Blog Bitching
I have been following my stats (for this Blog) this year really close, and I`m noticing that many of the people that come here are downloading tracks and then vanishing....which is fine I don`t really care...A majority of my site traffic comes from Mp3 Aggregators....What`s that?.....Definition here = Aggregators such as The Hype Machine and Elbo.ws track MP3 blog posts and display the most recently updated posts on its front page. The services are meant to provide a snapshot of what's going on in music blogging and make it easier to search through recently posted MP3s.  The thing that annoys me is not Hype Machine or Elbos.ws...Its that newbie end user, who is lazy and just downloads songs from Blogs and never purchases an album, or better yet buy a T-shirt or concert ticket. I usually don`t use this Blog for bitching about people, but a lot of music that I talk about or give out is Independent Music. Not these artists who are making millions, but the true artists....The ones that are struggling. They are the ones that need your money.... I know who am I to talk, my iTunes playlist runs over a month now...But I also purchase a lot of that music as well...My philsophy is simple...."If its good, It gets bought"....Don`t believe me....a sample of my music collection...and that doesn`t include all the T-shirts and Concert tickets I have....  You may notice the new logo that I found and have started putting after the songs...Its exactly how I feel, and hopefully it will remind you or inspire some readers to not just enjoy the music, own a peice of it as well...CNSupport These Artists In 2008! |
posted by Styeiles at 7:29 AM
Comments on "Blog Bitching"
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Jeremy said ... (1:32 PM) :
post a commentThe only way to prevent people from just downloading the music is to only link the tracks the band offers up for free. If they don't give up songs or give people permission, we can't link it.
Look at Grand Archives. They are a band I hope everyone loves so I love to talk about them and get people listening. They are giving away Torn Blue Foam Couch, but before the record is even released you can grab 4 tracks off of hype machine.
And by nature of the beast, we bloggers usually link the best songs meaning the filler floats to the bottom. Why would someone who just wants free songs bother?
So if the bloggers only link those songs, people who like the music will have to go out and buy the CD. Linking unreleased songs just makes it easier and easier for people to keep dipping into the cookie jar.
It sucks, because people who blog genuinely want to help bands (for the most part) but there are so many blogs that most people just keep right-click Save As-ing.
i actually came to your page after searching on a similar website for mp3s. but i really like your blog and i check back often to see what you've added. You've gotten me into a lot of new bands. I download a lot, but I also buy a lot. And also, I'm a fiend for remixes and live song versions. so most of my mp3 collection is live concerts and rare songs. the rest are cds taking up my house <3
You are awesome Neiles
wow i haven't wrote a comment on here in forever!!! I agree with you...if its good, its good enough to own and support!!!
I can't help but notice the inconsistency in this post. I've been a lurker on your blog [as well as several dozen others] for what must be well over a year now. I don't just scam around for free mp3's, although I know some people do that. I DO use your blog [& others] to discover new music, or occasionally find a B-Side I haven't seen before. I frequently spread news about new bands to other people I know, who are all very involved in music.
However, I never buy CDs. I don't like the whole buy-from-iTunes thing, & I don't listen to the actual CD anymore, so I don't see the point. If I really like an album/artist, I'll buy one of their vinyls & probably see them live when they trek through Chicago.
If you were to look at my the statistic that I came to your blog, downloaded a track to listen to, & left shortly after, it would look like I was just aggregating. You can't track me leaving my computer, going to a record store, & picking up an album. Or me ordering it directly from the artist. Or me seeing them perform live, supporting them both through the ticket purchase & the likely event I buy something from the merch table.
Even you mentioned that you hoped people hear something they like & support a band. Just because you can't track what people do with a track after they nab it, don't assume it was just purely nabbing. We're not all in it for that.
I've got to agree with ack. If you want to support the artists you should only be posting the songs the band or record label of the band are offering for free download. For example I can get Tyrants by Black Mountain for free from their website but almost the rest of the album through elbo.ws including angels at a great bit rate btw from your blog.
I look for free tracks using elbo.ws so I can support artists coming to my town on my radio show which I am unable to do from the university studio anymore and my podcast.
In my opinion blogging about music is doing a disservice to the artists you blog about if you are not using the material they are offering for free. Through my podcast people can listen to music but also have to listen to me and if they want to extract a track to keep it will be a hassle so hopefully they break down and buy the song rather than search an aggregator to find it for free.
But really, who knows what music is really worth? How come the book industry is fine with libraries loaning out books for free but the music industry can't deal with free downloads? I probably only listen to a track I download for as long as I enjoy a book I take from the library (ie until I find the next good track or book) so what gives.
thanks for the interesting reply`s..I can`t say I apologize for droppin tracks that artists don`t give out for free..lets be honest, its how you probably got to this site and I`m happy with that...I like readers..the more the better..It shouldn`t matter what tracks I leave as long as the person listening is supporting the artist..and to Kara..I don`t have any actual hard evidence that people come here and just take music..But my webcounter says that a majority of IP`s stay on mysite for only 2 min...which to me translates to lazy readers or just grabbing tracks and running....its just my own personal opinion...and I know its going on, which I can`t help...I`m just trying to remind my readers 2 support
hmm i think the books/library comment is very true... i don't think it's a big deal that i download cause i support them at the shows/merch (and spend way more $$ seeing them live then i could ever spend on their cds) but majority of people just snatch the songs and never support the artists... which is REALLY annoying.. So for all of you people that downloaded Two Hours Traffic off this site make sure you go to CALL THE OFFICE on TUESDAY FEB 19. It's $5. Even if you took 1 song you owe them $5!
This is my favorite post of yours so far. While I can't say I don't download a lot of mp3's for free, I CAN and WILL say I try to support artists as much as possible, and go to shows almost every weekend. I also buy a lot of vinyl and merch outside of shows.
I've been listening to Mat and the boys since literally the day they got started...they are awesome, but they have had a long road to hoe....After literally walking away from all of the momentum and genius of Band of Horses...and having to start from scratch again, and creating something equally brilliant (but different)...it just goes to show what a brilliant and gifted musician Mat is.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the guys in Boise before a gig there, and they are just to coolest, most down to earth dudes you would ever want to know or meet. After an incredible performance, they were at the back of the room selling their merch, talking to everyone and just being totally real. They had just come back from Sasquatch....shared a big stage with huge names, and still so humble at a small venue in Boise, Idaho. Love those guys...they are the coolest. Happy to see the general indie loving public is finally figuring out what a great talent these guys are (I was getting worried)....Tell your friends. These guys deserve at least as big a fan base as Band of Horses if not bigger....
"majority of IP`s stay on mysite for only 2 min"
That actually sounds pretty high for a music blog -- if a person comes from hypemachine for a song, it takes about 20 seconds to download and skim the post. If I were you, I'd take it as a compliment that they're bothering to stick around for a few minutes. It means you're adding value and many are likely coming back because they like your taste in music and your writing.
But really, if you have a blog that provides free downloads of great music, you can't really expect most people to stay and connect for any other reason -- what do you expect them to do besides listen to the music? Isn't that the point?
You also don't know what they're doing after the fact. I download a lot of music, but most of it gets listened to once, then deleted...I find out that I never would have bought it anyway. If something is great, I buy it and go see the band if I get a chance (preferably buying it from the band if I can). But you'd have no way of knowing any of that from hit stats, right?