Sometimes it's not easy editing and writing a blog that covers the music industry. If Coolfer were just a technology blog with a slight music slant, there would be far more information to share with readers, and accordingly more opinions and more discourse on the subjects. If this were just about posting MP3s there would be no problem.

But there is a problem with finding music industry news online. It's rare, harder to find that it should be. Trade news in the music business is locked behind the media's version of DRM: It's mostly available in print. Billboard is the industry's Bible, yet it puts out very little online to non-subscribers. (Some articles are carried by Reuters but most of what's available online free of charge is pretty lightweight.) Hits has some news (that requires a free registration), but it too clings to its pulp-based beginnings and is too gosippy for the common Joe. It's very frustrating because Coolfer does not want to discuss items that can't get referenced via a hyperlink. Mentioning an article in a print publication goes against the whole point of blogging. (Though I do occasionally quote from the Wall Street Journal and give no hyperlink. That's my exception, because I subscribe only to print and not online.)

That lack of accessible information has helped the music industry lose the online battle of opinion. By being unseen, industry trades have handed over the telling of their story to some of its biggest detractors. For most connected people, their knowledge of the music business comes from sites like Wired, Blog Maverick, CNET's News.com and the neverending stream of Mac-related sites. Objectivity can be hard to come by in these RIAA-hating quarters. Want news with a music background and/or perspective? Better pony up subscription money.

Continue reading "The Trouble With Blogging Music, The Trouble With The Industry Trades" »

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