A History of Pirated Music from On the Media

It’s not Friday night if there’s no OTM. Seriously, I look forward to the podcast of On the Media as much as anything else in my life. Take that for what it’s worth.

This week Brooke and Bob stepped aside for a special episode all about the state of the music industry, especially in regards to downloading and piracy.

One segment dealt with sampling. For some reason, I’ve always demurred from listening to Girl Talk, but I’ll be honest. That’s some catchy stuff. And it should be. Dude’s taking whatever he wants and mashing it up. I just might ask the internet to send me some.

Payola and the Billboard charts came up, and the point was driven home that with most young people not buying CDs, they don’t get a “consumer vote” and their music isn’t reflected in these charts.

Indie Rock wasn’t ignored. Good small bands are basically invisible in this world of $300 concert tickets and boomer-driven CD sales. (I know I was priced out of going to see The Police, virtually the only band of that ilk I’d ever want to see.) The world of KEXP and Pitchfork is still figuring out how to operate. There are no good answers. Being inventive helps, but the long slog seems to be an enduring reality.