[enemieslist]

I run a small record label, one that I'd like to think acknowledges all the realities of trying to make and sell music in the post-Napster age.

My problem with something like this is, I suppose, my problem with Talent Shows, or "Vote For Your Favorite Artist!" contests on MTV, or American Idol: the wisdom of the crowds when applied to aesthetics produces inane garbage.

The purpose of art is to expand the human experience. Good bands shock and surprise you, give you new sensations in new ways. The best musicians produce intensely personal expressions of their own emotional reality, to which people with similar internal clockwork respond.

Bring everyone together to see which music they can agree on, and what they will end up picking is the average of all their emotional experiences, the music which relates only the most accessible and universal of concerns. Sorry, but even impeccably-crafted boring music is still boring.

To bring this down to Earth a bit: the future of music is disintegration, not centralization. It makes no sense for me to compete for eyeballs in a crowded marketplace when I can set up my own download site overnight and start getting in touch with blogs that directly address people who like the music I play.

Music will continue to niche down and atomize until there are taste-makers, distribution channels, and a healthy community of artists for every possible genre and sub-genre. My "conversion rate," so to speak, will be much higher on sites like these than it would be in giant competitive marketplaces like the one linked above.

[brandonjrobins]

OurLabel is not trying to be a online Talent Show, or even a "Vote for your Favorite Artist" contest. Instead it is a platform for artists to crowd-source the funding and promotion of their recording projects as well as a service that artists can use to gain support in the production, marketing, publishing, and distribution of their project. To put it in terms of things that already exists, its MySpace + Kickstarter + various support services + CDBaby.

Its not about bringing people together to see music they can agree on. Its about showcasing music of all types and letting people who are interested in, and/or fans of that music support it from start/finish.

[aelani]

I think you hit the nail right on the head with this statement: "the future of music is disintegration, not centralization"

Rather than making another "vote for your favorite," sites like OurLabel give a voice to the fans of niche genres. They can "take ownership" of music they like and be taste-makers, and then be rewarded for its success (even if it's just within a small niche and not a huge pop hit).

[ethnomusicolog]

That is so true. There is a record label, my major company, built around this idea. While they produce great success and enjoyable music. when you listen to it it's like there is a lack of identity. Often times it's like I could have crafted those songs if I had sampled the best part of every pop record of the last twenty years