Friday, April 18, 2014
Die Antwoord Knows the New Music Paradigm
I want to talk for a minute about a musical act that has utilized what I believe to be the new paradigm in music distribution in a way that has helped them achieve international success. The musical act I speak of is no other than the totally Zef and completely unique rap-rave group Die Antwoord from South Africa.
Anyone who knows anything about this band knows they speak Afrikaans, curse worse than a drunken sailor, and rap about outrageous and explicit sexual acts, marijuana, gangster activity, and how awesome and Zef they are. What a lot of people don't know is that they also rap about being vegetarian and healthy, that you should be the best person you can, and that you should be wise with your money. In older works known as Max Normal.tv and The Constructus Corporation the lyrics take on topics as wide and varied as the Illuminati, NLP, and philosophical subjects such as the difference between Creators and Parasites as defined in Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead."
Die Antwoord has also brought us a whole new look and style with kids everywhere adopting both Yolandi Visser and Ninja style haircuts and their way of dressing in colorful pajama bottoms and onesies. Currently there is a wave of Zef inspired art spreading throughout the "interwebs" on Instagram and Tumblr.
With all this fame, where did it really come from? Die Antwoord is not played on the radio (they curse too much!), nor on the television, and honestly I've never seen a hard copy CD of any of their albums. The only way anyone has ever heard Die Antwoord's music is through the Internet... And their personal mp3 players. And that's the key.
When I want to introduce new music to someone else, the most likely way is I will do it is via my own personal mp3 player. Laptops and computers are too clunky and immobile to effectively do this. "Hey, Bob, I found this great new song on the Internet. Want to go to my house and look it up on YouTube?" "Naw." Right. And how did everyone end up with Die Antwoord on their personal mp3 players? Well, although the $O$ album can be purchased on the DieAntwoord.com website, it's also easily downloaded as a torrent file on the peer to peer networks. And who put the files on the peer to peer networks? If I had to guess it would be Die Antwoord themselves. And just why would they do that? Because they understand that the Internet has changed the way "consumers" of music want their music content delivered; that means free. As Jun Mhoon puts in his interview, "2.5 billion illegal downloads a month means consumers want their music free."
In the past, before a music consumer devoured a CD they were inundated with it on the radio and MTV, both of which are one way communication channels; unlike the Internet which is two way. One would go buy the CD because One had to if One wanted to listen to the music. Now consumers don't have to because the peer to peer networks make all information available freely. This is because it is a two way communication. As long as the Internet remains a two way communication channel this will be so. This is exactly why, although the Big Record Labels have sued everyone on this planet and the next, the peer to peer networks remain open and running. To shut them down would literally require turning off the Internet. So you see, if the Internet is going to be here, so is free music.
However, not everyone knows how to use a torrent file. Not everyone wants their music for free. And by having their music available as both a purchasable download and a free download, Die Antwoord not only went viral but made a chunk of cash in the process. Maybe they didn't get rich, but I bet they didn't lose out either.
The change in the paradigm isn't about how to find new ways to sell the music, it's how to find new ways to make money from things related to the music. Two things that music consumers have always spent their money on are live performances and merchandise. But besides these are other methods such as re-releasing the same songs in different formats. Each time their is a re-release their will be the usual crowed that downloads it for free and spreads it virally and the usual crowd that pays for it. This allows the musician to reap several rounds of buying from the same album. Die Antwoord brilliantly did exactly this by re-releasing several versions of $O$, each with the songs slightly remixed. In fact, when you trace the evolution of Die Antwoord's music starting with Max Normal you can see the same techniques being used over and over again (in a self-referencing manner) so as to constantly cause the music consumer to have to search out and find the new version of the song and download it again. Another method of revenue could be selling a song for advertising, something that once used to be the hallmark of "selling out" and is now the hallmark of "buying in."
In all of the methods used to generate revenue from One's music in this new music distribution paradigm, one thing has changed the most; the role and job of the musicians themselves. Musicians are no longer just entertainers and performers. Musicians are no longer recording artists or composers. Musicians must now also be their own manager, promotion company, and CEO of it all. It's no longer enough for a band or musical act to just have an image; One must have a brand, in the complete sense of it's corporate meaning. The big difference here is that the image, music, and everything else associate with the brand is entirely owned and maintained by the artist themselves. Only in this fashion can music that breaks the norms, the mold, the stereotypes, achieve the type of success we've seen in Die Antwoord.
