After blasting online music distributors, Prince calls the technology itself a fad that’s on the way out:  “The Internet’s like MTV.  At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.”  Obviously, he’s out of touch; MTV was a diversion, not a tool that expanded the potential accomplishments of virtually every business and individual in the world.   Nor were millions of people physically addicted to MTV and its content.

 Though his statement is demonstrably false, there’s something to the sentiment behind it.  I’ve rarely bought mp3s online that I could buy on a physical format for two reasons:  first, lower sound quality (to bring the file sizes down, they remove frequencies and decrease the audio’s resolution), and I prefer the limitation of having to choose and listen to one CD at a time.  Just browsing through a collection of mp3s ripped from the same CDs, I appall myself, getting so easily bored and skipping through music that I find exhilarating when I commit to it.  Despite an age difference of three decades, Prince and I find solidarity in this anachronism.

But aside from personal taste, the problem with online mp3s is that the music industry has long been plagued by piracy– much more than TV or film due to smaller file sizes.  Despite the option of cheap, convenient, buffet-style digital music stores, pirates are still ubiquitous, and they cost record labels serious money.

For those conservatives not familiar with the concept of receiving a good or service without paying for it, online piracy is the unholy union of the West’s appalling entitlement mentality, anti-corporate zealotry, and a warped sense of economic progress.  For the uninitiated, here is a list of what I’ve dubbed the Six Levels of Piracy:

Level 1:   Listening to burned CDs from friends (technically illegal, but akin to the virtuous Before Christ residents of Dante’s Inferno)

Level 2:  Downloading mp3s from music blogs which host songs without permission from artists

Level 3:  Paying for a Rapidshare Premium account but not paying for music

Level 4:  Downloading torrents

Level 5:  Leaking content onto torrent sites

Level 6:  Openly promoting piracy

What online pirates (generally anti-corporation leftists) fail to realize is that music distribution, like any business, has costs that need to be made up when selling its product:  payroll for songwriters, artists, producers, and recording engineers who actually make the music; manufacturing, packaging, and shipping CDs; promotion, marketing, and expensive ads called music videos; plus administrative and legal costs and taxes (most labels are international and have to pay European VAT taxes).  Then, retailers buy the music and have to sell it at a higher price to cover their own costs and make a profit (profit is how these people stay in business and make sure we can still have music in the future).

Artists such as 9 Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor have fueled pirates’ costless fantasy world, lamenting,

“Wait – you sell [CDs] for $18.98 and I make 80 cents? And I have to pay you back the money you lent me to make it and then you own it? Who the f**k made that rule? Oh! The record labels made it because artists are dumb and they’ll sign anything.”  

In response, let’s think up a little analogy that progressives like Mr. Reznor can understand.  If the benevolent feds charge NASA with building a new shuttle that will collect tons of pure gold on a distant planet, the astronaut who pilots the shuttle will not receive the majority of the gold.  Congress funded the building of the ship. They authorized the mission. They took the financial risk, so they will reap the majority of the financial reward. The astronaut will still get copious amounts of money; it’s just that most will be from the speaking tour after the mission. 

Regardless, Reznor and fellow ‘90s sensations Radiohead have tried a novel idea—allowing customers to set their own price for albums. In 2007, Radiohead released a self-produced album, In Rainbows, and before it hit stores, anyone could log onto their website and type in how much they would pay for the twelve tracks.  I’ll admit that I paid nothing, mostly because I find Radiohead disgustingly overrated.  The band hasn’t released any sales figures for the experiment, but they’ve said they won’t do it again. 

For bands such as Radiohead, their established fan base (which exists largely because of the evil music industry corporations) can potentially make this donation-based distribution work.  It may also work for smaller indie bands that have low production costs.  But for developing artists trying to go national, a small core of rabid, paying fans likely won’t be able to cover the costs of ambitious, professional recordings, so I doubt that many will adopt In Rainbows’ strategy.  Sites with free song streaming plus ads, such as Grooveshark.com, show potential also, but between the Wall Street Journal, Hulu, and (allegedly) MySpace deciding to adopt subscription-based services for online content, this business model might only yield the results of Keynesianism in time.

Therefore, what Prince says may be true to a point.  Digital distribution of music could end up a bust; that may be the reason that sales of vinyl records are on the rise.  It’s certainly a much more credible assertion than Radiohead’s Thom Yorke predicting that the entire music industry will collapse within “months” (he gets a pass from the press, cuz he’s a courageous crusader against climate change).  Regardless, it’s good to see such a bizarre, entertaining character—read the whole interview; you’ll thank me—retain some semblance of free thought instead of slipping into leftist orthodoxy after so many years in the music business.

