Music in the land of the deaf

Today Youtube launched a new feature which mutes all copyrighted content (music especially). This is basically to combat all the litigation against youtube streaming copyrighted music. While this is the right thing to do from the point of the law, this could very well end the great music experience on Youtube. The real losers are all those people who built their music applications on top of the Youtube API, people like Audiolizer.

I also sense a great opportunity for Independent Musicians to make an impact now. When Amazon music store first launched a lot of songs which were sold were covers of Famous songs, this did two things.

• Allowed people searching for a song to buy that song
• Allowed artists a way to be discovered for every cover purchased the listener would discover the cover band and their originals.

So what can one do with Youtube, Especially since uploading covers without prior permission is not acceptable by law. Read here and here for more details.

Well, we all agree that playing covers is not the USP for most artists. Original music shows real talent and probably is more satisfying from the artists perspective too. So be smart, Pick 10 songs which are closest to your genre and are most searched for on Youtube (look at the views to get a fair idea). Make a cover of those 10 songs, get the relevant permissions and write them off as marketing cost, at the end of the cover add your original and let the listener know that you make music and would appreciate feedback.

This might be a new way to conduct SEMM (search engine music marketing), Maybe… Just maybe, he will come back and buy your music/ attend your concerts and be a fan.

Get music back into Youtube and this time do it right. Let those IPR folks discover the old business model is done and dusted. People will subvert and find music to listen, while they are doing that i atleast hope the Aritst can win, not the company/ business.