Some Q+A With Dischord Records

Jason: Now that anybody can easily get your releases for free digitally online, does it still make sense to sell recorded music at all?

Alec: Absolutely. We have never felt like we were simply pushing sound waves out there and have always understood and respected the idea that punk bands and labels represent a community and a conversation as much as anything else. In other words — people like to feel connected to the people and ideas behind the music and there has always been something distinctly impersonal about the digital medium. Social networking sites are clearly an attempt to personalize this space but they still have a ways to go before they can up-end a 12″ LP.

But isn’t commerce a barrier to communication and community? If (now or in the future) an artist can record a quality album on a cheap laptop and distribute their music to fans for free as a digital medium, why shouldn’t they?

They can they absolutely should. I am only saying that we live in both worlds right now and there is not immediate need for every label to roll over and play dead. Also — this digital age has not yet established a medium for all of these artists to break beyond the static. Labels offer a filter and so far that is still useful to people. I am not fighting the alternative — I am still looking for it to emerge.

If people no longer pay for recorded music, how should bands and labels make money?

This is very good question and it’s one I have been asking people to consider ever since MP3s became a viable medium. If the audience is not willing to support independent artists and labels then a worst case scenario would be music entirely funded by corporate entities, and I don’t mean corporate entertainment entities, I mean Pepsi and McDonalds. We are already used to seeing indie bands falling over themselves to pimp their music to television commercials and teen soap operas but if there is no mechanism for supporting quality independent music then it is not inconceivable that music will be entirely subject to sponsorship — a free goodie to go with a six pac of diet pepsi. And you can only imagine the kind of dregs that would come out of that process.

And what’s the best-case scenario for a band or label trying to stay independent? Whether we like it or not, audiences, especially younger audiences, are starting to view free recorded music as a given. How will audiences continue to support artists if the audiences come to expect free recorded music?

We really haven’t had difficulty convincing people to support Dischord music and I don’t see this changing. We don’t rip people off, we don’t play cops and we don’t chase down or chastise people for sharing — and if some one wants to steal it that is their own business. But we do foster a sense of involvement and responsibility between our audience, our music and the artists who create it. There will always be people with a sense of entitlement but that has always been the case and the less time we focus on people who don’t share our values the more time we have to do what we do. In a best case scenario — radical people will do what they have always done and support non-traditional ideas in non-traditional ways and police themselves.

Do bands even have a right to make a living with their art?

I believe bands have the right to try to earn a living with their art. A better question would be — does art made purely for commerce qualify as art? Or, is it simply a product? This is the question that has been asked of every self respecting artist for generations. And it’s not one that can be answered in simple terms of black and white. Most artists work somewhere in the margins.

How concerned is Dischord about the state of the music “industry”?

We couldn’t care less about the “industry”. We care deeply about dedicated record store owners and labels, we care about independent artists and musicians and we care about our co-workers and friends. But this label is dedicated to documenting a very specific community, and reaching out to people who appreciate our values and tastes. If and when this community is no longer active and people no longer feel connected to what we do, we’ll shut it down and won’t look back. Until that day we’ll continue doing what we do, with or without a music industry.

What changes, if any, has Discord made to survive in recent years?

We do the same things we’ve always done. We don’t over-extend ourselves, we don’t jump on bandwagons and we stay focused on our work no matter the prevailing winds.

Why does Dischord not seem to have much of a presence on social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, blogs, etc.)?

I like the idea of music Blogs and it’s their Independence that makes them attractive to me. I do send releases to blog writers by request and am always happy to do interviews and contribute when I can. However, I believe having Dischord, or any other label, get too cosy with any one blog could reduce it to being just another online magazine with hazy editorial allegiances.

As for social networking sites — I believe in people organizing themselves. If people want to create appreciation groups on Facebook — more power to them. But these are money making operations and I don’t think Dischord has any place directing people to exclusive content on corporate sites. This is not a slap at social network users (of which I am one) — I just think they should remain organized by their users and not manipulated by labels. Again — it muddies the waters.

That’s an interesting perspective. You think an artist or label who starts a blog or a Twitter account is creating a conflict of interest? I can see that. But what about unknown bands and labels who are trying to build their community and connect with an audience, especially these days when that audience spends more time on Facebook than out with their friends?

I think every band and label must do what they need to do. But anyone who mistakes a tool for a medium, or a fad for a format, is mudding their focus from the outset. These are simply tools and as long as they are useful to get the job done I have no problem with them. I only encourage people to be aware of the portals they choose to get involved with. I do not trust corporate entities to have artists’ best interests in mind. I do, however, expect them to create an environment where the powerless feel the need to use their services in order to feel empowered.