Now blogging on bandbase.com

Today I start as a blogger on Bandbase.com (read my first post here), a relatively new international proliferation of Denmarks biggest music-community, Bandbase.dk (formerly known as MyMusic.dk), where I have been given the role to comment on the paradigm change we are witnessing in the music business today. Not in boring traditional business lingo, but rather from the consumer/diy/grassroot-artist level perspectives that are taking the stage in this day and age - and changing everything about how we all make, select, share and consume music.
As such, I will be focussing a lot on consumers' actual music habits (rather than the habits being forced upon them by what I call the old, established music business), digital perspectives, filesharing practices,  and most profoundly, perhaps, the general potential in network-based thinking. This is front line of the paradigm change we are witnissing, if you ask me.

What's my background for jotting down my thoughts on this broad topic and why should you care? Maybe you shouldn't, but I hope to be able to provide you with some interesting and alternative thoughts based on not only contemplation and theoretical thought, but also through examples taken from first hand practice: Among other, I run the Danish maverick label Urlyd Audiovisual Recordings (www.urlyd.com), which was the first label in the world to use the Creative Commons license on physical records - and secondly I act as chairman of record label association Labelkollektiv (www.labelkollektiv.com), which in its core consist of six DIY (do-it-yourself) labels working to find new paths towards creating a viable grassroot music platform.
In 2008, we launched Labelkollektiv Promotion and Labelkollektiv Distribution, that at present is exclusively distributing the records (primarily vinyl) of more than 40 Danish microlabels (and a couple of international ones as well).
This year, in 2009, we furthermore plan to launch a new department - Labelkollektiv Booking.

In sum, with Urlyd and Labelkollektiv, the main idea is using creativity and do-it-yourself spirit to come across rather than rely on the traditional structures of the music business. It is also about testing new ideas in practice and seeking new ground in a learning-by-doing spirit. I plan to share my experiences in this field through ao. the Bandbase.com blogging role.

As a relevant sidenote, I would like to mention that I also work as project manager of the new art, technology and sustainability venue Platform4 (www.platform4.dk) in Denmark, which we are trying to mold into becoming a venue driven by the same principles as those used in the open source software community - an open-source venue, so to speak.
Furthermore, I am working on a start-your-own-label-with-zero-cash type book and will - if I manage to finish it - of course release it under a Creative Commons license for all of you to use for free. You can also check out other of my rants on my blog Freeform101 (www.freeform101.org), where I comment, scrutinize and/or discuss a wide range of topics in the sphere of media, politics, technology, social justice, art, civil dissent and other subjects.

Format-wise, for the Bandbase-blog, I plan to practise a form of beatblog-style flow and approach, using a heavy dose of link-journalism to send you readers in all kinds of (hopefully) interesting directions in the music landscape of this increasingly digital and interlinked planet. If you have suggestions, comments, criticism or knowledge that you would like to share, then please shout at me - in this forum or on villum@autofunk.dk. Also, I am available for meetups. Currently I live in Aalborg, Denmark, but will be moving to Berlin in August to stay for a few months.

If you came to this post from bandbase.com, then go back there by clicking here - or check out the rest of this website by clicking here. If you came from Christian Villum's blog, then check out the bandbase.com blog.

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*