/backward. Alternatively, VirtualDeck ($4.99; http://virtualdeck.com) looks like a real turntable; simply load samples or songs from a special folder (which can include all regularly supported file types, as well as Ogg Vorbis files) to scratch and manipulate them or add effects. VirtualDJ also has an iPhone DJ app in development.
For techies, Haplome (http://toddtreece.com/haplome) is an awesome, free Monome controller emulator that connects to your Mac wirelessly; or to get geekier still, you could use the free Mocha VNC Lite (http://mochasoft.dk) to wirelessly operate a PC from your iPhone like a multitouch tablet controller. There are a host of other drum-machine, synthesizer, multitrack and virtual-instrument apps already, with new ones popping up almost every day. The iPhone has quickly become the musician/DJ's Swiss Army knife, with tuners, ear-training apps, bpm counters and metronomes, so it's fitting that it should make the crossover to stage use, as well. At this rate, 2009 looks like the year we see all-iPhone parties, although honestly, the truly killer app has yet to be released. Once it does, the DJ world could be spun on its head like a breakdancer. — Asher Fulero
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