After Putting Mixtape Creators In Jail, Universal Realizes It Needs Mixtapes

from the produce-your-own-crappy-ones dept

Mon, Aug 20th 2007 11:26am — Mike Masnick

Remember back in January, when a SWAT team, at the direction of RIAA officials, raided the studio of a well known DJ and mixtape artist in Atlanta? This seemed like quite the overreaction to a system that had been known for its successful promotion of many RIAA-backed artists. However, after the DJs were arrested, the entire market was on notice and many mixtapes stopped showing up in the marketplace. In other words, many new acts lost a valuable channel for promotions. So what's a record label like Universal Music to do? Apparently start making its own mixtapes with some DJ that no one's ever heard of. Despite throwing the competition in jail, it seems that this attempt to coopt the mixtape space isn't working very well. The first Universal-backed mixtape has sold less than 6,000 copies since being released over a month ago and many record stores have very little interest in carrying it. Next time, perhaps the RIAA folks will ask the record labels they represent before throwing one of their biggest promoters in jail.

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Filed Under: djs, mixtapes, record stores, riaa
Companies: riaa, universal music

18 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 20 Aug 2007 @ 11:51am

"Next time, perhaps the RIAA folks will ask the record labels they represent before throwing one of their biggest promoters in jail."

Perhaps...

or perhaps the RIAA will do what they have been doing for the past several years and throw the book at anyone who even thinks of sharing music via mixtapes (or mash-ups for that matter) ...or via others in the same room/car/area listening to music that was only purchased one-time (once) and not per-listener (many times).
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One Love, 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:04pm

MAFIAA
I just can't wait until these losers go bankrupt or whatever. Cynical, hypocritical, the parallel to the current Bush Admin is mind boggling.

So...Much...Fury...Can't...Write...

*throws up hands and hits 'submit'*
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Casper, 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:07pm

Re: MAFIAA
I just can't wait until these losers go bankrupt or whatever. Cynical, hypocritical, the parallel to the current Bush Admin is mind boggling.

So...Much...Fury...Can't...Write...

*throws up hands and hits 'submit'*

Someones a little frustrated. Take a deep breath and come back when you make a little more sense.
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lar3ry, 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:07pm

Perhaps the RIAA will ask?
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

The RIAA? Ask?

They don't ask. They sue. They hire SWAT teams. They punish little old ladies, struggling students, and innocent housewives. They strangle kittens, club baby seals, and pull the toes off three-day-old infants. They don't care, and they never will.

The RIAA has never learned from any of its mistakes, and it has made quite a boat load of them. Do you really, REALLY, think that they will "ask the record labels they represent" before doing anything?
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SPR, 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:08pm

Re: MAFIAA
"I just can't wait until these losers go bankrupt or whatever. Cynical, hypocritical, the parallel to the current Bush Admin is mind boggling."

It's amazing how an asshole like you can bridge any chasm on any subject to turn it into political commentary!!
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RIAA, 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:12pm

Re: Perhaps the RIAA will ask?
We've made mistakes, you must be mistaken. The courts may not always agree with us but that's because they're a bunch of doo-doo-heads.
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Killer_Tofu (profile), 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:34pm

Re #5 & General
@#5: Its amazing you even acknowledged that part of the comment and made your own reply just about it.

Along the lines of them asking before doing something.
Ha.
Like they asked Nine Inch Nails about the songs Reznor specifically released for free to promote his album before it was out before they started sending threatening letters to those hosting the songs.
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SPRiaa, 20 Aug 2007 @ 12:48pm

RE #5 (SPR)
You are mistaken if you think that the RIAA's campaign _isn't_ political! Politics is not only about government, after all ... it is also about manipulation to obtain control, power, and money.

Both the RIAA and politicians use political maneuvering to achieve their ends. Of course, the best ones do so without drawing attention to that fact, unlike the RIAA and our politicians! :-)

And, oh yeah, in the future I'd suggest you don't start off with insults... it undermines the point you're trying to make ;-p
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Jezsik, 20 Aug 2007 @ 1:44pm

You don't understand ...
... it's not about making money - it was never about making money - it's about exercising CONTROL.

No, I don't understand that either, but that's how the RIAA thinks.
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Eoghan, 20 Aug 2007 @ 1:51pm

Well, It might make some difference
One must consider that if they find themselves severely out of pocket because they hired a nobody to do a job that a somebody did better, they might learn from that. The thing to consider is why the original DJ's got their name, they are good. A nobody is a nobody, (I should know, I'm a nobody dj). On the plus side, I live in Ireland, so they can't get at me without a lot of pain on their part. If they do come for me, I'll gladly go too, just because they wasted so much time.

Remember the "Radio Taping is Killing the Music Industry" campaign back in the day and remember, they will survive and so shall we.
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Larry, 20 Aug 2007 @ 2:42pm

I just realized...
Ya know, I have this guy drives down my street every evening BLASTING crappy music. Maybe instead of calling the cops or shooting holes in his subwoofer, I should call the RIAA and let them know that he is "sharing" his music with the neighborhood.

Ah, they'd probably MAKE him play some new mashup everyday for the free advertising.
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Avatar28, 20 Aug 2007 @ 3:00pm

That's a great idea, Larry. Seriously, find out where he lives and tell them he's giving public performances of it (which he technically is). See if they send a SWAT team to steal, er confiscate his radio.
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Sanguine Dream, 20 Aug 2007 @ 3:04pm

Well not quite...

Apparently start making its own mixtapes with some DJ that no one's ever heard of.

The fact that said dj is an unknown had nothing to do with it. Even Tiesto, Oakenfold, and Moby were nobody at some point. The problem is the RIAA tried to strong arm the competition and then plant their own dj on the scene. If corporations would stop trying to create word of mouth and buying street cred we would all be better off.
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Anonymous Coward, 20 Aug 2007 @ 3:33pm

Re: Well not quite...
Even Tiesto, Oakenfold, and Moby were nobody at some point. They were always somebody, you just didn't find out about them first.
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Streaker, 20 Aug 2007 @ 6:21pm

Re: MAFIAA
Ah... the irony of someone who signs their posts with the 'nym "One Love" being so deranged by anger and hatred is absolutely delicious.
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Sanguine Dream, 20 Aug 2007 @ 7:29pm

Re: Re: Well not quite...
My point is that no act starts off as a household name in their respect genre. It's not like Moby created one beat and woke up the next morning an international sensation.
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PaulT, 21 Aug 2007 @ 2:23am

Re: Re: Re: Well not quite...
Sanguine,

I think that the issue that people are trying to point out is that there was an existing mixtape channel with name DJs promoting up-and-coming acts. However, these 'names' were arrested and Universal has been trying to imitate the culture they shut down.

Remember, this is about hip-hop mixtapes not trance and house DJs (so comparisons to Moby, Oakey, etc. are moot). The original scene depended on trusted DJs promoting unknown acts. Now they have an unknown DJ promoting acts that one record label are interested in - it's not going to work in the same way, even if the DJ becomes a 'name' in his own right.
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Sanguine Dream, 21 Aug 2007 @ 6:29am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Well not quite...
Okay from what I gather in your comment it almost sounds like we are saying the same thing. It would seem that the consensus is that the record labels (or at least Universal in this case) are trying to remove the djs that are promoting the rap and hip hop cultures and are trying to replace them with djs of their own backing. From there I started this comment thread by noting that having unknown djs promote is nothing new. It seems to me that this comment thread was thrown off course by that statement since it is focusing on the popularity of of a given dj instead the fact that the RIAA is running its old trick of trying to build a music scene to its own liking.

At least I think that is what happened here.
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