No Video Links Allowed Anymore?? WTF!

[Johnbee]

Sorry I seemed to have hit a raw nerve among some of the regulars here. . It was just a bit of a shock though, but I usually upload MP3s anyway so it's no big deal.  Having said that, I  used to enjoy the jukebox feature very much.  I think it's interesting to go back on some of the tunes I posted 10 plus years ago. There are some things on my jukebox that I haven't heard in years and it's kinda neat to revisit what I was doing back then.  My feelings have changed over the past few years though. For many years I posted my songs on Soundclick and always allowed free downloads. I  really thought it was cool to think that there were at least a small handful of people in the world  enjoying my music on their iPad or other devices.  Then, a few years ago some idiot on one of the other music sites thought it would be acceptable to download my stuff, load it into their DAW and take liberties with it and desecrate it without my knowledge or permission.  It wasn't many-just one or two but it was enough to make me paranoid enough to decide to go stream only. Now, I don't really mind the jukebox here and I accept the fact that when I upload here it goes on my jukebox.  You people here I could never imagine would stoop so low as to abuse someone else's work like that. I  won't name the forum here but it still exists to this day and just recently someone there took liberties with my lyrics.  This is why I'm paranoid to allow anybody access to my music beyond streaming.

JB

[Ted]

Then, a few years ago some idiot on one of the other music sites thought it would be acceptable to download my stuff, load it into their DAW and take liberties with it and desecrate it without my knowledge or permission. ... This is why I'm paranoid to allow anybody access to my music beyond streaming.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. A long time ago – back when this site was called BossBr.net – Tharek swore he saw a video for my song "Anarchist Heart," (not this one). He even described the video in detail. I got a little obsessed and flattered. I never did find or see the video. But my main concern was that someone might be profiting from my music, because I sure as hell wasn't.

Anyway: I get it.

If I really wanted to monetize my music, I wouldn't post it here – or I'd post super low bitrate versions, or demo versions, or some other degraded version of the actual product.

And I also get why posting YouTube videos (without an MP3) goes against how this community works. If that's "hitting a nerve" then it's not a particularly sensitive nerve.

Funny story: Years ago (maybe before MP3s were invented) I met Cameroonian musician named Prince Afo Akom who was about to release a new album on cassette. He was kind of paranoid about giving me an advance copy. He knew that he would make most of the money off of his cassette the day of the big release event, and after that tape duping decks would ensure that he'd never make any money off selling his cassettes again. But he had a backup plan: He actually sold advertising space in the middle of some of this songs. So, right in the middle of a catchy makossa dance song Afo Akom starts talking about a great place to buy tires in Bamenda. It was hilarious. If I had an MP3 of that song, I would unironically upload it to this thread.

So there's an idea: Right in the middle of your song announce "For high-bitrate version of this song, without interruption, please visit my page on BandCamp."

It's just the reality of creating and sharing music today. The only way to prevent your music from being appropriated is to never share it. Streaming-only won't stop your music from being snatched by someone who wants to snatch it. Nothing will, short of withholding it entirely.

I have a friend – the best songwriter I know in fact – who takes this strategy. It's a shame. Rather than risking losing a little (or a lot) of control over his music, he gives his music no exposure at all. He plays small venues in the town where he lives. I don't have a recording of a single song of his. The world is poorer because his songs aren't out there for us to experience.