Netlabels and information freedom rules: WOS moves forward the commons
I’m at the fourth Wizards of OS (WOS4) conference, running in Berlin between 14th and 16th of September. “Information freedom rules” is the title of WOS4 and after the first day it is clear that we are indeed here to discuss the rules that our communities follow - and whether indeed the freedoms that we strive for already ‘rule’ - or not. Rishab Aiyer Ghosh rephrased the title and asked the crucial question: is information freedom by now a mainstream phenomenon, or still a marginal one?
In his opening speech, Volker Grassmuck, WOS project lead, provided the conference’s rationale of sorts, when he described what ‘fun’ means to him: “looking at the world through a filter of freedom”. He also made an important point by distinguishing between the digital revolution in technology that we all mostly focus on and the broader digital revolution that we should keep our eyes upon in the future. It seems that the viability of information freedom depends now on connections between freedom in code and human freedoms.
The day was filled with information freedom fun. Among the highlights was a speech by Rasmus Fleischer from the Swedish Piratbyran (Pirate Bureau), in which he explained how Bureau members are focusing on the reconfiguration of discourse around the subject of ‘piracy’. It’s interesting to see an organisation focusing on the language, and not the technical tools we use, by redefining the common understandings (fueled usually by commercial and proprietary actors) of terms such as ‘consumer’, ‘content’ or ‘filesharing’. Piracy, for example, is being redefined from a social concern to a productive force. Pirate Bureau members believe that the open-ended nature of techno-cultural change makes it necessary to build ‘grey zones’ of culture and makes it impossible, at the same time, to provide simple guidelines for their growth. “Copyfight is about making rules for the unforeseeable,” he said. It is an understandable position for an organisation opposed to overly simplified descriptions of coyfight warriors - yet it leaves me feeling that something is lacking, as alternatives to current arrangements are sorely needed.
In the afternoon, a panel titled “Netlabels: Niche, Long Tail, Blueprint” provided an opportunity for open content creators and producers to present their experiences. This, in my opinion, is something non-creators still do not know enough about. The four panelists were Moritz “Mo.” Sauer, journalist and author who often writes about netlabels; Sebastian Redenz from the Thinner.cc netlabel, John Buckman from the Magnatune netlabel and Olivier Schulbaum from Platoniq.net.
Mo. described the netlabel world as an awareness economy, in which good music garners good attention, with sharing being the basic distribution mechanism. Netlabels work, according to Mo., when self-distribution is the only viable solution; when creators want to build fan communities around their work or create a solid platform for cooperation; and for sharing obscure or difficult music for niche listeners.
Sebastian Redenz from the Thinner.cc label provided an interesting example of the life cycle of one netlabel. Thinner.cc started in 1997 as a “complete nerd thing” that distributed MOD files to demoscene members. In 2001, the label switched to mp3 files, started providing proper metadata and set up a regular release structure. This was a way to build credibility and gain the attention of a wider community of listeners. After 30 releases, Thinner’s artists went on a successful tour - without any previous promotion or distribution outside of internet channels. Recently, with a 10-person team, Thinner became a company and is transitioning to a “new” version - and searching for a business model that will provide profits without alienating the community. Sebastian believes that without profits artists quickly loose motivation - and that a donation model is only a short-term solution.
John Buckman from Magnatune presented the workings of his highly successful and profitable netlabel that publishes music by hundreds of artists working in six, largely non-mainstream genres. Interestingly enough, classical music represents 45% of Magnatune’s sales. Instead of relying on donations, Magnatune sells music files and CDs, offering a sliding scale from $5 to $15, with a suggested price of $8, for an album. One in 42 listeners decides to pay Magnatune and the artist for the music. Songs are also freely available under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 1.0 license - which allows the company to additionally license the tracks for commercial use, which is currently an important source of revenue. Buckman attributes his success to a selected catalogue of artists, the availability of a full preview of tracks, fair prices and high sound quality.
Olivier Schulbaum from Platoniq.net talked about Burnstation, a machine that is a mashup between a Jamaican sound system and a physical p2p system; and is similar to the Freedom Toaster, but is used for burning free content music to CD. Burnstation “brings internet culture to the streets” and embraces in a casual manner the belief that “sharing is good” (Bjorn Wijers recently wrote about the project for icommons.org). The sentiment that netlabels have to look beyond the internet and function ‘on the streets’, was shared by most panelists. Olivier added that there is also a long tradition of indie music publishing that should not be forgotten - and that many netlabels try too hard to replicate the “classical record label thing” instead of experimenting with new models and structures - bringing us back to Rasmus Fleischer’s open-ended redefinition of what digital culture is about.
Burnstation is a bridge between the smooth world of web production and local social gatherings in bars, clubs and streets, centered around the act of sharing. Without a connection to the streets, says Olivier, netlabels will never become a cultural phenomenon, like punk or reggae. Tools like Burnstations are ways of bringing producers and listeners together, mixing up the roles of creators, recipients and re-creators.
During the discussion Janko Roettgers, who moderated the session, mentioned that most netlabels use a relatively restrictive Creative Commons license, which is yet another sign of conservatism. Olivier Schulbaum responded to this statement, by saying that licensing is at the tail end of a larger process of cultural production that should be transformed and opened in its entirety. “Share your lawyers,” he proposed, “and work on creating real communities”.
John Buckman described his experience of selling CC-licensed music through iTunes. Why would a label with a clear anti-DRM stance work with iTunes? He believes that supporters can be mobilised from outside the current community, and thus sales on iTunes are a form of reaching new audiences, and hopefully of drawing them to Magnatune.
The term ‘netlabel’ encompasses a wide range of hugely different projects. There are countless niches in this niche phenomenon! There is Magnatune working in proximity to traditional musical labels, yet trying hard “not to be evil”; Platoniq is interested in experimenting and treats music as a convenient opportunity to initiate discussions with people about what really counts - ideas and values; and then there is a small army of people making and distributing ‘bedroom music’. All of them, if successful, are trying to build communities, often beyond the internet; and so it seems we are moving towards “community supported music”.
Later that evening, in a session titled “Information Freedom Rules”, three thinkers provided us with conceptual tools for understanding free software and content creation. Rishab Aiyer Ghosh talked about the Cooking Pot Market metaphor. Hal R. Varian discussed business strategies for a network economy by revisiting the theses from ‘Information Rules’, a book that he wrote with Carl Shapiro in 1999. Yochai Benkler presented economic and political aspects of Commons Based Peer Production, a subject to which he devoted his recent book, ‘The Wealth of Networks’.
While their talk deserves a separate post, Yochai Benkler allowed me to reconsider the way I think about life cycles of netlabels, the future of ‘piracy’ and many other topics discussed at WOS4. Benkler pointed out that Wikipedia has been running for only 5 years, and in that time has grown dramatically and changed constantly. Then he added, that there is a clear generation shift, with the youth of today engaging more closely with new technologies and taking the roles of producers and are no longer just recipients of content. The Free Culture movement, I’ve realised, is a very young, though extremely vibrant phenomenon. Thinner.cc netlabels, has been in operation for 10 years and is among the longer running projects - but even 10 years is not enough to clearly study its ‘life cycle’. It would do us well, I think, to have plenty of patience when making claims about how free culture works and where it is going. The twenty-first century has only just begun.