For a long time now I've been a fan of various MP3 blogs. To me, they're a chance to discover new bands being championed by music lovers around the world that are even geekier than I am about their new favorites. On my computer I have bookmarked over 50 of them that I check pretty regularly. Recently however I noticed that a large majority are all "pushing" the same bands: Arctic Monkeys? Check. Hot Chip? Check. Spank Rock? Jesus, I can't get away from them.

Maybe it's because everyone is all atwitter about the same bands they saw at SXSW, or maybe it's just because it's a slow music month, but I began to suspect that a good majority of the content of these blogs are being supplied by the same indie publicity people or even covertly being run by certain labels themselves. If this is true it makes me a little sad because I really had thought that a large majority of these are being run by people who are passionate about new music and not by people who are intent on finding new ways to direct high streams of internet traffic to their websites, thereby increasing their chances at lucrative advertising dollars.

Anyways, I just wanted to see what the Obners thought about this. Here's what the guy from One Louder has to say about it:

Full Disclosure: Who's Being Promoted and Who's Promoting It

It's no secret that if you run a music blog of any note, promotion companies will offer to supply you with the latest news, free CDs, tickets to shows, MP3 streams, contests and other wares. Who doesn't like free stuff? If you happen to already like the band, even better. You just want to help your favorite bands get heard. Everyone wins. So what's the problem?

Blogs operate under the premise of having an uncorrupted opinion, free of manipulation or avarice. Take away this independence and blogs risk becoming nothing more than press release mouths for corporations who have long recognized the value of uninfluenced, "nine out of every ten doctor recommends"-type advocacy. Promoters want real fans to talk up bands. Bloggers achieve what a PR release could never do, speak with the voice of a loyal supporter who promotes the music because it's good.

There's a term for this type of influence peddling: payola. But for bloggers, there's no cash exchanging hands directly. For some, the immediate payoff is ego building. If you're breaking the news (supplied by PR releases), going to all the hot shows (with free tickets), offering exclusive contests (with prizes supplied by promoters), then you are seen as an insider, a source. Do it well, build an audience and watch your site traffic numbers explode. If you get enough page views, why not make room for a little discrete advertising to help pay the server bills?

The relationship between bloggers and the labels they promote directly or indirectly is one of convenience. The promo companies provide the pipeline of addictive freebies while the blogs provide the street credibility. Bloggers are free to pick and choose which promo opportunities they want to take advantage of. Don't like The Living Things? Well, there is a She Wants Revenge email coming right around the corner. Don't like them? How about some Grand National or We Are Scientists?

Take as many freebies as you like, but there's an unwritten and unspoken deal being brokered. The PR companies hope you'll spread some positive word of mouth in return for their charity. To me, this is the crux of the problem. How do you discern whether someone is being honest in their praise or is just paying back the free tickets? I have always believed and will continue to believe that the majority of people put tremendous unpaid effort into maintaining a blog, simply out of love for music. It's not hard to see, however, the line between being an sincere fan and a shill can easily be crossed.

I realize this post is being written by someone who has dipped occasionally into the promo goodie bag and will likely do so in the future. Feel free to call me a hypocrite. But in the perhaps vain pursuit of honesty, henceforth it will be my policy to be completely forthright about graft. Once a week I will list the bands being pitched by promotion companies and what was being marketed (i.e. new album, tour dates, etc.) Additionally, within posts I will disclose if freebies, such as tickets, were accepted and used by myself.

I'm sure that there's plenty of under-the-table activity between blogs and labels, but I don't think that is the most likely explanation for this effect. Blogs can only legally post any copyrighted song with the permission of the copyright owner. Even if a band posts an MP3 on their site, free for the taking, blogs are not legally free to distribute the song without express permission. So there has to be some relationship there in order for the blogs to stear clear of liability. In many cases, I'm sure that labels begin funnelling tracks to blogs and that the blogs appreciate that to some degree. Now, if the blogs start getting lazy and fail to seek out mp3s that they AREN'T getting from labels, then hopefully people will start going somewhere willing to put in the time.

What I'd like to see is more support for tiny independent labels and unsigned acts that normally would have almost no chance to be heard otherwise. In any case, I hope that the bloggers only post stuff that they like rather than feel pressured to offer whatever a larger company is pushing them to distribute in exchange for freebies or tickets. We all know that thanks to evil media conglomerates such as Clear Channel, pay to play is a stone cold reality in the radio world and I'd hate to see these mp3 blogs go the same way.