Mat Zo Announces Free Music Releases “from now on”

[Hensmon]

Just saw this post from John 00 Flemming.

Mat Zo has decided to start giving all his tracks away for free due to being disgruntled with only $2800 revenue from his latest album. I’m not sure how to take this, I know plenty of producers that would welcome that sort of income, it would be life changing. It either gives the message this is small change compared to his large fees so he’s not bothered, or that the album didn’t sell well.


I’m not sure this is a good example to set for the next generation, because most of his fans would have discovered him due to the well established label he got signed too and the professional hard work the professional team did at the label. Also record shops are a continuous source of discovering new music, artists and labels, something you’ll lose by giving music away on Soundcloud.

If ‘free’ music is the way forward, then why hasn’t the pop world embraced this? Many tried and failed and went back to an established label where they got professional advice upon all angles of their music, release schedule, engineering, marketing etc.
My advice would be find a professional label that can give you the advice, care and attention that you need releasing music.

Whats your thoughts?

Didn't really think about it like this...

[Qwertz]

Well Mat Zo is already popular enough that he can do that, despite that he most likely already earns more than those 2,8k bucks with just a single gig. Overall just the usual publicity stuff.

For smaller artists i totally agree with JOOF, how on earth is anyone even supposed to notice your music when you don't have it on a label... ?? When i find an upcoming artists that i like than its mostly because he releases stuff on a label that i follow, i really don't see a possibility to make people aware of your music without having it on a label...

[Altair]

Dat's a gud question. Who will master Mat Zo songs? Himself? He got the equipment for it? Will Anjuna help him with dat or they gonna kick him?

There are a lot of questions for this simple statement.

Well if you can perfect the mixdown mastering isn't necessary, or at least that's what this apparent mastering expert tells me.

[Alex E]

Just saw this post from John 00 Flemming.



Didn't really think about it like this...

Lol advice, guidance bla bla a.k.a. Marketing

I think that his opinion is invalid. 2800 dollars is shit compared to the time that goes into making such an album. Giving music away for free is apparently creating buzz, so a smart move. It's a tough market, kudos to Ma Zo for trying something new. Being an artist is something you primarily do because it's fun. We'll see how it goes but I highly doubt it will make much of a difference to his income either way.

About Mastering: Highly overrated skill if you ask me. I think he'll do fine.

[Darren]

Just saw this post from John 00 Flemming.

Didn't really think about it like this...

To me John has legitimate complaints but I think (if you'll pardon the pun) Zo is on the money with his move.

The music industry needs a cataclysmic shift in mentality, particuarly within EDM. Some established players can continue and maintain a relevant number of sales to sustain business but Zo and others are clearly struggling. He is jumping ahead with this move and realising if he gets in early he can broaden his coverage and raise his profile. He is giving up value in product from the move and its a gamble but it looks dire as it is. $2800 from an album is not going to have much impact when it comes to feeding a family and it'll only worsen with the technology shift the world is seeing.

Digital products (songs, media) are currently artificially inflated in value. When there is no extra cost to reproduce, copy and share something other than bandwidth it's value plummets towards zero. 'Appeal' stands out when sharing is easy and the cream rises to the top so I'd dismiss some of his complaints although there is the noise factor to be wary of.

In my eyes Business makers need to get it's head out of the sand and realise products no longer hold the value they once did. Service is what makes money now, just look at cloud 'services', sass etc. Supply and demand economics become largely irrelevant when supply can be made endless. People throughout business are fighting against this track and though there are moral obligations for feverent fans they're too few in most instances to adequately support.

It's time for artists to move with the times I'm afraid, I think Zo is doing this and he'll reap the rewards by making money in other areas. It damages conventional methods of income but they're quickly dying. They're not ways that new entrants to the scene should be looking at either I believe.

Yes the move damages the inherent structure of the music industry but is all that healthy or sustainable right now? I'm inclined to say no, but you can make a whole topic out of that debate.

[Hensmon]

We'll see how it goes but I highly doubt it will make much of a difference to his income either way.

