Bomb the Music Industry!

I first heard the band Bomb the Music Industry! on the Ska Is Dead compilation, and I was impressed with their fast-ska/punk-with-synth sound. I recently heard an interview with them as part of a podcast that I really like - Sound Scene Revolution - and during the interview they talked about the fact that they release all their music for free, hence the name. The have their own label, Quote Unquote Records, which releases full albums by BtMI! as well as other artists for free and runs through receiving PayPal donations.

Now I'm quite involved with netlabels and such, and my band releases all our stuff for free too, but it's good to see a band get this big doing so. OK, they're not massive, but quite a few people know who they are, and their music is cool. This kind of thing raises some serious questions about the future of music. I don't have a problem at all with people making money from the music that they make - I believe that if you're paid to make music, you're going to have more time and maybe motivation to make great music. But I do have a problem with the way the buying of music is organised currently, so my hope is that as more and more bands start releasing stuff for free we might start to see a breakdown and rearranging of the music industry.

I picked up my new 17" Z Custom Rock Crash cymbal from the shop yesterday. And I'm happy to say that it sounds as good as I hoped it would. Usually when I buy a new crash cymbal it takes quite a lot of playing to get used to the sound, but this one took me about 4 hits before I liked it. It isn't the most distinctive sounding cymbal, but it just sounds so rich and cutting. It does have quite a long sustain, but that's probably the only negative for me. I'm glad I stepped up an inch from what I'm used to; it's loud and powerful, and I can't wait to get back to playing it.