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MIKE BELL:
COLLABORATIONS & THE FUTURE OF MP3.COM
In the first part of Mike Bell's featureSeeLife
delved into the background of the independent dance music composer .. now we
look @ his recent collaboration with SeeLife's
featured artist, Rachel Innes, and his feelings on mp3.com and the
future of independent online recording artists.
Mike ran a thread on mp3.com's
message boards about how people’s nationality is related to the tunes they
listen to on mp3.com, and which of them they most enjoy.
Rachel Innes responded
saying she liked Mike's tune, Beat Girl, and commented that she would one day
like to try her hand at an electronic track.
Mike carries on the tale: "I’d been thinking that often my music needed
some female vocals, I asked Rachel if she fancied attempting a collaboration.
She said 'yes', and Electric Girl
was born!"
Mike says the collaboration proved inexpensive: "After we split the
cost of the recording studio for the vocals, all it cost us was lots and lots of
stamps!
We organised via email, Rachel chose her tune from my mp3s, then I made the
necessary cosmetic changes to prepare it for her vocals, and sent her a
copy of the uncompressed version on CD.
"She recorded a home 'demo' of what she intended, and sent me a tape of
what it sounded like, she then spent an hour laying down the vocals in the
studio, where she also produced the initial version of Electric
Girl, and sent me all the vocals from the studio on a CD so that I could
use them for remixes. It all worked rather well in the end!"
For Rachel, writing and recording a dance orientated track was new and uncharted
territory, though Mike never doubted her adaptability: "I thought right
from the start that Electric Girl
sounded fantastic.
"In comparison to Rachel‘s other songs I’d say it was more light-hearted,
and lyrically simpler, which is exactly what the genre demands. She
handled the increase in pace without a glitch and I think we both really enjoyed
both working on it and the result."
Electric Girl was received
very favourably on mp3.com, and chart-wise proved to be the third most
successful tune on Mike’s music site.
But all’s not well in Mike’s relationship with mp3.com:
"When I joined mp3.com in July 2000 I saw the site as a great opportunity
for new and less commercially viable artists to get themselves heard.
"Even if very few people listen, it makes an enormous difference to know
that anybody in the world could at any time be hearing something you have
created.
"At the time the site was just becoming well known, and was drawing in
millions of dollars every month in advertising revenue; enough that they could
not only host the site for free but also pay out a million dollars to artists
each month based on their chart success.
"This all changed over the last few months, and probably as a result of the
court settlements which the site has founds itself paying for.
"Unsigned artists now find themselves in a position of either paying for
the same services previously offered freely, or forfeiting both payment and
attention.
"Artists are now charged for the production, mastering, and posting of
their CDs, rather than just ceding 50% of the money paid for them as previously.
All this while mp3.com makes money out
of the music provided to them by the same artists.
"There have been many other, smaller and less obvious, changes to the
site, all of which are geared towards sending more money to the site
management and less toward the artists."
For Mike the final straw in his relationship with mp3.com
was the site’s acquisition by Universal, combined with what he sees as the
frequent, quietly implemented changes to the submission agreement by which all
the artists on the site are bound.
"I can’t see it being long before the artists on mp3.com find themselves
find themselves a little less 'unsigned' than they realise, all because they
couldn’t see past the fact that mp3.com
is the only website which pays."
But, on the whole Mike feels digital hosting will offer far more scope
for artistic satisfaction than commercial success.
"This is becoming increasingly the case as the big record labels move into
the digital arena and efficiently strangle all competition.
"The problem arises because even where an independent site like mp3.com
becomes popular, it naturally morphs into a big business, and when a business
sees an opportunity to make untold millions like mp3.com has, then it is
naturally going to take that opportunity.
"Almost inevitably, any site which becomes large and established enough to
be a viable alternative will take on the characteristics of a record company.
"Personally I’ll be happy making music if a reasonable number of people
continue to listen to it, and if that means I end up hosting it on my
own personal website, then so be it.
"Without becoming my own producer, manager, publisher, advertiser, and
distributor (and before all that, of course, a multi-millionaire so I can
pay for it all), however, I can’t see myself making oodles of money as an
independent artist. I guess I’ll just have to aim for satisfaction
value."
On a final note Mike wants to make it clear he's not discouraging new and wannabe
independent recording artists.
"The main thing to remember is to keep churning out material; the more you
do, the better you will get, and put that material on as many music hosting
websites as you can find: mp3.com (if
you dare), besonic, vitaminic,
the list goes on.
"Then swallow your pride and listen to everything people say about your
music. Once you’re happy with your music, learn the most important skill you
can have; promotion. It’s amazing how much attention you can attract simply
with the internet, all it takes is a little savvy, a lot of luck, plenty of
musical belief, and more time than the world contains. Good luck!
Mike
Bell: 2001 An Independent Musical Odyssey
LINKS:
Email: Mike
Bell
www.besonic.com/fleedleflump
www.fleedleflump.co.uk
Please contact:
Mike Cobley
RIB Music
c/o NTD
9 - 12 Middle Street
Brighton
England BN1 1AL
mike.cobley@btinternet.com
![[New!]](images/smallnew.gif) Open Face Track Lisiting And Details - See the CD data sheet for
more details.
© R.I.B Music Limited 2001 &
2002
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