Link Drop - Free Music from Diet, Process of Fusion, Freestyle Fam and More!

Ghosts of Eden
Staten Island "Velvet Grunge" rockers Ghosts of Eden recently released a music video for their song "In Motion." Dead Dove Creative filmed and directed the video as the band acted out all the roles in this playful and funny big wheel race. Check it out below!


Freestyle Fam
Staten Island Hip-Hop group just released their new mixtape for free a few days ago, and wow, if it awesome. It's the best work they have done so far! On top of that, the duo of Quest the Wordsmith and Redeemed killed it at Rap Fest 2013 this past weekend. So download the mixtape and check out Quest's closing freestyle.





Process of Fusion
Download POF's first Ep from 2010 for FREE, yup, it's available right now for nothing, so go get it!


Diet
Also, be sure to check out Diet's recently released EP. It is one of my favorite of the year! If you like 90s alternative/grunge, mixed with punk, check it out!



Broken Records Magazine
Last but not least, check out the new issue of Broken Records Magazine featuring Shinedown, 311, and David Cook and more!
http://brokenrecordsonline.com/purchase

Love Him Madly: An Intimate Memoir of Jim Morrison (Book Review)

Love Him Madly: An Intimate Memoir of Jim Morrison paints a wonderful portrait of Morrison's love life and how the rock icon was off stage and out of the spotlight with the people he thought he loved and the people who loved him.

The book is written from the perspective of the author, Judy Huddleston, who's obsession with Morrison sees her passionately unrational at times as she wages an inner war and what she believes is true love.

Huddleston goes into to detail with every conversation putting the reader in the room with Judy and Jim. From the pillow talk to the drug infused incoherencies of a live free or go home hippie, everything is distinctly real and genuine.

Especially telling is the turmoil in Judy's mind between love and hate, and how easily she was able to have her feelings and emotions melted away at the mere sound of Jim's voice. 

Delving deeper into the abyss of Morrison's soul, the reader is able to understand the loneliness and utter depression of one of the world's biggest rockstars. Filling his life with mind altering substances, booze, and a plethora of woman, some he "loved" and others he forgot, Morrison was truly a tortured artist.

It started innocently enough, a fresh out of high school girl's infatuate crush of someone unobtainable. After attending a few Doors concerts and getting lucky enough to meet Morrison back stage after a show, she was hooked. Morrison became her drug of choice.

Leading the pack as some sort of head groupie, Jim took a liking to Judy and frequently called her when in town or when he needed late night action. However, Judy was different. She had a conscience, she had a soul, she wanted to be intimate with Jim on another level besides the physical. She usually obliged for fearing of losing him or for the chance to make him love her.

Their rendezvous became something sort of like a spiritual revelation as they became one in the physical, metaphysical, and sometimes mentally, but never emotionally. Jim was cold to the emotional stakes of love and the oneness and specialness of intimacy.

Regardless of some of these setbacks and the little jealous and non-chalant games they played together over the years, they had some sort of hypnotic spell that kept them coming back for more.

Judy was committed to this relationship despite Jim's non-comittment to anything. The only things he seemed to come back to was Judy, albeit in between a herd of other girls who couldn't connect with him or intrigue him mentally.

Towards the end of the book and ultimately Jim's life, an expressed profession of love was said between the two. Honesty started to flow between the two of them, there was hope for Judy's dream. At that time however, the drugs and the alcohol became to much for a mere mans body. He became gaunt, disheveled and unstable. His oozing sexuality and "god-like" stature was gone, he was the shell of what was.

Morrison's untimely death in Paris was the end of Judy's childhood, and although one life seemed to come to an end, her life really just began. She was free to be a person not bound by a life of inconsistency. Jim was alive in her memory and in every facet of her senses, and that affection would never grow stale.

