The slow death of independence in the age of p2p: A blog in tweets

Friday night. My adrenaline is racing and I'm physically shaking with anger (and not because some over eager bouncer has just ID'd me on the way in to see Friendly Fires at Koko. Thanks for that. Humiliating.) No, it's because today I was told that two very popular 'music blogs' (and i use this term lightly) have been giving away two of my EPs IN THEIR ENTIRETY. That's not one or two tracks but the whole damn thing (x 2). As with all good venting, I turn to the interwebby and my faithful twitter for my cathartic geek fix (me in red):

• Don't the bastard filesharers know i have to eat? just found all the eps in their totality being given away..! 1:50 PM Dec 12th from web
  

• PeterKearney @CatherineAD Find where your true value is.. that which can't be copied. http://...com/2oyaaz 1:59 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• @PeterKearney well at least they can't copy the hand stamped ribbon tied packaging 2:06 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to PeterKearney

• PeterKearney @CatherineAD Sweet.. I love nice packaging. So many people put so little effort into the box. 2:08 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• @PeterKearney think it's the only response to p2p - make the artefact something you pour you heart and soul into. copy that you f***ers! 2:10 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to PeterKearney

Some questions are difficult to answer. Like most web-literate music junkies I sometimes trawl through the Hype Machine to find hidden gems and new inspirations (run by the very lovely Anthony & co. who police the blogs pretty well and will ban anyone who posts whole albums). Sharing and downloading single tracks has almost become de rigueur for emerging artists to get noticed and the blog world does a lot of good in bringing attention to music that might otherwise get overlooked by the mainstream media. So, yes,  I'm ambivalent about p2p. It certainly provides the opportunity for people to hear your music that might not have otherwise but, seriously, where do you draw the line? The EPs in question were limited edition releases which were produced in hand stamped packaging. These were intimate songs presented in an intimate way that were never intended to be consumed in a digital, infinite  medium, especially not untitled, incorrectly tagged and anonymously indexed. I think that's what upset me the most. I spent a lot of time and effort conceiving of how I wanted these songs to go out into the world. Hours cutting ribbons, ink stamping, paper folding. They were an incredibly personal collection that I wanted to draw a line under before I could move on to think about the album. I decided not to reissue them as EPs when they sold out because they were very much of a certain time in my life. I wanted them to be special and limited and unique. I also felt that I'd moved on, emotionally and musically from most of the songs and that a chapter had closed on a part of my life. But still, I try and find the humour in the situation:

• Going to shop for some food before p2p means starving to death... ; ) 3:42 PM Dec 12th from web

• anthonyherron @CatherineAD can I use your latest tweets in a blog post? Thought they were great (although really sorry to hear it) 4:13 PM Dec 12th from twhirl in reply to CatherineAD

• @anthonyherron Of course. Be sure to leave in the swearing for veracity's sake 4:16 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to anthonyherron

• omara @CatherineAD Agreed, downloading sucks. They think everyone is Madonna/Take That. At least they don't get the wonderful hand-made sleeves! 4:17 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• @omara I don't mind the single tracks, it's when it's the whole effing thing! 4:25 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to omara

• vincent_kahrune @CatherineAD I'm sorry....I promise to buy your music so you can eat and if you want me to beat some people up, I will! 9:00 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

Coincidentally I had spent the previous day at the ICA with the cream of the UK music industry talking about how even the most 'successful' artists are in fact struggling in the face of filesharing. A friend tells of a band on a successful major indie who can no longer afford to go on tour because of the impact of downloading. So much for the argument that filesharers go to shows ... what shows? While we were asked not to repeat the conversations that went on in the room that day, I will say that there were plenty of artists with records in the Top 40 (past and present) who were expressing serious concern about their survival  in the future. Perhaps we need some re-education about the value of creativity. Maybe people are under the illusion that if you have a record contract you drive around in limousines and taxis and quaff champagne every day. This is true for the very very few. Most musicians earn less than your average office worker, and without any of the job security. But they do it because they love it, some because they have to. Perhaps the 'kids' downloading all this free music honestly believe that they are not stealing or that the musicians in question don't need anymore money. they have quite enough yachts thank you very much.

So this is what I send to the blogs in question:

THE EMAIL:

My manager has just drawn my attention to the fact that one of my eps is available to download in it's entirety from your site.

