Free Pony Theory ~ MP3 blogging note (from Mystery and mysery)

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Moistworks, mp3 Blogger Coming Under Fire · 17 January 05

First, let me say this. I am a firm believer and supporter of fair use mp3blogs. Moistworks is one of them. These blogs provide free advertising and critique for numerous artists, bands, and labels for free. More than often, these blogs spend their hard earned cash for hosting and music.

Recently, Moistworks has come under fire by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for mp3s that were being used on the website. Moistwork’s hosting company deleted the files because they too were obviously targeted.

This really pisses me off. If these industry people would even give a smitten of time to look at most of these mp3 blogs, they would find music fanatics pushing their music, of which these industry people makes millions of dollars off of. Heck, they might also find a genius who knows a thing or two about music promotion.

Some mp3 bloggers go by a certain creed. Some of these rules include:
1. Always link to an opportunity to purchase the music we’re blogging (through the particular record label, amazon, itunes, insound, etc)
2. Not post more than two songs from a copyrighted album without permission of the rights holder.
3. Not host or link to full albums, open directories, or other large
repositories of pirated music.
4. Be mindful of what other bloggers are posting as to not put up half an album between a few blogs.
5. Treat pre-releases sensitively.
6. Publicize the fact that we have a shared policy toward blogging—one that promotes fine music while simultaneously respecting the artists and their labels.

But the hard work these bloggers put into their websites and promotion of music does not match the subsequent pitfalls that the author at Moistworks is experiencing.

One of the things that reduces the authenticity of fair use mp3 bloggers are the blogs who link to indexes or illegally (not fair use) placed mp3s on a server. Music is not about quantity, it’s about quality. I suppose ‘the industry’ would rather not weed out these weblogs and just go about the ones who are easier targets, like Moistworks. Maybe it is because blogs like Moistworks and Fluxblog (and their peers) are more popular, but it doesn’t matter. If you run a blog who links to these type of mp3s, stop.

Stop, because you are defeating the purpose of mp3 blogging. I could care less if my take pisses some people off, but that is way I see it. If you are going to do it, do it in a way that helps the community, not hurt it.