Love and Death 'Between Here & Lost' Review Brian 'Head' Welch

Love and Death's Between Here & Lost is an inspiring foray into the world of former Korn member Brian "Head" Welch's mind and past demons as he transitions into a Christian. The message conveyed through the album is about finding a way through being stuck between complacency and misdirection.

The album opens fittingly with the lyrics, "Wake up sleepy wide awake!" as Welch screams of not giving up on "The Abandoning." This song has a killer melodic chorus with lots of harmonic layers. A great start to the album.

The second track is a cover of Devo's "Whip It." However, that's where the similarities end; this version is amped up with crunchy guitars and grungy vocals. Love and Death truly made this song their own; not to mention a guest vocal appearance by Spoken's Matt Baird.

"Watching the Bottom Fall" is about falling for the same lies and promises we make to ourselves and yet still expecting to have a different result. The bridge into the last chorus has a nice flow to it as it changes up slightly.

This song is very personal and deep for Welch as reflects over a death in his life and while the song is mostly heavy the chorus mellows out more into a heartfelt angst free cry of sorts. "By the Way" is LaD's version of a rock ballad.

"Meltdown" opens with brutal guitars into Welch's signature deep songy whisper that he so often uses on verses which then leads into a growling mini breakdown before the chorus. Later on into the song it completely drops out into a chanting and soft bridge before kicking the adrenaline back in.

"Disaster" focuses on the Welch's inner turmoil with God as he feels sometimes he is left to fend for himself. He's not blaming God, but rather asking Him why He allows periods of loneliness to occur. Some of the highlights of this song is the instrumentation. The drums are great and the cool effected guitar riff over the chorus fits perfectly.

Next up is "I W8 4 U" featuring Mattie Montgomery of For Today. He contributes some heavy screams to the track as he blasts lines "Tell me you lost it, tell me you lost it." It makes the song feel like it's up in your face, a very nice touch.

"Fading Away" goes back into the theme of lies and encourages all those who fall for them to "Lie down and let go" before they fade away.

"Paralyzed" opens up with synthy guitar sounds reminiscent of the work he used to do in Korn. It's easy to see why this song was chosen as a single. It's one of the more catchier tunes on the album, and would appeal to a good spectrum of rock fans as it has multiple changing styles to it.

"Chemicals," which was also selected as a single and had an EP of the same name may very well be the best track on the album. It's crazy to hear how Welch gets his voice so low on parts like, "You're the killer and I'm the kisser." The song rings out almost as if it were an anthem for what the band stands for.

The final song on the album is, "Bruises." Everything about "Bruises" is powerful and hauntingly beautiful. The keys and light guitar work compliment Welch's mellowed out soft singing. It picks up for a little bit within the last minute of the song but never enters into the realm of brutality like the other tracks. The best part of this song are the lyrics. "Show us how to live/How do we forgive...Show us how to die/How to give our lives/Living sacrifice."

Overall Between Here & Lost tells a story of a broken man looking for a change. "This record was birthed from trials, tribulations, pain, suffering, anxiety, depression, and drama. However, we came out on top and the end result is a very real, raw & honest record," Welch said to antiMusic.com. With that being said, the album encompasses everything we'd expect, awesome nu metal heaviness with a positive message and amazing musicianship. Love and Death is just scratching the surface of their musical journey, and I can't wait to see what's next.

Link Drop - Uproar Fest, Fairday Skyline, JD, and More

FAIRDAY SKYLINE
Check out their new single, "Maynard Fights Fan," off of their upcoming EP, My Empire.


JD
JD is a young aspiring singer/rapper who is working on his first mixtape. Watch his mini documentary below.


ESS EYE / STASH WEDNESDAY
Ess Eye is the newest rapper added to the Broken Records Collective, and to show off some of his skills he dropped a new song for Stash Wednesday.

Watch Stash Wednesday's week one video below:

Listen to Ess Eye's mixtape here

BROKEN RECORDS MAGAZINE
Here are some of the videos and interviews we took from behind the scenes at Uproar Festival at PNC.