I think that was one point Fleming was trying to get at though. Zo is part of a fairly small percentage that make a killing playing at events and festivals, therefore having the luxury to be able to put his music out for free. The majority of artists would probably still love sales from an artists album, even if they do make a few thousand bucks.

he'll reap the rewards by making money in other areas.

I think the benefits from this can be overstated/overestimated. I think it is fair to say the impact will be short-term (youtube already providing free music for years) and only works for the business models followed by the well established artists that are in positions to do so. I agree that business makers at this level need to embrace new ideas and adapt, but artists in mid to lower tiers still thrive from healthy labels and structure within music. I guess my point is that good business does not always breed good art.

Yes the move damages the inherent structure of the music industry but is all that healthy or sustainable right now?

Part of me is inclined to say no as well! However I recently experienced a nice example in London for 'Record Store Day' where many turned out for street sets hosted by the record shops, with cues and cues for vinyl/cd sales and trading. I also believe Vinyl sales have seen an increase recently (UK)(U.S)??? Discogs have added more focus to sales/trading (succesfully) and Beatport is selling more than ever... Not so sure if it's dying as much as people believe.

[Alex E]

I think that was one point Fleming was trying to get at though. Zo is part of a fairly small percentage that make a killing playing at events and festivals, therefore having the luxury to be able to put his music out for free. The majority of artists would probably still love sales from an artists album, even if they do make a few thousand bucks.



I think the benefits from this can be overstated/overestimated. I think it is fair to say the impact will be short-term (youtube already providing free music for years) and only works for the business models followed by the well established artists that are in positions to do so. I agree that business makers at this level need to embrace new ideas and adapt, but artists in mid to lower tiers still thrive from healthy labels and structure within music. I guess my point is that good business does not always breed good art.



Part of me is inclined to say no as well! However I recently experienced a nice example in London for 'Record Store Day' where many turned out for street sets hosted by the record shops, with cues and cues for vinyl/cd sales and trading. I also believe Vinyl sales have seen an increase recently (UK)(U.S)??? Discogs have added more focus to sales/trading (succesfully) and Beatport is selling more than ever... Not so sure if it's dying as much as people believe.

Paragraph 1: Maybe but I think that if you're Zo's size and you make only 2800 dollars, a smaller artist that also makes less money for a live DJ-ing performance will also make a lot less money on an album, again mitigating the effect in the bigger picture.

Paragraph 2: I agree, except for one thing and that's that this action is already generating more buzz for him right now And he might gain support from consumers who like this move.

Paragraph 3: True, it won't "die" I think, also because DJ's will still need downloaded files to work with, edit, etc. and a lot of music lovers still want vinyl or music on a HD etc. This might change, but it'll take a long time, cloud-services for example really need to be very strongly commoditized for that. But, seeing how iTunes Store music sales growth is strongly declining and services like Spotify are gaining traction, there is (even more) change in the industry coming up. Music consumption is changing, not only because distribution is easier but also because production is easier (that technology has also become much more accessible), increasing supply massively. This means there's a smaller piece of cake per artist.

[Hensmon]

You make some good points. Didn't know that Itunes was suffering. Could this be from a shift towards commercial electronic in the recent years giving Beatport the upperhand and control of the market.

I agree, except for one thing and that's that this action is already generating more buzz for him right now And he might gain support from consumers who like this move.

Again I think this is short-term buzz. If everyone took a 'free music' approach there would be no buzz/respect/promotion at all as it would be the norm. however I might not have my labels to respect or follow anymore (I grow quite attached to some) and that to me would be a shame. I get the impression that a label provides an almost collaborative mind-set for signed artists, driving movements and styles as a whole much more effectively than a solo artists could. I remember back when labels like Hooj had almost cult like followings (A modern example would be Anjuna)...people liked to be partof/follow something bigger than just an artist. I wouldn't want that type of scene to die from the industry...I think it produces more quality music if anything.

