Copyfight and an interview with Larry Lessig and Ken Waagner
Thanks to Dan Gillmor for reminding me about the excellent Copyfght blog.
Here we'll explore the nexus of legal rulings, Capitol Hill policy-making, technical standards development and technological innovation that creates--and will recreate--the networked world as we know it. Among the topics we'll touch on: intellectual property conflicts, technical architecture and innovation, the evolution of copyright, private vs. public interests in Net policy-making, lobbying and the law, and more.
And thanks to Copyfight for pointing out this interview in the Chicago Tribune with Larry Lessig and Ken Waagner, who "oversees all things online for the Chicago band Wilco." (free registration required - why do all the newspaper sites require registration? what do they actually do with that information that is helpful to them?).
Waagner: I wouldn't tell a band that I worked with at this point to sign to a major label ever, but I don't think I have since 1987. I don't really think that what you get out of it is really worth what goes into it and the headaches; there are so many variables.
I operate under the assumption, I always have, that unless you've sold 100,000 records independently, there's no point in signing to a major. Because you have about a six-week window where people will pay attention to you at the label, and if you haven't sold 100,000 records in that period, it's a pretty good chance no one's ever going to pay attention to you again.
The Internet provides you the opportunity to do what record companies don't, which is artist development. It gives you the opportunity to spend a couple of years honing your craft.
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