That’s not to say that we’ve all stopped believing in creators’ rights or that we no longer think piracy is a real problem.  On the contrary: the creative economy depends on creative rights.

We all understand the demand for easy access to inexpensive content, and the people who produce that content – artists, movie makers, journalists, musicians, songwriters and more – are eager to deliver it. But, as it turns out, they want their rights to be respected.

Unfortunately, some consumers get confused about the difference between demand and entitlement. A recent TechDirt screed illustrates this entitlement mentality.  Writing about Joel Tenenbaum, who was sued for pirating and distributing songs online (a jury found that he had willfully infringed copyrights and awarded a judgment far larger than had been asked), Mike Masnick wrote:

“Tenenbaum’s actions robbed no one. No one has a “right to be paid for their work.” You have a right to try to convince people to buy, and the RIAA and its labels FAILED in convincing Tenenbaum to do that. But that’s the market at work. Today for lunch I may pick the deli rather than the pizza shop next door. Based on the RIAA’s logic here, I have just “robbed” the pizza place of its “right to be paid” for its work. There is no right to be paid. Only a right to try to convince people to buy.”

Of course, Tenenbaum did choose not to buy the music.  But that didn’t seem to stop him from taking it anyway.  He just chose to take it without paying for it.  And then he let other people take it, too. To most of us, a marketplace gives the consumer the chance to buy a product or not.   But, apparently, in the pirate’s world, the way the “market” works is that you get a choice between buying and stealing, as if the two are equally valid options.

Let’s cut the nonsense out of his analogy: Tenenbaum didn’t choose the “deli.”  He wasn’t even interested in the free samples that the “pizza shop” offers.  He wanted a bunch of full slices of pizza, and when he thought no one was looking, he took them.  The way Masnick tells it, if you don’t create something that people want to buy more than they want to take for free, it’s your own fault:

“Deserving to be paid for your work and a nickel gets you five damn cents. You earn money by offering something in the marketplace that people want to buy. You didn’t do that.”

So, apparently, Joel Tenenbaum is simultaneously a “consumer” and somebody who rejected what the music industry offered.  And yet…

“You made the conscious decision to declare war on your best customers.”

I’m not sure in what regard Tenenbaum could be considered one of their “best customers.”  It was my understanding that customers paid for things.  That puts a fat asterisk on statements like this:

“The idea that not giving money to the RIAA somehow means less music will be brought to the public is laughable. It’s not a fact, it’s pure propaganda. Thanks to these same new technologies that the RIAA has tried to kill off, it’s easier than ever for bands to create, promote and distribute music. And because of that, there’s more new music out there than ever before.”

It’s true, now that the technological barriers have dropped so far, musicians are giving away tons of songs for free!  And yet, Joel Tenenbaum didn’t choose to download one of those songs.  He wanted something that was more valuable to him… though, apparently, not so valuable that he would pay for it.

Musicians often give away their content for free, most of them with the expectation that they’ll be repaid in other ways.  Some of those models – for instance, giving the music away for free and making it up with concerts or merchandise – do well for some artists (though, it’s hard to see how a songwriter makes money in that model).  That’s their right, and creators should be free to choose their business model.

But for those creators who don’t want to give tracks away for free, it’s high time for pirates and their enablers to stop rationalizing theft by imagining that they’re somehow doing their victims a favor.

Creators have a right to be paid in exchange for their work, if they make it a condition of using their work, just as pizza makers can require you to pay them before they give you their pizza, and just as car rental agencies can require you to only use their cars in specific ways while in your care.

Lawsuits may not be the solution to getting broader respect for these intellectual property rights. That solution really is going to be found in new technologies and new business models.

But let’s be honest in the meantime: Piracy is not just another consumer choice.  It is theft.

I would love to see Adam Lambert join Queen.  I already know all the songs.  And that’s a problem.  Singer/songwriters have been moving off-grid since the nineties.  With the demise of the major music conglomerates, innovative talent understands it’s up to them to record and release their own material.  The internet makes this possible.  No one knows the extent of the effect downloading has had on the music industry, but if we are to judge from the reaction, it has been devastating.  The Recording Institute Association of America has brought suits against parents whose children illegally download songs.

The music press that used to serve a vast range of interests is dying.  No Depression and Blender bit the dust last year.  Paste is asking its readers for financial contributions.  Rolling Stone and Spin long ago gave up covering innovative grass-roots rock in favor of the ever-dwindling supply of “mainstream” acts.  Rolling Stone now resembles an uncomfortable cross between The Nation and Vanity Fair.