I'm perfectly happy for you to stream tracks from the blog in order for people to be exposed to music they haven't heard before but can you please remove the links to download the whole ep please?

I scrape a living as a musician and each and every sale of a track from iTunes or at a show makes a huge difference to me (and sometimes literally makes the difference between being able to pay the rent or not!) I am an independent musician and not on a major label so every illegal download is another dent in the coffin that take me closer to not being able to do this anymore.

Regards,

Catherine

So then the 'bastard filesharers' start to respond. One of the blogs in question probably think they are being 'cute' by posting my nice polite email to them across the top of the page. God, artists these days are so unreasonable... they take down the sharing link for four hours then re-post it again. Charming. Frustrating.

More from selected responses from the Twittersphere:

• illogic_al @CatherineAD The bastard filesharers are giving you more exposure. If people like your music they'll buy it anyway 6:44 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• People won't buy songs they already have for nothing. True it gives exposure but so does streaming. Trust me, it does impact.10:48 PM Dec 12th from web

• illogic_al @CatherineAD and (far) more importantly, go see your shows :-) That's how we filesharers roll :-) 6:45 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• @illogic_al It's only those who share WHOLE ALBUMS I have a problem with. of course sharing tracks helps spread the word. It's great for me. 10:50 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to illogic_al

• welikeitindie @CatherineAD hey I featured one of your songs but only as a stream, if you want me to share a song let me know! http://...com/5q9s38 4:25 PM Dec 12th from twitterrific in reply to CatherineAD

• @welikeitindie I heart streamers! This is how it should be done. thank you x 4:28 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to welikeitindie

• welikeitindie @CatherineAD totally! most music bloggers forgot whats the real purpose... to help artists!! 10:59 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• vincent_kahrune @CatherineAD For music I really love, I will always purchase it. Call me old fashioned, but I still enjoy having CD's. 11:56 PM Dec 12th from web in reply to CatherineAD

• jamespenycate @Catherinead dickheads. my fav comment was 'that's how us file shares role'. Like, youareSOCLEVER. I look fwd to reading. 15 minutes ago from TweetDeck in reply to CatherineAD

About a 1000 + downloads later (strangely the torrents log the number of people downloading and Last FM helps you along there too...) and I'm seriously unsure as to what I think about the whole situation. You shut one source down and another pops up it seems. Like playing splat the rat at the fairground. 1000 more people have heard my songs who might not have otherwise. But those 1000 people certainly haven't joined my mailing list since then nor will they know I have a new EP coming out as all the tracks were incorrectly tagged. Apparently this is not important. Nor are links to myspaces on blogs. The anger passes and you just come to accept that it's part of the landscape today. You forget that it is theft, you accept that you can't spend every day tracking the new seeds as they appear and you hope that the new EP doesn't leak because you can't cover the manufacturing costs AND the rent.

I've been lucky of late that a label has been funding some recording for the album. But it is sad to think that there may not be a future for the independent artist; that we will have no choice but to make those compromises with the major label (or be lucky enough to get landed with one that understands your mission and vision) because they are the only ones with the power and resources to either stop or absorb the impact of downloading (but perhaps not for much longer either...)

There are many questions to which I do not have the answers.

EAR Artists - Holloway & Wandsworth Prisons Project

Music In Prisons - Project Audio from Yemisi Blake on Vimeo.

In September this year, myself and fellow Emerging Artists in Residence Ayanna Witter-Johnson, Camilo Tirado and Ping Lee worked with the the Irene Taylor Trust to lead a week of music workshops in Holloway and Wandsworth prisons. Here is a five minute blast of audio from the project, the artists and the people. Enjoy.

Three Photos from Herbie Remixed

There photos from our event last week...

Camilo

Renell & Ayanna

Mieko Shimizu

Herbie Remixed - Thanks for coming out!

Hello people,

Just passing through to say  thank you to everyone who came down to our Herbie Remixe event on Saturday. Renell & Ayanna did a great job of curating the show. Here's a snippet of what went on.

Herbie Remixed, Southbank Centre 15.11.08 from Yemisi Blake on Vimeo.