To view all the photography from the day, Shinedown, Godsmack, Staind, Adelita's Way, P.O.D., and more, GO TO http://www.facebook.com/BrokenRecordsMagazine

ONE OF MY IDOLS, SONNY FROM P.O.D.

Link Drop - Backslashes New Album, Freestyle Fam, Cig, Locals

Backslashes and Bad Ideas
My buddies in Backslashes and Bad Ideas just released their debut EP, Nothing Left to Give. This five song flurry is sure to quench your pop-punk, Brandnewish/FallOutBoyish desires. Check it out below, and be one of the few who get to download it for free!

http://www.facebook.com/Backslashes

Eric D'Alessandro

Check out the always funny Eric from ERIXFLIX's new video parody of "No Lie."

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ericdalessandro
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ericdalessandromusic
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/EJD11190

DOWNLOAD STILL NOT HEARTLESS FOR FREE HERE- http://hulkshare.com/2thew4snkom2

Freestyle Fam

Needs your help! All you have to do is login and vote for their remix song "I'm Good." 

http://remix.rapzilla.com/imgood/track/234

CiG

New freestyle tracks from CiG.

Staten Island Locals

Check out the new SI Show's page to stay local on all of the musical going on's of the island.

http://www.facebook.com/si.shows

Also, be sure to check out Nicole Gioradano Photography!

http://www.facebook.com/PhotographyByNicoleGiordano

Broken Records Magazine

My magazine recently had the pleasure of joining Chester Bennington of Linkin Park and Brandon Boyd of Incubus on a conference call. Here's what they TALKED ABOUT.

Freestyle Fam Making Moves, Cig Dropping Bars, Joe Josh Laying Beats

FREESTYLE FAM

Freestyle Fam are some the illest and most talented rappers you'll ever hear period. Their latest project, called, First & 15th, will see The Fam releasing a new song for FREE download every 1st and 15th of the month. Check out their first release below.

Freestyle Fam also released a new single on iTunes today, "Here We Go." Check it out and DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

Keep up with Freestyle Fam at their newly updated website - http://www.freestylefam.com/

CIG

CiG is in the studio cooking up a new album, but along the way is sneaking out tidbits of what's to come. 

Watch him kill it in this freestyle.

JOE JOSH

Check out what Joe Josh is doing over in his studio. Cranking out almost a beat a week, contact him if you need a producer.

BROKEN RECORDS COLLECTIVE

Dropping soon, the "No Mercy Remix" by CiG, SiK Boi, Vinny Jett, and Anthony M.

BROKEN RECORDS MAGAZINE

Broken Records just released the issue in almost a year. It is a relaunch and Internet transition for the publication. View it and DOWNLOAD IT FREE.

Update - Music, links, and Broken Records Collective!

Lets start off with the links


Just launched my Record Label, Broken Records Collective. Please follow all the links, and help me get the word out.

Created by Kristen Solis

http://www.facebook.com/BrokenRecordsCollective
https://twitter.com/#!/BR_Collective
http://brokenrecordscollective.bandcamp.com/ - MUSIC PAGE


Check out three of our rappers videos!


Eric D'Alessandro "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3"



CiG "No Church in the Wild & Stay Scheming Freestyle"






SiK B of Process of Fusion "Bonfire Remix"



Also, be sure to like Broken Records Photography


K SCOTT
K Scott has some nasty beats he wants to show you all, check them out here.


PROCESS OF FUSION
Process of Fusion had their album, Connections, reviewed by the Christian Music Review Blog. Read that here.

Also, check out the photos from their show at The Stone Pony, taken by photographer Laura DeSantis Olsson.
http://www.ldophoto.net/data/web/processoffusionstonepony/index.html


SPREAD THE RUMOR...kinda



BACKSLASHES & BAD IDEAS/WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS



VERBATIM
Check them out on Facebook and listen to their first recorded song, "Desire & I."