And think about this: Die Antwoord is about to release their newest album, "Donker Mag," sometime in May. I'm not entirely sure how their "world wide synchronized release" will actually work, but I almost guarantee that One will find the album for free as a torrent not too long after it's release. Why do I think that? Although Donker Mag has not come out yet, Die Antwoord has already book and sold out an entire world wide tour for Donker Mag. They've already made their money. In fact, I can think of no other Band that has sold out a show for an album that has not come out yet. Pretty amazing.
Anyone who knows anything about this band knows they speak Afrikaans, curse worse than a drunken sailor, and rap about outrageous and explicit sexual acts, marijuana, gangster activity, and how awesome and Zef they are. What a lot of people don't know is that they also rap about being vegetarian and healthy, that you should be the best person you can, and that you should be wise with your money. In older works known as Max Normal.tv and The Constructus Corporation the lyrics take on topics as wide and varied as the Illuminati, NLP, and philosophical subjects such as the difference between Creators and Parasites as defined in Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead."
Die Antwoord has also brought us a whole new look and style with kids everywhere adopting both Yolandi Visser and Ninja style haircuts and their way of dressing in colorful pajama bottoms and onesies. Currently there is a wave of Zef inspired art spreading throughout the "interwebs" on Instagram and Tumblr.
With all this fame, where did it really come from? Die Antwoord is not played on the radio (they curse too much!), nor on the television, and honestly I've never seen a hard copy CD of any of their albums. The only way anyone has ever heard Die Antwoord's music is through the Internet... And their personal mp3 players. And that's the key.
When I want to introduce new music to someone else, the most likely way is I will do it is via my own personal mp3 player. Laptops and computers are too clunky and immobile to effectively do this. "Hey, Bob, I found this great new song on the Internet. Want to go to my house and look it up on YouTube?" "Naw." Right. And how did everyone end up with Die Antwoord on their personal mp3 players? Well, although the $O$ album can be purchased on the DieAntwoord.com website, it's also easily downloaded as a torrent file on the peer to peer networks. And who put the files on the peer to peer networks? If I had to guess it would be Die Antwoord themselves. And just why would they do that? Because they understand that the Internet has changed the way "consumers" of music want their music content delivered; that means free. As Jun Mhoon puts in his interview, "2.5 billion illegal downloads a month means consumers want their music free."
In the past, before a music consumer devoured a CD they were inundated with it on the radio and MTV, both of which are one way communication channels; unlike the Internet which is two way. One would go buy the CD because One had to if One wanted to listen to the music. Now consumers don't have to because the peer to peer networks make all information available freely. This is because it is a two way communication. As long as the Internet remains a two way communication channel this will be so. This is exactly why, although the Big Record Labels have sued everyone on this planet and the next, the peer to peer networks remain open and running. To shut them down would literally require turning off the Internet. So you see, if the Internet is going to be here, so is free music.
However, not everyone knows how to use a torrent file. Not everyone wants their music for free. And by having their music available as both a purchasable download and a free download, Die Antwoord not only went viral but made a chunk of cash in the process. Maybe they didn't get rich, but I bet they didn't lose out either.
The change in the paradigm isn't about how to find new ways to sell the music, it's how to find new ways to make money from things related to the music. Two things that music consumers have always spent their money on are live performances and merchandise. But besides these are other methods such as re-releasing the same songs in different formats. Each time their is a re-release their will be the usual crowed that downloads it for free and spreads it virally and the usual crowd that pays for it. This allows the musician to reap several rounds of buying from the same album. Die Antwoord brilliantly did exactly this by re-releasing several versions of $O$, each with the songs slightly remixed. In fact, when you trace the evolution of Die Antwoord's music starting with Max Normal you can see the same techniques being used over and over again (in a self-referencing manner) so as to constantly cause the music consumer to have to search out and find the new version of the song and download it again. Another method of revenue could be selling a song for advertising, something that once used to be the hallmark of "selling out" and is now the hallmark of "buying in."
