USPP Myspace Now Up and Running

The major impetus and motivation behind sharing music files, from a band's perspective, is to promote their music. Release a few tracks here and there and let the music speak for itself. If it's good, your average Joe is going to come back with wallet in hand to buy the whole album, the special editions, the merchandise, and the concert tickets. Bands today understand that auxiliary streams of revenue are making up a larger and larger chunk of the successful artist's income. And bands aren't just cashing in from the fans- nowadays more and more indie bands are selling their music directly to TV shows, film scores, and advertisements, all without having to give the suits a cut. But don't tell the major labels! The corporate executives are still living in an analog world, while the rest of us have gone digital. The major labels still believe they are still the sole means for artists to attain their livelihood, that artists are dependent on their goodwill, and so they tend to treat their signed artists like a racehorse owner treats his stable of prized fillies. The labels love their artists, but the artists had better race between the lines and win every time, otherwise they are going to be taken out back and shot.

Musicians have grown understandably weary of this exploitative economic model. Happily, digital technology and the growth of the internet provides artists with evermore opportunities to ply their craft outside the clammy grip of the corporate labels. The USPP wants to do its part to help musicians in this new techno-economic environment, which is why we've launched USPP Myspace. We're going to showcase quality independent artist on rotating basis and give you the low down on the artist's albums, tour, and any available downloads! So check out USPP Myspace and support independent music.

Special thanks goes to Emile Goss for coding our gorgeous, ad-free Myspace profile. You can check out more of his work at http://killbot.org/!

USPP Rolls Out Myspace Site

One of the hallmark absurdities of the Copyright Wars has been the claims by major corporate record labels that your average file sharing Joe exploits musicians and has been responsible for the "death of the music industry." Of course, what the music executives call the "death of an industry" is really just the end of their fat paydays at the expense of the musicians they claim to promote. Historically, there has been no worse exploiter of musicians in the modern era than the corporations who claim to represent their interests. We've all seen the VH1 Behind the Music specials filled with stories of bands being tossed into the pop culture meat grinder, overexposed, underinformed, pressured to sign away ownership of their music. The misery of the corporate music grist mill makes for good punchlines and a sexy nihilistic, "have a good time all the time" vibe. But the reality isn't quite so pretty. At the end of the day, you've got a burnt out, played out, broke, pop culture cast off, instead of an artist.

But the times and technology has changed- and the Pirate Party wants to help! The emergence of net culture, social networks, and affordable (or free) high quality production software have created the perfect storm to wrest creative control and financial mastery of the music industry out of the hands of corporate executives, and to return that power back into the hands of artists. The USPP wants to play a small part to help musicians adapt to this new technological and financial reality. So we're putting together a little Myspace profile to help promote artists on a rotating basis through all our Pirate media outlets. Shows, albums, festivals, whatever! The USPP wants to be part of the solution, instead of part of the problem (RIAA)!

Here's a blurb from the Myspace wall below. We're still shaping the site, so expect it to be a work in progress. You can find the link in the "Pirate Links" list. Suggestions welcome!

"The United States Pirate Party loves music! We seek to promote independent musicians through different and creative alternatives to the traditional model of exploitation at the hands of corporate labels. Through a synergy of politics and art, the USPP wants to fill seats, sell tickets, and get the party started! If you're a band that wants their music featured on Pirate media outlets, drop us a line! Arghhhh! The United States Pirate Party loves music! We seek to promote independent musicians through different and creative alternatives to the traditional model of exploitation at the hands of corporate labels. Through a synergy of politics and art, the USPP wants to fill seats, sell tickets, and get the party started! If you're a band that wants their music featured on Pirate media outlets, drop us a line! Arghhhh"