FOUR NIGHTS GONE
Come to their album release show, more info here!


MUSIC AGAINST BULLYING
This show is very important! It is in memory of recent suicide victim Amanda Cummings. Please come out and support her friends and family.


More info here


RUNNING ON SWEETS BLOG
Read my girlfriend's blog on fitness and running here.
http://runningonsweets.blogspot.com/


XO
 OX - Life I Live by RatherUniqueMusicGroup 


JON SANTOS RECORDING
My band's producer is having a sick deal on recording. See below.

Number 150 - The Beginning

Hello all and welcome to blog post 150!


I write to you today as someone who has spent the last two days home from work sick and has slept a combined 27 hours in two days (GLORIOUS!)


For this blog a numerical proportions I write to you as someone who is extremely overworked with many ideas and ventures going at once. However, I will not complain because I have brought it all upon myself and enjoy every bit of what I'm doing.


With that being said, I encourage bands and artists of all kinds to continue to send me stuff to post about as well as inquiries as to getting on here and in my magazine Brokenrecordsonline.com.


Lastly, I would like to make an official announcement right here!


Over the last month or so I have been developing a label/promotions company out of my magazine and I feel like I have finally have the means and the right people in place to launch this thing. I have signed several local artists who you will all meet in time, and we will be taking over the Island. Here is the press release!

THE BROKEN RECORDS COLLECTIVE

The Broken Records Collective is the newest brain child of Broken Records Magazine Editor-in-Chief Justin Sarachik, and will be looking to take seven of Staten Island's very best artist's in rock music and hip-hop and join them together for one common goal, success. 

The concept is to create a management/promotions record label on Staten Island that holds true to everything it promises and works exclusively with the groups to succeed as a collective. 

At the start, the label will merge hip-hop and rock to create a powerhouse of talent that not only showcases individuals, but also moves powerfully as a group to present a great show and experience for anyone involved.

The artist's have been specifically selected to compliment each other in order provide the best results. While mixing rap and rock is not a new concept, there will only be one band that floats in the middle of both. The rest of the groups will be strictly rap or rock, but at the same time unique to the collective as a whole.

TBRC will aim for two group shows a month, one in the beginning and one in the end. In between these shows, smaller selections of the group will perform either a rock show or a rap show or any other show a band has an obligation to fulfill. 

Proceeds from the shows will be split up between the artist's and the remainder will go back into the group to be used for promotion, merchandise, or whatever the collective needs.

Promotion for the group will come through Broken Records Magazine,www.Brokenrecordsonline.com, www.thesibandguy.blogspot.com, www.Offtangent.com, WSIA 88.9 Staten Island, Facebook and Twitter group pages, and the overall hustle and word of mouth of the parties involved. 

Broken Records will provide the contacts and means of reaching out to record labels, publicist, and other publications in order to raise awareness in other places. A monthly press release/newsletter will be sent out to blogs and music sites to inform the Internet world what is going on.

TBRC will be working internally to provide for itself jobs, whether it be recording, photography, videos, or promoters. The group will be a well-oiled machine, a community of talent helping each other get to the next level.

Hawthorne Heights Interview with Eron Bucciarelli (drummer)

I had the privilege to have a chat with Hawthorne Heights drummer, Eron Bucciarelli about all things HH. The interview was especially cool because I was a huge fan a number of years back when The Silence in Black and White dropped.

Listening to Hawthorne Heights instantly engaged the music lover in me with stylistic musical prowess that many bands at that time were missing. Whether it was the soul diving lyrics to songs like "Nikki FM" or "Silver bullet" or the almost heat seeking grittiness of three guitars blaring at once, HH always was an experience.

Sadly enough, through the years they were a band that I let slip under the radar, and ironically enough before getting this interview I had listened to their first album. Now that I've been caught up, I am able to dig deeper and ask questions. Deciding not to ask why "Ohio is for Lovers," I'll leave it up to interpretation and ask something relevant to them now. Enjoy! 

