In Condemnation of Opting In

Our voices are being drowned out by our peers in the supposedly independent media, like Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore, who calls Starbucks "the new record store," and music journalists like the Chicago Reader's Miles Raymer, who argued in a piece called "In Praise of Selling Out" that the music industry's decline can be "rescued by corporations that make everything but music"

By Anne Elizabeth Moore

Within a few days of the announcement that Punk Planet magazine (which I co-edited for three years) was shutting down, our compadre in Chicago music journalism, Pitchforkmedia.com, dropped the sad news that the underground (and indie-supporting) stalwart Sonic Youth was signing a recording deal [RETURN TO ARTICLE]

  • Reader Comments

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    Right on.  But have you considered the interesting little trends popping up in online communities like myspace?  There is an interesting evolution happening with regards to distribution, exposure, and communication- not only for indie bands looking to get known, but also for small labels.  There is a democratizing force occuring (albeit on corporate owned online communities) that will revolutionize they why people come to, obtain, and follow new music.  Check out little eccentric labels like “Italians Do it Better”, the model for promoting and distributing new music is already evolving in an interesting way.  It’d be nice to follow this up with a serious look at such developements and what they are doing for unique and fascinating groups.  Things are pretty shitt right now, but there’s some hope.

    Korea (South) Posted by Ran4t4 on Aug 17, 2007 at 8:26 AM

    apologies for the typos

    Korea (South) Posted by Ran4t4 on Aug 17, 2007 at 8:28 AM

    I am sorry to hear about Punk Planet.  I helped named it (my idea was Planet Punk) and I got Andi of Snap’her for that iconic cover launch. 

    My band Lucid Nation has been DIY since 1994.  We’ve turned down many opportunities to sign with labels major and minor and to work with corporate sponsorship.  The future of art of all kinds is in the direct line connecting artist and audience the Net provides.  Corporations will spend billions to stop it, but the Internet will grow in ways they can’t control.

    Whoever your favorite artist, writer, or band is, would you not have preferred to have them unalloyed?  What would Jim Morrison’s online presence have been?  For an artist like me, who doesn’t care about fame or fortune, this is a wonderful time.  I may not be able to reach millions but I do reach many thousands.  Kids in bands cover my songs.  I’ve been in Rolling Stone.  I’ve had a number one college record.  I’m free to focus on what really matters: creating good work.  A body of good work has its own gravity.

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