[TranceformYourWorld]

Honestly, it's such a shame that producers can't make enough money to earn a living...I mean, it only takes 100 sales to get into the top 10 Beatport trance charts, right? That means most trance tracks are doing well to sell 10 or 20...how do the labels survive? What's happening is that some of the best producers have all but STOPPED producing and are now simply touring, simply because that's the only way to make money...they'll have hundreds of gigs per year, but will release only 1 or 2 tracks...

[daviet]

If this catches on do you think there will be less effort put into productions and we will end up with a lot average tunes.

[Alex E]

If this catches on do you think there will be less effort put into productions and we will end up with a lot average tunes.

I think you'll end up with better music because only the ones that really want to make music will make it, and they'll put more heart into it. I do think you'll end up with less music though because a lot of semi-interested producers won't take the time anymore.

I still think producing tracks is a great promotion tool. I remember when Fedde Le Grand made Put Your Hands Up For Detroit, he suddenly went from €800 to €8000 per hour of DJ-ing. Extreme example, but it definitely shows the effect. Of course, this only works if you make a good track and get it out there. But that takes heart, to both make it and put in the effort of promoting it, meaning that once again only the ones that really want it will succeed. Which I consider a good thing.

[ohcrapitsnico]

I agree with what's been said. I think, however, that labels are crucial to artists because that is a primary way of getting yourself out there. Too many good artists I wouldn't know existed without them releasing on a label I followed. Without labels, there would be chaos. Everyone would be isolated and I think people's fan bases will shrink as an artists reach will drastically shrink. I would guess nowadays, promotion via releasing on well known labels and getting promoted by already established djs is way more important than just playing a bunch of gigs. Ideally, I would hope that the amount of labels in the future will condense significantly as currently there is a glut of people with labels just because they can and it has the effect of drowning the scene.

[Hensmon]

only the ones that really want to make music will make it, and they'll put more heart into it.

What if I wanted to really make music but couldn't support myself financially? It then has nothing to do with heart. Recent example of Bluetech's (Psybient) latest album...he constantly was posting samples and insights into the development of it...he put plenty of heart, soul and time into it. Now he messages on FB saying he cant even cover the cost of the production. Why would he even bother again? If music is free then why put albums out at all. This is his career.

If your producing music for free, only with hope of getting by on booking fees, then you have a market driven by club-orientated tracks and look what that has done for the various scenes. A takeover of big-room sounds which have tainted all the big names we used to love. Desire for money ends up making 'heart' irrelevant...

[Alex E]

What if I wanted to really make music but couldn't support myself financially? It then has nothing to do with heart. Recent example of Bluetech's (Psybient) latest album...he constantly was posting samples and insights into the development of it...he put plenty of heart, soul and time into it. Now he messages on FB saying he cant even cover the cost of the production. Why would he even bother again? If music is free then why put albums out at all. This is his career.

If your producing music for free, only with hope of getting by on booking fees, then you have a market driven by club-orientated tracks and look what that has done for the various scenes. A takeover of big-room sounds which have tainted all the big names we used to love. Desire for money ends up making 'heart' irrelevant...

Yeah or psybient is just too impopular to make money from. Which is fine, niches are fine. I'm only lucky that the kind of Techno and House I started listening to around 2009 has been gaining so much ground the last three years. But working in a niche might mean you need to have a job on the side, yeah. If he doesn't want to make the effort to work and produce at the same time, maybe while building a music career, he might not be the kind of person suitable for that. It's like people who go to university, study something that's pretty much hardly asked for in the job market, and then complain they can't get a job. Work during the day, produce during the evenings and weekends. Plenty of producers do it. Heck, not only producers, look at Luminosity; Dude works, has a family, organizes an amazing event. It's possible if you really want to.

[Hensmon]

Yeah or psybient is just too impopular to make money from.

Maybe a psybient artist was a bad example because it is very niche. However my point was that money can be an obstacle regardless of heart/commitment and also have negative impacts if you take money away from the production side and push focus on the events side. Afterall, if there's no great productions being made then the sets will also suffer. We see this all the time in the modern scene with focus on journey and atmosphere sidelined for energy and bangers.