Why go for this three ep concept and instead of releasing a full length?

We have several reasons behind this. Full lengths are a dead format in our opinion. People demand new music so much more rapidly than ever before that it just doesn't make sense to spend a ton of money recording and promoting something that will be old news three months after it's released. Fewer tracks mean that people focus more on each song we release and hopefully leads to them wanting more. From a creative standpoint, we can change things up a lot faster if we want to. 

The first release is Hate, any clues to what the next two will be, and are they all related?

They will all be related thematically. We're not giving away any further details on the two just yet.

Hate seems to have a different feel to it than your other albums. What was the mindset in making it, and what are your fans early reactions to it?

The mindset with Hate was for the music and emotion to match the behind the scenes dialog that we've had only privately over the last few years. Our conversations were much more angry and frustrated than our third and fourth album let on. We were tired of putting on a happy face.  Sometimes, its best to get everything off your chest. So far the reactions have been polarizing. I think fans of our first two albums are extremely excited about the release, while fans of our third and fourth album have been put off. Ironically, our first album had this same polarizing affect on people, so perhaps this response is good since that was a our best selling album.

HH has covered a wide range of the musical spectrum- emo, screamo, alt, electronic, pop- do you all set out to explore different style, or does it happen naturally?

We have a wide array of influences and we don't want everything we release to sound the same. As artists, we like to evolve and explore new ways of expression.

Beginning with the highly successful, The Silence in Black and White and fast forwarding to the present, how has the band changed and grown, and what separates "that band from Ohio" to your band identity today?

We caught a wave at the beginning of our career. We released our fist album and it happened to be what a lot of people wanted to hear at that given moment in time. We've grown from the hot "it" band of the moment into a band that is, at least in our opinion, more than a one-hit wonder to a lot of people. We've developed an almost cult-like following and that's something which has certainly changed/progressed since we started.

While on the subject of breakout first albums, do you guys try to separate yourselves from it to focus on what you're doing today, or do you embrace past success and mix it up?

We absolutely embrace our past success and mix it up. When people come to see us, they want to enjoy themselves and be entertained. It's our job as performers to entertain, which means playing some fan favorites every night, but that said we throw in new material to set as well because we want people to realize that we're growing. 

Victory Records, Wind Up, and now Cardboard Empire- did having label problems in the past prompt the band to be their "own boss" so to speak?

It has less to do with our past two label situations and more about the state of the music industry as a whole right now. In our opinion, most of the industry is stuck using the same antiquated business model that they used back in the 1950's. Formats have changed, but the focus of most labels is still selling music. Label's idea of evolution is trimming back their staff year after year according to their dwindling bottom-lines rather than really trying to re-tool and god-forbid...innovate. The idea of the 360 model which labels have been throwing around over the last few years is complete bulls**t. As an artist and a business, it doesn't make sense to sign away a percentage of each revenue stream we receive without there being a justifiable reason to do so. For example, if a label isn't going to promote our merchandising, but take a percentage of that revenue, it's unjustified. The business model of most labels is that by promoting a music release (the one revenue stream which has diminished in sales year over year), all of the other revenue streams will just naturally increase.  

Where do you hope to take the label, and will it be something something that grows with other artists, or is it just a HH project right now?

At the moment, we're just releasing HH music. We want to make sure we get the kinks out before we start messing with other people's lives.

Why the name Cardboard Empire, and do you feel that mainstream label support is losing it's luster, and independent is the way to go?

The name is a play on the overall stability of the "music business." As I discussed, until labels change their model of operations and if you have the contacts and know how, independent is absolutely the way to go.

What bands are set to be your touring mates, and is their a goal or theme of the tour?

We have local bands opening for us on each stop. The music scene which we came up in is dying off left and right. It's being forced out by big time promoters and ticketing agencies.  There are a lot of great bands out there, so if we can play a show and someone comes to see us, hopefully they'll be exposed to good local talent, which they'll then support and ultimately rejuvenate these smaller music scenes. 