The remaining music rags seem to be involved in a conspiracy to cover the same artists.  How else to explain the simultaneous cover appearances of such bands as Vampire Weekend, Connor Oberst, and Bat for Lashes?  These are the “official,” industry sanctioned “edgy artists.”  Trouble is, all these music venues are waiting for someone else to sanction an artist before they’re interested.  They are missing the forest for the trees.

The internet and home recording obviate the need for Big Music.  Yes, having some edgy TV show choose a song off your record can be a career-maker (The Fray, anyone?), but somebody has to hear that song first and have the power to use it.  So let me tell you what’s been going on in the pop underground this year.  Like last year and the year before it, 2009 is shaping up as one of the most exciting pop music years ever.  It’s early June and I’ve been stunned with the breadth and quality of releases thus far.

Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder: Makes Your Ears Smile.  Andy Morten, formerly of The Nerve and Bronco Bullfrog has recorded a masterpiece of summer pop that is simultaneously simple and liltingly complex.  Andy Morten made all the sounds himself.  The closest precedent might by the Dukes of Stratosphere (XTC) who donned the mantle of psychedelic warriors to record songs that echoed their inspirations.  Morten is an excellent singer and an inspired composer.

Roger Klug: More Help For Your Nerves. Two years ago power pop aficionados were gob-smacked by Bryan Scary’s debut which displayed superb musicianship, terrific dynamics and strong songwriting.  Last year it was Josh Fix.  This year it’s Roger Klug whose More Help For Your Nerves opens with “Tinnitus,” an ear blast comparable to Greg Pope’s “Sky Burn Down.”  This disc is an embarrassment of riches clocking in at just under an hour with 17 tracks.  None of them are throwaways.  Klug’s mostly a one-man band with inspiration up to his ears and a voice that hints at hidden cabaret chops.

The second song, “Dump Me Hard,” announces that this is an artist who’s got it going on in every department.  Every song is a standout although I would single out “For the Kids” for its bittersweet poignancy.  And it’s not just verse/verse/chorus/verse.  Klug breaks it up as in “About Time” which segues from upbeat pop to exuberant bluegrass before falling back into a hard rock groove.  Mental Giant, his music label, is just Klug.

Broken Promise Keeper: Ice Cold Pop.  Another one man band.  Seldom have I heard such a strong debut of songs.  As powerful and memorable as Marshall Crenshaw.  Rob Stuart possesses an effortless musicality that affords his songs good bones-the changes, choruses and bridges are both surprising and inevitable.  Stuart has a radio friendly voice and the songs segue from one to the next.  Superb dynamics-one listen and you’re hooked.

The opener “Directions” with its insanely catchy hook contains the lyrics: “Change – new scenery sure would be nice/Change – but before we turn, let’s think twice/‘Cause when you take that fork in the road/ It helps to know where you’re trying to go.” Hmmm….

Greg Pope: Pete.  Pete’s an extended play-seven songs-but they hit with the impact of last year’s triumphant Popmonster, which perched at the top of most Ten Best last year.  And here’s something the music dinosaurs can only dream about: Greg recorded these songs in March and April and the CD, with beautiful cover art, came out in May.  This type of inspiration to market in two months occurs because the lone singer/songwriter doesn’t have to wait for the suits’ approval.

Valley Lodge: Semester at Sea Second release from New York-based rock quartet jangles and buzzes its way from start to finish with delicious hooks, unique vocal choruses and great dynamics.  Highly reminiscent of Plimsouls, if slightly more sophisticated.

There is more.  Much more.  These independent releases are coming at the rate of about four or five a day.  That’s over a thousand records a year.  The music is infinitely better than what Big Music seeks to cram down our throats, yet one will search in vain for any mention of the above bands-or the hundreds of others of similar vein-in the traditional music press.  So what’s a pop fan to do?

There are numerous websites devoted to power pop.  My favorites are Absolute Powerpop, popaholic.com, and of course notlame.com, which in addition to being a label (The Toms, The Well Wishers, The Shazam) acts as a clearinghouse for all these great new bands….

Two notes: A lot of these bands are releasing their CDs in simple cardboard sleeves.  You can get all the info you want on the back of one of these, and if the band chooses to print lyrics, such as Fastball, cardboard sleeves come in fold-outs like miniature versions of deluxe LP sleeves, which allow for more art.  This is a big step up from the odious plastic jewel box.  It’s also a big step back.  This is the way 45’s and LPs used to come.

The second note is that if you contact these artists via their websites, most of them will talk to you.  Try e-mailing Gwen Stefani.