In all of the methods used to generate revenue from One's music in this new music distribution paradigm, one thing has changed the most; the role and job of the musicians themselves. Musicians are no longer just entertainers and performers. Musicians are no longer recording artists or composers. Musicians must now also be their own manager, promotion company, and CEO of it all. It's no longer enough for a band or musical act to just have an image; One must have a brand, in the complete sense of it's corporate meaning. The big difference here is that the image, music, and everything else associate with the brand is entirely owned and maintained by the artist themselves. Only in this fashion can music that breaks the norms, the mold, the stereotypes, achieve the type of success we've seen in Die Antwoord.
And think about this: Die Antwoord is about to release their newest album, "Donker Mag," sometime in May. I'm not entirely sure how their "world wide synchronized release" will actually work, but I almost guarantee that One will find the album for free as a torrent not too long after it's release. Why do I think that? Although Donker Mag has not come out yet, Die Antwoord has already book and sold out an entire world wide tour for Donker Mag. They've already made their money. In fact, I can think of no other Band that has sold out a show for an album that has not come out yet. Pretty amazing.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Internet Has Changed Music Distribution Forever
Musicians: why not make at least some if not all of your music free to download? In this new Internet-paradigm we live in most information is free. Music is information. It's the live performance that people pay to see. This is why MTV, the radio, and big label music must adapt or die. It's no longer about putting millions of dollars into promoting and distributing the music. It's about getting the music to go viral on the Internet so you can book the live (paying) shows. And your music will only go viral if it's free. Musicians who sign up to Artopium.com can utilize several options for distributing their work. You may sell your CD, Vinyl (you distribute) or Mp3 downloads. All options allow you to include samples of your music that cannot easily be downloaded (the player masks the source of the music but anything being played through One's speakers can be copied. E.g. I can rip music from bandcamp all day long). However, therein lies the paradox. It's unlikely somone is going to buy your music if they can't hear your music. Musicians on Artopium.com can also include free downloads of their music. This is best because someone is more likely to turn on to your sound if they're introduced to it through a friend rather than a website. You make this infinitely easier when it's free. I suggest having your entire album in both purchasable download and free download SIDE BY SIDE when you distribute. Who knows? You might even make MORE $$$$ Just something to think about.
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Artopium Roving Festival is BACK!!
I'm excited to announce that after a very long hiatus, Artopium's Roving Festival is BACK and BETTER than ever before! After taking some time to finish Artopium's Guide to Urban Camping, a Youtube video series I did as a way of "branding" the Artopium image. You can watch it all right here: http://www.Youtube.com/StealthCamping.
In any case I'm proud to say that not only have I nearly completed the the video series, I have also completely revamped both Artopium.com and RovingFestival.com. They not only have a new, smart look, but are completely mobilized and smartphone ready. So now you can add your art, music, fashion, film or book right from the palm of your hand.
Not only have the websites enjoyed a rebirth, but Artopium's Roving Festival is also starting up again and will be at Third Eye Shoppe on Hawthorne Blvd and 39th, Portland, OR on August 23rd, 2014. this is very exciting as it's been a rather long time since the past festival. This festival will be centered and themed around shamanism and I will hopefully have some nice surprises. As usual the artist and music lineup is completely local to Portland and include a wide variety of acts. Check out the event page: http://www.rovingfestival.com/cgi/a.cgi?P=thirdeye.htm
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Pros & Cons of Being an Urban Camper
Pros of being an urban camper.
_______
I'm free.
I'm closer to nature.
I meet more people.
I make my own schedule and work when I want to.
I'm less burdened with the responsibilities of material things.
I pay no rent.
I pay no bills. Well, OK, I have bills, for the phone and credit cards, but my debt is much smaller than yours.
I see and experience new and interesting things every day.
I have more time to be creative.
I'm constantly learning new things about the world around me.
I watch no television, but I do watch movies on my laptop.
I have more time to reflect upon things.
I worry less, or not at all.
All the money I make is mine.
I'm more physically active and a bit healthier for it.
I have more time to study the books I really wanted to study but couldn't while I was in college.