Anything else to add?

Please check out our EP, Hate. It's available on iTunes, Amazon and just about every other digital distributor. If you would like a physical copy of the EP, please order it from our website or pick one up at a show. If you already have it, THANK YOU!  Please help us get the word out about it! Without your support, we would cease to exist!

http://www.hawthorneheights.com

http://www.facebook.com/HawthorneHeights
http://www.myspace.com/hawthorneheights
http://www.purevolume.com/hawthorneheigh...

Buy HATE here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/hate/id456026519

Effects of Illegal Downloading on the Music Industry with Interviews

The final project I worked on in my group was on the long-term affects of music piracy on the music industry, labels, and artists. Looking at the trends of music from 2000 to 2011, we wanted to capture the general feeling and decline of music sales since online servers like Napster and Pirate Bay. We set out to see if people were downloading illegally more than they were purchasing. To no surprise, the answers, surveys, and studies we did all pointed to people illegally downloading with seemingly no conscience about it. Why do we need anything else if it is in front of our fingertips in seconds and it's free? This is why a multi-million dollar band like Metallica has to sue Napster for copyright infringement.
I conducted three short interviews with three people covering different plains of the music industry. The three professionals interviewed are: Scott Vollweiler-owner of Broken Records Magazine, Mason Taylor-singer/songwriter and front man of indie rock band A’tris with expertise on social networking and music marketing, and Jon Santos-formerly signed by Wind Up Records in the early 2000’s with then band, Sevenwiser. I asked them all the same seven basic questions, and though biased because of their position within music, they gave great answers. The questions were:

1. What are your general feelings about music piracy?

2. Do you think it hurts or helps the artists?

3. Ultimately is piracy more of a problem for labels or artists?

4. What are ways artists can use piracy to their advantage if any?

5. Do you think it can be stopped? Should it be stopped?

6. Do/would you yourself download music illegally?

7. Do you think having something like iTunes deters people from downloading music?

Scott Vollweiler is the creator of Staten Island’s own Broken Records Entertainment. Within the company, Vollweiler has a magazine, recording studio, photographer business, and various other ventures. In just six years time the company has grown exponentially, and the magazine has featured some of the worlds biggest musicians like Aerosmith and Carrie Underwood to name a few. Vollweiler is no stranger to piracy. He was formerly in a band himself and is quite aware of the difficulties that come just with being a musician; let alone being in a place to create music.

His views on music piracy, as expected are strictly against it saying, “Music piracy is wrong. I know the music business is crooked, but bands that are trying to make it are losing their opportunity.” He explains that piracy can only hurt musicians and labels because newer bands will not receive the same support as major ones. He feels that although there are possibilities of piracy helping, it is unlikely saying, “A billion dollar corporation can easily go broke. Look at EMI, they've been bought twice.”

Vollweiler goes on to say that piracy will never be totally gone because “There’s always loopholes on the net.” He then admits he himself has illegally downloaded music in the past, but stopped once he started the company. He was able to understand the struggle of an artist a lot better. Lastly, he doesn’t feel iTunes deters people away from illegally downloading but instead provides a “happy alternative.”

Mason Taylor, the lead singer of A’tris is not in a signed band, so while his views on piracy tend to agree with Vollweiler’s, he finds a hope in it. When asked what his general feelings on piracy are, he said “It would be nice if people paid for music.” Interestingly enough, Taylor feels that while piracy hurts the artist, he also feels it greatly helps as well. He doesn’t doubt piracy negatively impacts the whole industry, but thinks there are ways for musicians to capitalize on it. “I don't believe that encouraging piracy is beneficial to artists. Promotions involving free or discounted digital components are a better solution in my mind as they can be structured advantageously for fans and bands. For example, an artist may offer a free download in exchange for a fan's e-mail address,” he said.

