Create an Account
username: password:
 
  MemeStreams Logo

Hip-Hop Outlaw (Industry Version) - Samantha M. Shapiro - New York Times

search

k
Picture of k
My Blog
My Profile
My Audience
My Sources
Send Me a Message

sponsored links

k's topics
Arts
  Literature
   Fiction
   Non-Fiction
   Sci-Fi/Fantasy Literature
  Movies
  Music
   Pop
   Electronic Music
   Rap & Hip Hop
   Indie Rock
   Jazz
   Punk
   Vocalist
  Photography
  TV
Business
  Tech Industry
  Management
  Markets & Investing
Games
  Video Games
   PC Video Games
Health and Wellness
  Fitness
  Medicine
  Nutrition
  Weight Loss
Home and Garden
  Cooking
  Holidays
  Parenting
Miscellaneous
  Humor
Current Events
  War on Terrorism
  Elections
Recreation
  Cars and Trucks
  Martial Arts
  Camping and Hiking
  Travel
Local Information
  United States
   Atlanta
Science
  Astronomy
  Biology
  Chemistry
  Environment
  Geology
  History
  Math
  Medicine
  Nano Tech
  Physics
Society
  Activism
  Crime
  Economics
  Futurism
  International Relations
  Politics and Law
   Civil Liberties
    Internet Civil Liberties
   Intellectual Property
  Media
   Blogging
  Military
  Philosophy
  Relationships
  Religion
Sports
  Football
  Skiing & Snowboarding
Technology
  Biotechnology
  Computers
   Computer Security
   Cyber-Culture
   PC Hardware
   Human Computer Interaction
   Knowledge Management
   Computer Networking
   Computing Platforms
    Macintosh
    Linux
    Microsoft Windows
   Software Development
    Open Source Development
    Perl Programming
  Military Technology
  High Tech Developments

support us

Get MemeStreams Stuff!


 
Hip-Hop Outlaw (Industry Version) - Samantha M. Shapiro - New York Times
Topic: Music 2:25 pm EST, Feb 20, 2007

Late in the afternoon of Jan. 16, a SWAT team from the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, backed up by officers from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office and the local police department, along with a few drug-sniffing dogs, burst into a unmarked recording studio on a short, quiet street in an industrial neighborhood near the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The officers entered with their guns drawn; the local police chief said later that they were “prepared for the worst.” They had come to serve a warrant for the arrest of the studio’s owners on the grounds that they had violated the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, or RICO, a charge often used to lock up people who make a business of selling drugs or breaking people’s arms to extort money. The officers confiscated recording equipment, cars, computers and bank statements along with more than 25,000 music CDs. Two of the three owners of the studio, Tyree Simmons, who is 28, and Donald Cannon, who is 27, were arrested and held overnight in the Fulton County jail. Eight employees, mostly interns from local colleges, were briefly detained as well.

Interesting. If nothing else, this shows me how broken the industry is. One consultant uses the word "schitzophrenic" but I think hypocritical is more accurate. They try to capitalize on the indie cred these guys have and then burn them when they get too big or too noticable.

At the same time, I think there are legitimate issues raised regarding the level of profit sharing between the DJs and the artists. If the DJ is making bank from producing a mixtape, he owes it to the artists to share down some of that.

I think this is only natural. When you have a top heavy industry with high barriers to entry and a mass-production, profit-centric business model within, coupled with dropping prices on technology that enables production, grass roots systems are going to develop. I think it's good and I certainly prefer it to the major label approach, but it needs to be equitable. There needs to be some guidance in the way it develops.

It's a complex situation.

Hip-Hop Outlaw (Industry Version) - Samantha M. Shapiro - New York Times



 
 
Powered By Industrial Memetics
RSS2.0