My MP3 Posting Policy

I got a few comments questioning the wisdom and ethics of posting MP3s on my blog.

I've been doing this at least once a week for well over a year and I've thought a lot about these issues and have come up with the following policy:

1 - Encode the MP3s at 64kbps so that they'll load quickly and the songs will be listenable.  This also means that if the MP3s are downloaded, most listeners won't find the quality acceptable enough for repeated listens.  If you listen to the MP3s on my blog, you'll almost always hear the "swirls" that are associated with low bit rate audio.

2 - Always provide a description of the song and band and a link to a place to buy the music.  I have linked to iTunes in the past but because not everyone has the iTunes client, I've recently been linking to Amazon instead.  I don't normally go to the trouble of configuring the link to compensate me via Amazon Associates for this, but if there were an easy way to do that, I would.

3 - Do not make the music play automatically.  I thought about this and decided that it would be annoying to readers.  So you have to click on the link (or the new flash player) to hear the music.  I have no idea how many readers do this.  I hope the new flash player makes it more common.

4 - Don't post too many MP3s.  I always post a song on Mondays.  Sometimes its a new unsigned artist.  More often its a signed artist.  Those posts are always titled MP3 of the Week.  Every once in a while, I'll post another MP3 or maybe even two during the week.

So that's my policy.  I realize that people think its wrong to play music like this.  I don't share that view obviously.  I believe that I am introducing my readers to music that they'll like and the result will be more music sales.  If I felt otherwise, I wouldn't be doing it.

Comments

[Steve Trouchard]

Aha, by that rational, I should be able to take the Starbuck's brand, twist it a bit and call it Starbux so long as I water down the coffee a bit, not sell *too much*, and print directions to the nearest Starbuck's on the cups. Right?

The flash player is nice - thanks for sharing - but it's still illegal. You should have some contacts that can tell you that.

http://www.riaa.com/issues/ask/default.asp#stand

[M]

Whatever. I say let it all be free. Musicians are overpaid anyway.

[Tony Alva]

Brittany Spears is overpaid, MOST recording artists are not.

I am ambivalent on the subject as it applies to the use of the music on this blog since it most certainly does the artist more benefit than harm. To bad there’s no way for an artist to publicly proclaim their position on “light” use of their intellectual property.

[jackson]

Who is this Steve Trouchard and what rock did he crawl out from under. Gripes-R-Us? Anyone who says musicians are overpaid is not living in the real world. It's a very small percentage that get paid at all. The sound quality of Fred's Mp3's suck sufficiently enough to keep him out of jail.

[Jill]

I like it. (I know that's irrelevant to the legal/illegal debate, but I just wanted to say thanks & I'm enjoying it, and I think you're right.)

[Andrew]

I think that you're doing everything you can to make this a win for everyone, and in particular, for: your readers; and for the musicians who might sell more stuff because more people hear it.

I thank you, and would be thanking you even more if I was a musician whose work was recommended here, or the manager or record label of such a musician.

Is it legal? That's a separate question, and one I won't comment on here.

[brytni spears]

After reading the comments and talking to jackson about it, I still think there's a faint line that's being crossed. However, you're aware that you're crossing it, which is different than those who cross it without looking back. Too many people judge the musicians by saying "they're overpaid" and/or "they don't need it" and/or "they won't know." It's not up to these people, or me, to determine when or if they should get paid for their work. So until the courts decide, I'll stick to not downloading any music, unless it's on a site that only offers music that the musicians have given their permission for. Thanks for the comments.

[Mario]

Hello,

I'm very thankful for the very good hint as regards mp3 as a ringtone in Sony Erickson V800, it works perfectly!
Have you got any way to insert your own message alert on this phone? The alerts coming from the factory are not loud enough for my needs. I will appreciate any help with this.
Best regards,
Mario