HELLO MUDDA; GOODBYE RECORD LABELS (2-2004)

Things are changing in the music and recording business.

Traditionally, radio stations would play a song, which you 
would hear and like. Then you would go out and buy the 
single of that song, or maybe the album of the artist. 

But with the Internet revolution, a new way of buying music 
is really picking up steam. You can now buy singles again 
for less than a buck, like I used to do when I was a 
teenager. Most of the legitimate online music download 
sites sell single songs for 99 cents. Wal-Mart’s site sells 
them for 88 cents.

But, still, the only songs you can buy from these sites are 
the ones that are marketed by one of the top record labels. 
That is because almost all popular recording stars have 
recording contracts, and they are not allowed to sell their 
music except through their labels.

But a couple of veteran rock stars want to change that. 
They want to create another option for musicians. They want 
to make it possible to by-pass the record labels 
completely.

Musicians Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno are starting a new 
alliance of artists that cuts against the grain of 
tradition. They want to create a way to allow musicians to 
be able to sell their songs online without having to go 
through record labels.

They call their alliance the “Magnificent Union of 
Digitally Downloading Artists,” or MUDDA. It is supposed to 
give artists input in writing the rules for how music will 
be sold in the future.

The duo doesn’t want to eliminate record labels; after all, 
many musicians prefer not to take on the tasks of promotion 
and bookkeeping. The pair just wants to offer up an option 
that leaves the music labels out of the equation for those 
artists who prefer to go it alone.

Of course, anyone can make a song and sell it online. But 
without a record label, or a musicians’ alliance like 
MUDDA, their success would be minimal. Promotion is the key 
to sales.

Radio stations are currently the underpinning of promotion. 
Without radio, few people would have the opportunity to 
listen to recordings before they bought them. And, 
therefore, most wouldn’t buy them.

But radio stations typically play only those songs that are 
distributed by the major record labels. Seldom, if ever, do 
they play songs from unsigned artists.

That could change, though. Radio is likely to remain the 
driving force behind what determines the popularity of 
music. But with the advent of Internet radio and groups 
like MUDDA, traditional radio stations may start opting to 
play songs that are distributed online without the help of 
record labels.

If that ever happens, then artists will be free to sell the 
music they, and their fans, want. And they could do so in a 
manner that they choose, and at a price that they set. 

Recording companies will still play the major part in the 
distribution and promotion of music, but no longer will 
they play the only part. And that will be a great advantage 
to musicians and their fans.