Dependent Records
February 11, 2008
Wow, supposedly Stefan Herwig has shut down Dependent Records and posted all the albums to The Pirate Bay. Torrents here.
UPDATE: It seems that this isn’t true. The torrents are there, but Herr Herwig didn’t have anything to do with them.
My first thought was captured early on in the comments: Did he ask his artists? If not, he’s a schmuck (even if their contract allows him to do this).
I hope the argument that “pay if you want to” and other Internet models ultimately help the artists pan out, but I’m skeptical. Time will tell, especially since that’s the direction of inertia.
The worst that happens is bands go back to having to make their money off the club circuit. It’s not like music is going to die, at least not as long as humans are around. :)
If you can’t beat them…