Mick Jagger talks downloading and piracy on 40th anniversary of "Exile on Main Street"

This BBC News interview with [Sir] Mick Jagger on the 40th anniversary of the Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street contains a few really choice grafs about the myth that the internet has robbed artists of their livelihoods. He seems pretty chill about the perceived threats of downloading, and explains that for a long time, the record labels did a fine job of robbing artists:

BBC: What's your feeling on technology and music?

Jagger: Technology and music have been together since the beginning of recording. [The internet is] just one facet of the technology of music. Music has been aligned with technology for a long time. The model of records and record selling is a very complex subject and quite boring, to be honest.

BBC: But your view is valid because you have a huge catalogue, which is worth a lot of money, and you've been in the business a long time, so you have perspective.

Jagger: Well, it's all changed in the last couple of years. We've gone through a period where everyone downloaded everything for nothing and we've gone into a grey period it's much easier to pay for things - assuming you've got any money.

BBC: Are you quite relaxed about it?

Jagger: I am quite relaxed about it. But, you know, it is a massive change and it does alter the fact that people don't make as much money out of records.
But I have a take on that - people only made money out of records for a very, very small time. When The Rolling Stones started out, we didn't make any money out of records because record companies wouldn't pay you! They didn't pay anyone!

Then, there was a small period from 1970 to 1997, where people did get paid, and they got paid very handsomely and everyone made money. But now that period has gone.
So if you look at the history of recorded music from 1900 to now, there was a 25 year period where artists did very well, but the rest of the time they didn't.

Here's the entire interview.

From our friend Xeni at BoingBoing

MOS DUB - Max Tannone, Does It Again

No need to be a Mos Def or Dub fan, this shit is killin' it.

from the same guy that brought us:
JAYDIOHEAD
and
Double Check Your Head
here's
MOS DUB


Max himself told me: "I can you tell that I was partly inspired by watching footage of sound system culture...(check out jack ruby soundsystem on youtube)...I think that whole scene was incredible and cool...especially when I read about these deejay's building their own speakers and amplifiers, trying to outdo each other...the whole thing is really inspiring and fascinating to me...

I'm also intrigued by engineers/producers like King Tubby, Lee Perry, and Scientist. In a way...just trying to emulate what they did, how they mixed live off of a mixing board, manipulating delay feedback, the creative use of sound effects, their use of bass, becoming true artists in their own right...I didn't mix Mos Dub live off a mixing board, but while doing the project I definitely had this stuff in mind."



Download the whole album at once HERE. FOR FREE!!!!!

Thanks, AdRock

Enter The Magical Mystery Chambersby Wu Tang Vs The Beatles

This Wu-Tang Beatles mash-up clearly shows off the greatness of the Wu's lyrical abilities. The Beatles samples are there, but not quite as obvious as i was expecting, but i'm still feeling this whole (now downloadable for free!) album of 27 cuts more than any WU-TANG album ever, not to diss the 36 Chambers, which is the last Hip-Hop LP i actually BOUGHT, and is a landmark hip-hop album, but this shit here, is TIGHT!

Enjoy!

Thanks to Xeni at BoingBoing for pointing this out.

BONUS: if you really feel like getting a bit more into the Beatles today, check this out:

Exploration of Beatles music through infographics:

These visualizations are part of an extensive study of the music of the Beatles. Many of the diagrams and charts are based on secondary sources, including but not limited to sales statistics, biographies, recording sesion notes, sheet music, and raw audio readings. Join this project here.

"Crackdown on music piracy could further harm ailing industry"

from BoingBoing:

Heavy illegal downloaders buy more music

A new British independent poll conducted by Ipsos Mori concluded that the people who do the most illegal downloading also buy the most music. This is in line with many other studies elsewhere and is easy to understand: people who are music superfans do more of everything to do with music: they see more live shows, listen to more radio, buy more CDs, buy more botlegs of live shows, buy more t-shirts, talk about music more, do more downloading -- all of it.
And of course, these are the people the music industry's supergeniuses have set their sights upon for bizarre enforcement regimes like the one that British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson has promised: anyone who lives in a house that generates three or more copyright infringement notices will be barred from Internet access.

"The latest approach from the Government will not help prop up an ailing music industry. Politicians and music companies need to recognise that the nature of music consumption has changed, and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access," said Peter Bradwell, from the think-tank Demos, which commissioned the new poll conducted by Ipsos Mori.
However, music industry figures insist the figures offer a skewed picture. The poll suggested the Government's plan to disconnect illegal downloaders if they ignore official warning letters could deter people from internet piracy, with 61 per cent of illegal downloaders surveyed admitting they would be put off downloading music illegally by the threat of having their internet service cut off for a month.

"The people who file-share are the ones who are interested in music," said Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research. "They use file-sharing as a discovery mechanism. We have a generation of young people who don't have any concept of music as a paid-for commodity," he continued. "You need to have it at a price point you

Illegal downloaders 'spend the most on music', says poll

As i've always suspected "Crackdown on music piracy could further harm ailing industry"