Catherine A.D. interview for The Londonist

This is an interview I did for The Londonist. They're interviewing all the Artists In Residence at the Southbank at the moment about their experiences... and I fail dramatically to convey exactly my thoughts on the matter.... Somehow I just ended up finding all the questions funny. I don't know maybe I am in an odd mood today because my best friend is having major brain surgery tomorrow... Anyhow, talking about yourself is like breakdancing about glassblowing (to utterly misquote Zappa).
----------

Who are you and what do you do?
Catherine A.D. - multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and professional malcontent. That's why I make music - two parts catharsis, one part revenge, three parts glitter. I send out satellites to the suburbs (batteries not included) so people can build their own transmissions. It's like pirate radio for heartbreak.

Where do you live and what do you like about it?
Wherever my heart lands. Currently living out my Anais Nin fantasies on a house boat in Little Venice.

What inspires you about London? What's your favourite bit?
Patterns in the pigeon shit. Favourite bit? Underneath the table at the bar 'Garlic and Shots'. The British Library. The tiled floors of the V&A. The back of a bus with my iPod turned up listening to The National.

How much time do you spend at the Southbank Centre? Have you found any secret bits?
I go through phases of practically living there to not being there at all when I'm in the studio. I like the industrial sized lifts in the back of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and if you stand at the top row of the QEH you can give yourself vertigo if you look down...

What does the EAR programme mean to you?  This is the first year that the Southbank have run the programme so we're very much pioneers and explorers and can make of it what we want. It means free rehearsal space. It means discounted coffee. It means singing jazz improv. with Ayanna and forgetting myself. It means writing 'Sour Times' with Riz MC. It means playing with Martha Wainwright.

What do you hope to achieve through it?
errr... Immortality and Infamy?

What was your first place to perform in London and where do you aspire to perform?
The Spitz, now turned into a gastropub, I miss it. I'd love to play The Royal Albert Hall. They have nicer carpets than the RFH... ; )

Genre specific question: who in your genre should we be watching / listening to and why?
Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. She wears a corset well.

What would mark you, by your own ambitions, as an Established Artist in Residence rather than an Emerging Artist in Residence?
When Brian Eno phones asking to produce my second album...

Have you ever busked?
No. But I did play cocktail piano in the foyer of the Hilton for a while... Upmarket busking I guess you could call it.

Have you ever been sick on the tube? (it's Londonist tradition to ask this question, I'm afraid!)
Not on the tube but there is a line in one of my songs about puking on my shoes in King Cross one new year's eve. I also once threw up in front of a line of paparazzi outside of the Q Awards.

Make up and Mutilation by Perez

(I am a haemorrhage of homages...)

myspace.com/catherineAD

Mahmoud Darwish -Soft Rain in a Distant Autumn

Mahmoud Darwish -Soft Rain in a Distant Autumn, originally uploaded by Yemisi Blake.

From today's Poetry International session. I'm currently working with Gizella (one of the Southbank's Street Genius placements) on programming the opening show for the festival. We had a really productive session, it's shaping up to be a great night.

Are you free on October 24th @ 5:30pm?

Are you up for enjoying a free night of poetry and music, featuring Reem Kelani?

Yes? Well, check out the link...

Resident Bloggers for Poetry International - Day 1

Hello people!

I'm back in rainy London, happy to be here though. Especially becase today I got to run the first blogging workshop for the Poetry International Festival. The festival comes to the Southbank Centre every two years and this time around we've gone digital. Over the festival I'll be blogging myself and mentoring a group of young creatives as the jump into the world of Web 2.0

I had a great time during my last literature project at the Southbank Centre, I'm sure this one will be just as good.

I'll keep you posted about movement on this front. The list of international bloggers is looking exciting!

Aruba Red Launches 1st Album

Last night a read a short poem at the album launch for my friend and fellow Emerging Artist in Residence Aruba Red. Here are pictures! I've got a couple of videos too, will keep you posted on that.

Music in Prisons Twitter Style

I'm working with Ping and the Music in Prisons team this week. Follow my twitter feed to see the goings on.

Offline, Freerun, Fun

Hey people,

It's been a little quiet recently. I haven't been online much over the last couple of weeks. I was dragged away from my laptop to be Assistant Producer of the Barclaycard World Freerun Championships. I'll be getting back up to speed pretty soon. Until then, here's a video from the event at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm.