We've told the story a few times about how we came about from a daily email to what you see today.
We've heard rumblings from other sites about the idea of sharing whole albums & how it "hurts" the artists.
We've partcipated in discussions about this with various cats...other bloggers, anonymous cats, a freelance writer for a major periodical, and...oh yeah, Neil Armstrong.
Yep.
That Neil Armstrong.
When I first opened the email, I wasn't paying attention as I assumed it was someone else sending in a link/request.
After I started reading it, I realized just who it was.
We've been approached by major and indie representatives but by a "major" artist themselves...nah, that was a new one.
And I'm not a starstruck type of dude because I've hung out with quite a few cats, whatever, whatever.
But to get a compliment and support from someone who's work you look up to...priceless.
Through the course of my convo with Neil & my writer dude, I remembered that the mixtape was the first foe of the RIAA & the recording industry, and how they completely tried to shut that bubbling industry down in its infancy.
Didn't happen.
In the 21st century, it's been filesharing.
If I was a betting man on gonna place a wager on who's gonna win that...well...
The interesting thing is that we've caught flack from various points for posting up whole albums.
Here's a tip - ARTISTS MAKE PEANUTS OFF ALBUMS!
Yeah, the big selling artists do.
I suspect the independent cats make a little something but I doubt it's that "$7/Koch money" Jim Jones always brags about.
But everybody else...shit they die in debt owing the fuckin label for producing their art. Not gangster.
The point is...
1. ...people who download are always gonna download. If they like the album, they might buy it.
2. ...diehard fans who want to hear an album, but need a hardcopy in the retail packaging in their hands on Tuesdays, they're gonna cop whether they download or not.
3. ....hat we're doing is helping to open ears and eyes...of our visitors, of labels, of people who aren't really checkin for music that hard and stumble upon us. We're not geniuses...but we do feel as if we know good music when we hear it.
All in all, our purpose is to bring your attention to new or deserving artists or refocus attention on artist from previous years.
With that, we create what is called a buzz which is hugely important.
So if you want to support an artist truly, go to their shows, tell everybody you know about them, play their shit!
What does that do?
It keeps the artists' names poppin, it makes advertisers look to them to promote their products, it gets them endorsements, it lets concert promoters know that "hey if I book this cat, it's gonna be sold out!"...yeah, do that, and then you'll insure that these artists you "love" get paid.
Ask anybody how much I used to ranted & raved about Lyfe & John Legend...everybody who knows me has a copy of their live work. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that at least fifty of those people I told were at the performance when those dudes hit the town.
If you're reading RIAA...it is what it is. What Shawn Fanning started no man shall tear asunder.
And if you're reading Mr. Major Label Affiliate...holler at your folks over here about some paid advertisting and promotion for your artists and maybe some freebies for the supporters.
But don't bring us any wack shit.
Only that A-1 yola material please.
Sincerely yours
Salute!
Gotty™
Aiight, here's the business and I need everybody's support...all of you.
Seriously, Neil did email me after we ran his mixtape series.
I thought we were about to get clean cursed the fuck out lol.
He was in 100% support of what we're doing. (Whew!)
He only asked a few simple things...
1. Visit his crew's site, 5th Platoon Turntabalists
2. To share the links for the Cornerstone Best of 2005 Mixtape (downloadable here)
3. Sign up for the mailing list via the link below or via there site.
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All in all, if you can do this, you'd be showing Neil the ultimate love as well as us.
So if you've downloaded ONE fuckin album from here, show us love, do us one stout favor and join that list.
That's all we ask.
It'll help us let the rest of the Internet know that The Smoking Section is a positive and powerful voice in this shit.
Oh yeah...throw up a comment,agree or disagree, in the comment's section today.
For more info on how to support filesharing visit DownhillBattle.org
