ED209° decided to make this banger available for free on his mysp*ce since it got bootlegged quick fast when he sent out the promo cds.
Download: ED209° – Karma 360 ft. Imam THUG
Since the Karma360 joint has been bootlegged over the web and is even for sale as mp3s ( nothing to do with me ) then its best for you to get it from the source and download from my page.
For those keeping it really real and supporting vinyl then be one of the 500 and grab a copy.
Whilst you have the wallet open then the P Brothers ‘Gas’ LP is nearly on us … Vivit Post Funera Virtus … ya get me!
Earlier this month when I ordered my copy of the vinyl I sent Ed an email alerting him to the bootleg sites and asking him about what he thinks. This was his response:
Yes G.
On your bootleggers topic … have you seen this :
http://vulguerre.blogspot.com/2008/07/altruistic-hip-hop-bootleggers-vs-money.html
i was going to leave a reply but I wasnt registered so left it. Would have been as follows :
“Nice piece – I sent a few ( like 10 ) CDs out for promotion on Karma360 and one found its way to be bootlegged – now its literally all over the web … I’ve even found sites selling mp3s of the track! I can’t see how sticking to vinyl and download can help – its only one simple step to get them to be mp3 files and then do what you want with ’em. Even myspace you can record the track if its not downloadable and do whatever. I understand the argument that its ‘promotion’ but, as you said, its not. If it was there would be links to buy the vinyl? to contact the artist? Back in the day the ‘mixtape’ spread the word – copied and copied and copied again – but we wanted ‘proper’ ownership of the music – which meant buying the vinyl – the tape was just the ‘menu’ … vinyl was the main course arriving. Now people accept they are happy to not own anything … just a harddrive with some 0s and 1s on then theres no second step ( other than in the minds of the few ) – you have all you need already on your computer/ipod/whatever – I can’t see that you can call independent artists ‘money hungry’ … shit – if I break even it will be a miracle… but I can’t stop because I owe hip hop for all its given me.
1.ED
And here is my response:
Ed,
I find it very funny that you sent me that link because I wrote that.
The actual post is here:
Altruistic Hip-Hop Bootleggers vs. Money Hungry Independent Artists
It’s kind of strange that you found it on what appears to be a news aggregating blog. Also disappointing as it seems grandgood is being de-indexed from google, but that’s another story I won’t bore you with.
Thank you for sending your feedback. My original post was an attempt at sarcasm and subtle advice. I don’t actually believe independent artists are money hungry. I think bootleggers need to take into consideration that independent artists are entitled to some form of compensation. But I also see that independent artists can’t rely on others for their own benefit. They need to act on their own behalf. My advice isn’t necessarily to stick solely to vinyl. It is to use vinyl as promotional tool (the physical product that many people still want) but also to be “first to market” with mp3 distribution. In other words, from my experience, fans of your music that are willing to pay for your product are very interested in listening to the music, literally, as soon as it is possible. They would prefer not to wait around. If you are the one that makes the mp3s available first, then I believe the fans will support you with money, as long as it is reasonabley priced. But historically it is bootlegging sites that have made mp3s available first. Which I strongly believe is one of the main reasons they are successful in their dealings.
Thanks again for hitting me back. If you don’t mind, I will publish this on our site.
Chill,
This is raw, unadulterated hip-hop. Support if you can. Visit ED209°. Cop that P Brothers when it drops.
related:
Audiocast No. 33 ft. Ayatollah, Ed209, Imam Thug, The Roots, Blueprint, D-Day One, Carlos Nino, Lil Sci, Keith Murray, Roughneck Jihad, Mike Chavarria And More
Ed209 + Imam Thug – Karma 360
