A while back we talked about a massive crackdown by the Justice department on websites suspected of trafficking in pirated movies and music. The NYT has an article today about what could be seen as collateral damage in those attacks. Some very well known music blogs were shut down around Thanksgiving and are still not back up. The site OnSmash.com was posting plenty of unlicensed material but at the same time it was often getting that material from artists or labels in an intentional leak to build buzz and excitement. It’s another case of the music industry trying to adapt not just to the technology of file sharing but the culture behind it.
The article contains a quote that is more nuanced that one might expect from a guy with the name Fabolous: “It’s a double-edged sword,” Fabolous said. “It’s a great, great promotional tool to get whatever you’re trying to get out to the masses. But on the other side it is a little bit of piracy, because sometimes it’s not always stuff that’s given — there’s certain things that are taken.”