Metaboston Media

Using Second Life to Find Musicians

Interesting that musician Von Johin was able to get a record deal through his regular performances in Second Life and more interesting that a media company is using it to find talent.

"Nashville bluesman Von Johin learned the art of Mississippi Delta-style blues the old fashioned way: by playing small venues across the country. But despite the traditional nature of his music, Von Johin plays weekly shows in Second Life, as you can see in the video to the right. His determination has paid off handsomely, with a record deal believed to be the first ever given to a Second Life performer.

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The deal was made in much the same way as its real-world counterparts. Two scouts from Reality Entertainment spent several months looking for promising artists to sign throughout Second Life. "It was a hard decision, but Von Johin is the real deal, he is original and plays from his heart," said Pud Puchkina, one of the scouts. "Just the man and his guitar, with just these two instruments and a virtual appeal like no other, he brings crowds to their feet daily."

It seems like a lot of the media buzz has gone away from Second Life (for good reason) as a source of the "cutting edge" so Reality Entertainment has taken an unusual strategy by combing SL for musicians.  Will this benefit Reality or Von Johin who has already built up his fan base?

Audioblogs, the Music Industry, and Free Music

Audioblogs, blogs that discuss music and offer free downloads of those songs, have become an exception to the music industry's dislike of file-sharing:

"This is not, you might think, a development the beleaguered music industry can be watching with enthusiasm, but you'd be wrong. An New York University study published in February, Does Chatter Matter?, found that the volume of blog posts about a new album can significantly affect sales. Many record labels now view the audioblog as a vital marketing tool, and a euphoric plug on Brooklyn Vegan is more valuable in certain cases than a five-star review in Q. ('Certain cases' is worth noting; most blogs shy away from the mainstream, favouring obscure bands whose fans will also favour less obvious sources of information.)

In contrast to their disreputable cousins, file-sharing networks, MP3 blogs don't attract much legal attention. No one has been prosecuted for posting individual tracks. The most serious injunction a blogger is likely to get is a polite 'take down' notice, usually for posting material too far ahead of release. 'In fact,' according to Scott Wright, who runs the London-based blog Pinglewood.com, 'almost everything I post now is something I've been sent or asked to post by record labels or artists.'"

It's interesting to see the music industry adopt a more nuanced approach and realize that closing off all access to music is not helpful to sales and more discussion of music and sampling of music (in the give-it-a-try sense) is how people could get interested.

The Pirate's Dilemma

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This slideshow/video does a pretty good job of summarizing the basic argument's of Matt Mason's The Pirate's Dilemma.  The book's a quick read and does a good job of introducing some of the ways now-established institutions and movements have benefited from copying of various kinds.  The pirate's dilemma of the title is the choice you face when confronted with piracy:  to turn to the courts or to acknowledge that the piracy is a sign that your market is different than you have been conceiving it and try to outcompete the pirates.  The music industry figures prominently in the book but Mason brings in some interesting angles by revisiting the history of dance music and the role that pirate radio plays in the UK.  Mason's book is a suggestion to try to embrace the state of flux and try to profit from it rather than fight it.