Should All Ska Music Be Free? Two Sides Of The Same Coin

Here is something I am undecided about: “What to make of free Ska music offers on the Web?” That’s why I asked two experts on the subject for their opinions: a label owner and a blogger. As you can imagine they have views very different from one another. But there is evidence that both love Ska music as much as you and I do. I asked Matzge Broeckel from the much acclaimed German Ska label “Pork Pie” (more than 20 years and still running), and I asked the blogger and devoted sharer of Ska music, toneandwave, about the realities of music distribution today. You find links to the interviews below.

One thing that kicked off the two interviews was:

Before our first split in 1991, my former band The Braces released two albums, “Prime Cut” (1989, Unicorn Records) and Blue Flame (1990, Pork Pie Records). They have not been re-issued. Even if you wanted, you couldn’t buy them any longer. One day I found posts on toneandwave.blogspot.com offering links to free downloads of the album tracks. My first reaction was: Not liking it. What if we put into practice our vague idea of releasing a “Best Of” album one day? Any plans to offer mp3s of our old songs for sale also seemed obsolete after that discovery. Not that anything to that extent had been planned.

Then something else happened. Looking around toneandwave I was led to other rare Ska music from the 1980s. And using toneandwave’s blogroll even more sites with exciting music could be found. In the next months I had many pleasureable moments listening to wonderful podcasts and mp3 collections. I simply loved liamska’s post with demo versions of Dexy’s Midnight Runners songs, and stored rare stuff from different 2 Tone-bands taken from Sonchey’s “Life In Monochrome” just in case. The list of sites with links to free and unheard of Ska music is always growing.

These websites and their authors do the Ska scene a great service. With their enthusiasm and expertise they lead fans of Ska music to great tracks, they promote this music. Still, it could be argued that the abundance of free offers on the Web might lead to the idea that there is no need to pay for anything.

What are the consequences of all these free offers? If I remember correctly The Braces paid the equivalent of 15.000 Euros to record our second album in 1990. We had to play a lot of shows to earn that money. And, of course, the plan was to sell the records at the upcoming shows to leave the red figures again. Not sure whether that worked out, but that’s another subject. Today I see bands offering downloads of their own NEW recordings for free. Is that a good way to cope with the developments of the last years? Is recorded music not more than a promotional tool today, like music videos used to be?

What about the music labels? What is their place in this new order? Some have already died (most notably and bemowned Rob Hingley’s Moon Records), some had to change their business model quite a bit to survive. In the interview Matzge laid open how he sees the new role of Ska labels, “as competent consultants and service providers for the bands and as a brand for the fan that gives orientation…”.

If I wanted to sound melodramatic I could go on: “Will these developments one day prevent bands from recording exciting new songs?” And: “Will that again lead to the death of the Ska scene (among other scenes)?”

Or: “Will the “fall” of the record labels ultimately help the musicians to take control?” which would more be along the lines of the sharers’ view.

You get what I mean. Many questions come to mind. After reading the interviews with Matzge and Toneandwave some will be answered, some new ones can be asked.

Most of all I would like to know: How do you see the situation? Use the comments or contact me via mail. Maybe there will be more interviews to follow up.

Interview with Matze Broeckel from Pork Pie

Interview with Toneandwave