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DIY or die: netlabels liberate music
By Joshua Smith
jsmit293@mscd.edu

Photo illustration by Joshua Smith • jsmit293@mscd.edu

With the introduction of MP3 technology and peer-to-peer filesharing networks, the world has watched the music industry drop head first into a pool of existential angst as it searches for a new identity in a suddenly unfamiliar world.

Regardless of where you stand on the issue of the digital music trade, everyone can agree that it’s here to stay. However, it’s not all stolen music and sagging record sales, as a new sort of record label has sprung into existence as a result: the netlabel.
What usually surprises most people about the netlabel phenomenon is the price you’re asked to pay for the music offered, which is nothing.

“I like the DIY attitude,” says Shaun Blezard, creative director of Earth Monkey Productions, a nonprofit based in the U.K. “I was a punk rocker back in the day, and this attitude, through cassette labels, etc., still excites me aesthetically and politically. I had some of my own music to put out with no money to spend, so I started Earth Monkey to do that. Then I put out a friend’s E.P. and it sort of grew quite quickly from there.”

This new revolution in music distribution has offered us a world in which all you need to have your sound heard by a global audience is a website and hosting service. Now those with the ambition to run a record label – but not necessarily the means – have an avenue to promote music and artists that they believe in. As a result, netlabels have become a launch pad for many musicians whose work may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

“As far as I know, EMI got interested in Stockfinster’s music after it was released on Sutemos.net,” says Walkman, head of Lithuania’s, Sutemos, which is both a netlabel and a music-focused e-zine. “So I guess the benefits are pretty clear.”

For most people involved in the movement, dollar signs and bottom lines never come into play. The simple act of making music freely available for anyone to hear is the start and end point of their philosophy. As Noah Christopher of Denver’s own Seedsound label said, “My label isn’t generating income, and was never intended to. At one time I thought about ways to cover server costs, but at this point I’ve decided to pay for it out-of-pocket. It’s sort of a gift back into the community that inspired me in the first place.”

The question arises, though: does the fact that music will be released with little or no chance of monetary gain drive away musicians who might wish to make their living on their art?

“Not so far, though I’ve only been doing it for 8 months or so,” said Adrian of Sydney, Australia’s 4-4-2 Music. “But I don’t imagine the well will dry up too quickly when you take into consideration the fact that the globe is opened up to connect with. I have noticed that it’s electronic-based producers who seem more willing to release music for free though, probably due to low production costs while maintaining high production standards.”

While it is true that the bulk of the music offered through netlabels is from electronic musicians, the bedroom producer nature of the genre has allowed a wide range of experimental music to be offered to a vast audience. The ready availability of this music to anyone with an Internet connection gives curious listeners the chance to explore music they may have never heard otherwise.

So while the birth of MP3 culture and online music trading is sometimes thought to be damaging the music industry as a whole, the existence and growing popularity of netlabels shows that a new ethic in music distribution is emerging in tandem with the advances in technology available.