Sure enough, this is exactly like something A’tris is doing. Every Tuesday A’tris records a new song and releases an accompanying video for it on Youtube. Youtube is of course a free service, but A’tris also offers the instrumental track for free download if you join the mailing list. In the mailing list A’tris suggests listeners to take the solo track and record their own versions or covers of the song. Also in the email, they encourage the listener to check out and purchase some merchandise. At the end of the 52-week period of songs, A’tris will take the top viewed videos they released, and create an album off of those. This is a way to get fans involved with the creation of an their favorites band’s recording process. It’s a good way to entice an audience to give you a chance. They feel involved and want to invest in you.

As far as sites like iTunes and Amazon, Taylor had a lot to say,

“…Convenience is king. I believe that, if people are empowered to legally consume music when they want, the way they want, we will see piracy continue to decline. Already e-retailers like iTunes provide a frictionless solution for purchasing music. With Amazon and Google offering cloud locker services, and Apple rumored to debut a similarly but potentially more feature-rich option, I hope that we will see piracy further reduced by choice. 

On a side note, I believe it's interesting to note that Amazon and Google currently offer their services without label support. Apple is reportedly the only company that is moving into the cloud space at this time with signed agreements from the four majors. Choice is key. If people have more options, they may choose to exercise them.”

Taylor seems to be on the verge of something great, and really understands the concept of being an independent artist. A’tris will have no problems in continuing on with the growth of their music.

Jon Santos is a former touring and signed lead singer of once popular band Sevenwiser off Wind Up Records. Santos has heard his music played on The Punisher Soundtrack and in the movie Cursed. In addition to this his music has been featured in video games MVP 2004 I and Nascar 2005. He currently works as a producer/engineer and videographer/photographer in his Whitestone, Queens studio, 1176 Studios. At the moment he is filming a short show series on Youtube that has just been picked up by a small cable network, Hollywood Girl. Clearly Jon is no stranger to the music industry and media in general. More so than my other two interviews, he’s been there and done that. He perhaps had the strongest and almost angriest type of reactions to the questions.

His general feelings about music piracy are bluntly honest as he says, “ I’m really not a big fan of that. I don’t understand how people can feel good about themselves when they steal someone’s work. It’s the same thing as walking in to Best Buy and just taking the CD right off the shelf and walking out the door, is that right?”

Like Taylor, Santos feels that piracy is two fold as far as helping or hurting, “If a new upcoming band gets themselves out there a bit more by letting their music out for free and they pick up a few hundred or more fans then great for them. The problem at that point is you can’t track your sales and numbers and you can’t build much of an income to float the band.” Santos also believes that piracy has mainly killed the label, which in turn destroys the artist. Now instead of making money on music, the label takes a big chunk of what a band makes on touring and events, let alone having to split the money with your band mates. “Not unless you are Lady Gaga or any of them other big time artists that are making 90 million a year from sales and have crazy live shows, [are you making money]…good luck with that,” he said.

Santos feels very strongly about stopping piracy but isn’t quite sure of exactly how saying, “How about everyone just walks around and starts stealing people’s homes, taking their cars, not paying for anything; what will be the future for any of us at that point?  Can it be stopped? Not unless we stop technology and revert back about 20 years.” He doesn’t think it can be stopped in full, but thinks it can be slowed. 

These three music professionals have seen music from the inside and out and obviously know where the trends of music are going. The future is certainly not clear, but it has become increasingly difficult for an artist to make any money on their craft. Santos told me the most money he has made in music is through his placement in movies and games. I remember meeting Taylor and asking him what he thought the keys to getting your music heard was, he said “placement.” All of the ideas are the same, but none of the direction is clear. In the long run, music for sure is in a down place just like the rest of our economy. It’s up to the future of music to try and turn it around like A’tris is trying so hard to do. To quote Clay Shirky, “Nothing will work, but everything might.”