I’m listening to some music I downloaded off the internet.
No, it’s legal. The band is named Steadman and they are not only good, they’re all the rage in the Podcast and Tech community.
Why?
Well, it seems they had tried to go the commercial route. They had recording contracts with record labels and it seemed like every time they got going, something would go wrong. One label folded and the wreckage was bought up by a bigger label who dropped them. Another time, the A&R Guy in charge of them got fired for embezzeling and they were let go.
They had released several CDs and some singles both aas Steadman and as a prior band The Dharmas. Somehow, they retianed ownership of the music and have decided to try something new. They have released all their songs under a Creative Commons license and you can download them from their website. They are making thier money from donations and touring.
Their music is a little hard to pin down. Its rock, sometimes hard, sometimes very mellow. Sometimes even a touch of celtic influence. Other times almost experimental. But it’s all top-notch. Give it a listen. It’s better than most of what you are hearing on the radio these days.
And, if you like it, or even if you believe in an artist making a living without being shackled to a big recording company, make a donation to them on their website. Simon Steadman explains why they are doing this under the “Contribute” section of their website. Heres a ngget I liked:
It is perceived that it’s the musicians are suffering from illegal downloading and trading etc but other than Lars Ulrich in 1997 do you see many other musicians, particularly the new acts kicking up a fuss? Their music is being heard and enjoyed by people and in the beginning of a career that’s the most you could ask for. It’s interesting that the labels are the ones most afraid and most pro-active to stop illegal downloading. They’re not protecting the artists they’re protecting their investment. It’s the labels that are losing money. The artist wasn’t getting any to begin with.
Isn’t that what I’ve been saying all along?
Funny you should mention Steadman. They’re popular enough that even I heard about them…three minutes before reading this entry.
Seems Mashuptown.com has been shut down over what boils down to RIAA meddling. They’ve been hassling Live365 over non-compliant webradio stations and Live365’s chain of command seems to have dropped the axe on Mashuptown’s owners.
As a means of apparently sticking it to the man, Mashuptown made “Wave Goodbye” available for download as sort of a swan song. The song itself is a tad on the dull side though.
Still, this latest casualty in the battle against the RIAA wouldn’t make a half-bad entry in itself. I’m pretty disappointed.