There seems to be something in the air because this holiday season brought out a ton of discussion about file sharing, anti-labels and sampling.

I’ve had a quite a few discussions on file sharing with friends and family in the last few days. I think this is as concise as I can get it:

1. I bought a CD and you come over my to house. I play it for you even though you didn’t pay for it.
2. I lend you the CD. You listen to it when I’m not in the room.
3. I lend you the CD and you have 50 people over for a party but (totally understandably) I’m not invited. You play the music for the 50 people.
4. I post the music online and 50 people stream it.

One of these points above will get me prosecuted and fined. I’m sorry but it all strikes me as bogus, absurd and arbitrary.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Veen is having “The Discussion” about the uselessness of big record labels.

It turns my stomach to read comments that repeat the line about how much promotion major labels will do for emerging talent. The Big Lie perpetuated yet again.

Thank heavens there are some in the younger generation of musicians who are finally getting over the pie-in-sky billion $$$ payoff rock-hip-hop-star fantasy that the record companies dangle in front of them on the way to teaching theses kids how to cannibalize their own artistic future. Three words: Magna Tune .com.

And finally: Here comes the sampler’s dream search engine from Creative Commons where all (OK, most) music is free to sample. Legally. The ultimate Fuck You very much to the RIAA goons.