new music industry?

stumbled across this new site today. it's operating as a portal to serve musicians and fans, much in the same way as the old record industry used to operate, only in reverse!!! if you want the full story, you really have to check out the site and read the (extensive but easy to read) FAQ. if you just want the meat & potatoes then then here we go:

now for non-musicians: fans can also buy & sell thier share in various bands (at a freely determined market rate), start their own labels (promoting & selling any content) and get paid for reviewing tracks.

check it out - I'm toying with the idea of releasing my next album on there, unless I find a catch in the small print (and the f*cking music industry is littered with small print).

www.slicethepie.com

but enough worrying about selling the stuff, I'd rather be making it... was in the studio today - undertook a remix for a mainland pop artist but more interestingly I'm mixing the next album for west African blues-roots-rock singer thierry nkeli faha and his band. managed to rough mix 5 songs yesterday and got 5 more to do tonight... it's impossible to do a good job of mixing if you spend less than 2 days (3 days ideally, with a week long break somewhere in between days 2 and 3), so these mixes were just to hack off the crud which collects during a recording session and sketch out a rough sound for each tune so the guys get a feel for the recording. all good stuff - was really great being able to mix a real brass section, real drummer, real bass player and guitarists and percussionists - none of whom needed any 'fixing' or timing & pitch tweaks - a complete world away from mixing pop which is often pitch perfect MIDI (fake) performances stabbed in by producers like me then replayed ad infinitum by machine, only to have utterly non-pitch perfect 'artists' wailing over the top.

great musicians, no click, one take, boom. that's the way it should be done. and talking of great musicians, my good friend and sidekick-in-future-world-domination Q arrived in town today... glad to have you back fella.