I've learned to defend myself against most of the elements (still working on almost freezing rain).
I'm a survivor.
I have amazing stories to tell.
I live "off the grid".
I'm a gypsy, pirate, nomad, and a lot of other words that always fascinated me as a child.
_______ _________
Cons of being an urban camper.
____________________
People look at you differently, sometimes badly (I'm trying to change this).
If you're not mentally prepared, like, you've never been camping before, then it isn't for you.
__________________
Pros of being a "House-y", that's someone who lives in a walled "House" structure thing, apartments included.
___________________
Get to sit on the couch and watch television.
Easy access to refrigeration.
Easy access to bathroom facilities.
Easier access to potable water.
Less chores and maintenance.
Easier access to entertainment.
Can invite friends over for entertainment in all weather.
Can give friends a place to stay for a while.
__________________
Cons of being a "House-y".
____________________
Rent/Mortgage.
Bills.
Work.
More "things" to worry about, like the security of your "things" (lock the door), how are "things" with the boss, now I must replace this "thing" (light bulbs), etc.
Isolation, cabin fever.
Disconnection from neighbors.
Disconnection from society at large.
More materialistic.
More polluting and damaging to the environment (more chemicals poured down drain, more toilet flushes, more electrical energy consumed, waste lumber and construction materials, more oil consumed, etc.).
You can probably dream up a host of personal reasons from here...
_______
I'm free.
I'm closer to nature.
I meet more people.
I make my own schedule and work when I want to.
I'm less burdened with the responsibilities of material things.
I pay no rent.
I pay no bills. Well, OK, I have bills, for the phone and credit cards, but my debt is much smaller than yours.
I see and experience new and interesting things every day.
I have more time to be creative.
I'm constantly learning new things about the world around me.
I watch no television, but I do watch movies on my laptop.
I have more time to reflect upon things.
I worry less, or not at all.
All the money I make is mine.
I'm more physically active and a bit healthier for it.
I have more time to study the books I really wanted to study but couldn't while I was in college.
I've learned to defend myself against most of the elements (still working on almost freezing rain).
I'm a survivor.
I have amazing stories to tell.
I live "off the grid".
I'm a gypsy, pirate, nomad, and a lot of other words that always fascinated me as a child.
_______ _________
Cons of being an urban camper.
____________________
People look at you differently, sometimes badly (I'm trying to change this).
If you're not mentally prepared, like, you've never been camping before, then it isn't for you.
__________________
Pros of being a "House-y", that's someone who lives in a walled "House" structure thing, apartments included.
___________________
Get to sit on the couch and watch television.
Easy access to refrigeration.
Easy access to bathroom facilities.
Easier access to potable water.
Less chores and maintenance.
Easier access to entertainment.
Can invite friends over for entertainment in all weather.
Can give friends a place to stay for a while.
__________________
Cons of being a "House-y".
____________________
Rent/Mortgage.
Bills.
Work.
More "things" to worry about, like the security of your "things" (lock the door), how are "things" with the boss, now I must replace this "thing" (light bulbs), etc.
Isolation, cabin fever.
Disconnection from neighbors.
Disconnection from society at large.
More materialistic.
More polluting and damaging to the environment (more chemicals poured down drain, more toilet flushes, more electrical energy consumed, waste lumber and construction materials, more oil consumed, etc.).
You can probably dream up a host of personal reasons from here...
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Have Gas Scooter, Will Travel
I am glad to announce that I have finally obtained the gas scooter I have been talking about for so long! I bought it off of Portland's craigslist for $200 (that's half it's value) using the money donated to the Artopium Art Troupe so that we can create the Artopium Art Booth. Having the scooter is going to go a long way in helping to haul the Art Booth equipment from location to location so we are very grateful that we have it and we kindly thank everyone, like people like you, who have helped to make it happen. Look forward to seeing me and my struggle to understand the inner workings of the 33cc 
engine that propels me toward my Artopium future showcased in the first episode of this next season's Guide to Urban Camping.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
New urban camping episodes now playing!
Two more fantastic episodes of Artopium's Guide to Urban Camping have been released! Come check them out. Watch them here or on the official Art Troupe video blog channel at youtube.com/stealthcamping.
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