I’m not sure what happened, but it seems like I took notes for a short essay that I wanted to write for Netlabel Day 2016, but never got to it. But the notes seem to be quite to the point. So I’m simply leaving this here. Enjoy.

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Netlabel Day means
– freedom from the middlemen
– low production costs for bedroom producers
– asking ourselves what does the value of music depend on
– asking ourselves what platforms do we use for distribution

This has nothing to do with the physical media and wonderful sound of the vinyl.
This is not against the right that musican should be able to earn a living with their music.

Netlabel Day means this: music being at the center stage with help of digital distribution networks embracing the idea that information and artistic expression wants to be freely distributed.

This is about re-evaluating platforms like iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music. This is about re-evaluating how much of a slave each and every musician is to the music industry, to commodification of music, to the capitalism and exploitation.

This is not about the idea that everything should be free and costless while still costing many hours of work. It’s about thinking about in what system do we work and create, how this system forces us to sell our own work and ourselves and how free online access to music bypasses such systems.

It’s also an opportunity to think about how democratisation of taste and free access to all cultural works at any time from everywhere is really beneficial and how it is hurting creators & musicians.

Netlabel Day offers us an opportunity to think about the world of musical creativity and its distribution, which is far from simple black or white, good or bad.