Quote Originally Posted by Morning Glory
Well, I really can't think of anything to say on this subject...
Ha! You didn't think you'd get off that easily, did you? No, Instead i'm going to make you listen to what someone else has to say! oh yeah, and a word on translation. this is dealing mostly with punk bands, cuz the guy whos talking about it happens to be in one, but just substitute the word "punk" for the word "independant", and it's pretty universal to any musician.

"Is it wrong to buy or deal with major labels? What about labels that use
major-owned (or partly major-owned) distributors like ADA, RED, Caroline, Fontana, etc?

A: in my opinion, yes. they are companies. they have one goal, making money and i would say they are exploiting something beautiful. music is magic to me. i love the music i release and it means a lot more to me than the 5$. i really want people to hear the music i release. i don't think the people at warner brothers give a shit. i don't think any DIY or PUNK "business" should ever deal with any of these people. even the smallest dealing is a slip in the wrong direction. we don't need them.

Is a punk band still punk if they sign to a major label? Is there ever a
good excuse to sign to a major label?

A: no, and no. some people would argue this point. but i really don't think, at least not by my personal ideal of what punk means, that a band can be punk if they are on a major label. maybe they have a punk sound but to me a band should have a lot more than a sound to be punk. my house mate, matty pop chart, plays cute songs on his classical guitar and he is punk as fuck. much more punk than blink 182. of course this is just my opinion. i don't think there is ever a good reason to sign to a major. never. some bands try to say that they want their message to reach more people. but there is not one example of that working. i always say, your message gets lost at the mall. the connection can not be formed in a big business setting. a basement show can save your life. buying a 15$ cd in a corporate shop will never make that impact.

What makes a "punk" business different than any other business? Can we agree on what the ethics of punk business are?

A: i think everyone would have a different opinion on this. i would say it's a matter of being ethical. i call it ethical capitalism. no matter how much i would love to claim to be a workers collective anarco business, i am, in fact, a capitalist business. however, i think there can be such a thing as ethical capitalism. obviously a record label works on a capitalist principal since you need a sum of cash to release a record and you want to sell it for more than that so you can release more records. that is capitalism and it doesn't have to be evil. it's really a matter of how much you sell you records for. i's a matter of not trying to make a lot of money. an ethical capitalist business should sell their product for enough to cover it's cost and set back some for future products and help out the bands. since CDs cost 95 cents to 1.60 to make, 5$ is a pretty big profit.

What is the definition of DIY?

A: another highly debated definition. i would say DIY means (to me), being socially and politically aware. DIY means not dealing with larger businesses. DIY means not having a booking agent. DIY means not playing shows that cost more than 5$ at the door unless there are 6+ touring bands or something and not playing 21+ shows or clear channel venues or even venues that have bad politics, like shitty clubs that let racist bands play etc. i would say DIY still retains a little of the core meaning. such as, making your own records, shirts and patches. DIY means not being afraid to take chances and go on tour to lands unknown with no money and no idea of what is out there. DIY means not having 30$ hooded sweatshirts. DIY means no barcodes on your records. DIY means inviting kids to stay at your house and cooking them food and having the same thing done for you when you get to their town. i would like to think that most people who call themselves DIY believe the things i do. i doubt it. the term is used too widely and by anyone with a fucking ******* account. i would like to think all DIY punks have an interest in making the world a better place. community building is the key. it's not the punks vs. the people. it's the poor people and the oppressed peoples, the animals and women and minorities and "weirdos", "crazies", and "criminals" vs. the powerful and rich 5% of people the rule the world with greedy intent."

-chris clavin
How would he reconcile distribution though? I would agree with him if a band is making those claims, I wouldn't apply it to all indies tho.

OEC