Brian Feener

That cliche has never rang so true as the music industry decides that the best way to sell MP3s is to make them appear to be CDs, except without all the fun “physical property-ness” of a cd.

This new (codenamed) CMX format, as reported by Engadget, is set to go head-to-head with Apple and their proprietary DRM, funded with backing from the major labels. The format would include CD liner notes and artwork in the purchase and try to recreate the feeling of a CD without all the hassle of figuring out a way to get that shrink-wrap off.*

*Sliding a corner across an edge of a table like a credit card works best.

Two reactions to this:
1) If you’re buying DRM media, please look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you love the person staring back at you. DRM, while having the industry benefit of locking a consumer to a purchase, locks the purchase to a device. In the end, it makes more life difficult for the people who choose to listen to music on devices not supported by the DRM format. I use a Blackberry for all my in-car music (using a cassette-to-3.5-jack). DRM prevents me from listening to that music, though everything I’m doing is perfectly legal and, more importantly, moral.
2) When you are in Rome, do as the Romans. Why would I try to make computer software that simulated the feeling of eating a juicy steak? Or a stack of sticky-notes that could replace a morning coffee? Sounds ridiculous, right? Well then why try to recreate something physical with something digital? If you’re operating in a digital format, KNOW THYSELF. Be active and participate in the format’s capabilities. Don’t try to lasso it and drag it backwards in time, like some misguided cowboy. Use video, use some sort of viable social platform. Help people share the music with others. Be more fun.

I’m sure that their hearts are in the right place, but it seems as if these companies are being run by a series of people who resemble Brick Tamland in their decision-making.

I love lamp.

Side Note: I love CDs. It’s the format of my generation and I think it’s a perfectly acceptable format, even as vinyl makes a comeback. I have a big box of CDs at home and there’s few things more satisfying than going through my collection and seeing the artwork and feeling the sharp plastic cases. But my love for the format is genuine.

One of the more mundane conversations you can have with someone is the “elimination of the middle class.” Ultimately, there are few solutions that you can do on a micro-level and it becomes just like complaining about the weather. (It’s not like you can make it stop raining.)

But there are some parallels with the shrinking middle class (economically-speaking) and the disappearing acts of some of the mid-major record labels. With big tickets like Universal and Sony looking to get tighter ships, the push behind the core group of artists is going to get harder.

And while I think that the ultimate future of these labels is something similar to what happened to Ken Griffey Jr.’s career, the big record company still has the benefit of being well integrated into the machine. They are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Just Blaze, starting at around the 5min mark, talks about the Saigon album and the issues behind the release of the mixtape. Listen to the whole interview though because it’s totally worth it. (Did you know that JB was the primary songwriter behind T.I.’s “Live Your Life?”)