Somewhere in the land of “they tell us we’re free until we reach the cage walls…”
On November 26th the Dept. of Homeland Security closed down two of the most prominent hip-hop websites, OnSmash.com and RapGodfathers.com.
Both of these sites gained popularity in the past 6 years due to their constant updates of new material from popular artists. The government sees all of these posts as leaks… Cold hard piracy. Brazen acts of thievery. The ‘laws’ governing these artists from becoming victimized are so broad that there is no room for interpretation when it comes to prosecution. When the blog is distributing material that it didn’t pay for or acquire through ethical means is illegal. No loopholes or ways to bend this legislation can be found.
The word leak means an accidental hole that allows something (fluid, light, etc.) to enter or escape; in the music industry, the unofficial release of music due to a ‘hole’ in somebody’s network. The fact is that the majority of music leaked – and I use that term loosely as there is much debate about exactly HOW MUCH that majority really is – is provided to blogs from internal sources at the label specifically meant to promote an upcoming release. It’s viral marketing. And in reality, as bloggers we should be costing the labels less but we’re actually costing them more. Think about it…
Here’s the logic: A record label has a budget for marketing and promotion. Instead of using all of that money on commercials, signings, appearances, fancy official websites and trying to prevent digital piracy – why not save some money for a change? A budget isn’t meant to be used up – it’s meant to be used as needed. Save some cash and let some material go. Why waste resources to build elaborate website’s when they have our websites to do the work for them. Our blogs are not targeted toward just the fans of a specific artist but a wide range! We can turn our readers on to new music the same way we always have and at the same time it’s gaining positive exposure for both parties.
We’ve embraced the digital age. Now we need to open up and adapt to the new wave that is digital music. Music will leak no matter what. During the Prohibition, moonshine was still brewed. Currently, marijuana’s one of the biggest black market cashews in the U.S. and drugs are still dealt on every street corner in every major city. It’s only obvious that music will continue to leak regardless of how many blogs get closed. For every 3 they shut down, there’s gonna be 300 new ones in a matter of hours. Here’s a straw – suck it up.
Change is good. Labels, as well as the government need to adapt to the new forms of media or they’re gonna suffer the same fate as anything advancing at a pace much slower than it’s surroundings. Technological Darwinism.
It’s an old fashion chess match. No matter how they may see it, we’re working with them – not against them. Check. Only time will tell what their next move is… Check. The game is far from over. Who’ll call checkmate?
*I’d also like to note that the evil villains GOOD people over at OnSmash worked extremely close with reps from the labels to promote the material that was legally handed down to them!! Leftover Cake supports the #FreeOnSmash movement. RGF, on the other hand, doesn’t exactly have an anti-piracy policy as anybody who has visited their forums knows, one could easily download and share links to full, retail releases from many artists in various niches. As for another website that I would classify as the earth scum or exactly as another blogger wrote “online drug-dealers,” WorldStarHipHop – they remain untouched… for now.
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