This New York Times article by David F. Gallagher, outlines the shift from old media to blogs as a means of generating buzz for a new band.  The article went on record as citing Warner as the first major label to ask an MP3 blogs to play its music in the form of downloadable MP3 files on the blog Music For Robots. It also provides a cautionary tale for blogs attempting to expand within the confines of a major label.  Warner's attempted to circumvent any bad comments by posting several comments saying how their band, The Secret Machines, was "so cool."  When Music For Robots got wind of this they turned apprehensive to future major label involvement, saying that Warner's had turned the blog into something as deplorable as an "AOL chatroom."

This article gives weight to the argument that it would be tough for blogs to retain their independent credibility once they are bedfellows with major labels (conflicts of interest, and downright manipulation by labels could arise).  It complicates my argument that a blogs could truly work alongside labels without being crushed by the corporate steamroller.  However, it does add weight to my point that MP3 blogs have become legitimized by labels as a viable venture in band promotion.  Also , it reaffirms that record labels have now become middle men in the music industry.  If new bands appealed directly to blogs, they could avoid the major label, and appeal directly to an audience--thus beginning their careers, like Vampire Weekend

In this article Andy Greenwald, examines the success of Vampire Weekend, a band for former Columbia University undergrads, who have recently and rapidly been thrust into the forefront of the music industry because of the blog buzz they incurred.  Vampire Weekend appeared on the cover of the February 2008 issue of Spin Magazine, becoming the first band in Spin's history to achieve a cover before they have released an album.  Admittedly, the band avoided sending their demos to traditional record labels, calling the very idea "ultimately fruitless" due to the industry's rigid thinking.  Greenwald uses Vampire Weekend as the poster-child for the radical redefinition of 'success'  in the era of the Blog.  The band utilized this modern-grassroots venue to showcase their music, which with the internet, allowed for instantaneous dissemination. 

This article highlights the growing displacement of traditional record labels by MP3 Blogs.  Bands view the traditional route of label and broadcast radio play as obsolete, so much so that they choose to opt out of the process altogether.  Bands directly appeal to these new gatekeepers who in turn appeal to their audience with a review to the benefit or detriment of that particular band.  Also the idea of redefining success of bands is an important point to my claim that MP3 blogs have transformed the traditional music industry.  The article states that no longer is selling CDs, selling out concerts, or in this case, even having a CD out is a means of defining success.  Nowadays, success comes with generating blog buzz or appearing on a TV show that premiers to your demographic.  Old media now plays catch up with internet, as opposed to the pulling strings, as it had done for decades. 

Legal Outlook For Blogs--Revisited

This article was written by Urs Gasser, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law school.  In this article, Gasser examines the legal outlook for MP3 blogs and whether or not they are prime for litigation.  To determine this, Gasser examines the economic significance detailing blogs' relatively small size, means of musical promotion, their 'niche' clientele, and the short-term availability of the linked files as viable legal defenses for MP3 Bloggers.  Gasser also makes a Fair Use argument for both Blog uploaders and downloaders--citing that the non-comercial status of these blogs and their promotional effect don't have a negative impact on said markets.  Gasser also acknowledges the role that record labels play in the survival of blogs--by intentionally leaking teasers and unreleased tracks.  
 
This article sets up several premises of my paper.  It establishes MP3 blogs as the new gate-keepers of the music industry, citing these blogs as the effective modes of instantaneous promotion.  An important point is Gasser's mentioning that the record industry voluntarily leaks tracks to these blogs--snubbing the copyright law they have sued for in the past.  This point reaffirms my claim that record-labels themselves have taken part in legitimizing MP3 blogs as a means of new media.

In this article, Betsy Schiffman of Wired Magazine, sets out to find out why MP3 Blogs have yet to be targeted by the RIAA, subsequently she declares that these blogs could be a "win-win" situation for all parties involved--including Google.  An owner of a blog aggregator divulges that record companies contact them about promoting bands."  The owner goes on to say that he performs this service free of charge; Schiffman declares that MP3 blogs are not a moneymaking operation.  Many blogs run ads, but these only add up to 75 cents for each hour put into it.  These ads come from Google's AdSense program.  Google reportedly makes 1/3 ($1.45 billion) from AdSense in 2007 alone.

This article discredits the Guardian article's assertion that blog aggregators hurts  the music industry.  If labels are voluntarily seeking out these hubs in order to further their band's notoriety, than they can't be "killing music" because if these labels could avoid a middleman they probably would.  Also why is the RIAA so laissez faire about MP3 blogs? Could it have something to with the fact that both sides are making money, emphasis on the record labels?  They are getting free promo, while bloggers toil simply out of love.  Also could the influence of Google, who has just as many lobbyists as the RIAA, carry a certain amount of clout in the RIAA's unwillingness to act?