In the fall of 2005, I was giving a presentation to all the artist managers at Nettwerk Management on the future of music.  We had a very lively discussion about where the industry was headed and how to take advantage of the changing circumstances and marketplace.  Tom Gates, who manages the bands Brand New, MC Lars and others burned me a CD on the spot and said “You have to listen to this.  This track was recorded by MC Lars after reading your book, it’s called Download This Song.  He wrote and recorded it based on what he read in the Future of Music book.”

Well needless to say I popped that baby right into the player as soon as I got in the car and it was awesome.  I listened to Lars lay into the music industry with a chorus that goes,

“Hey mister record man, the joke’s on you/ Running your
label like it was 1992/ Hey mister record man, your system can’t
compete/ It’s the new artist model, file transfer complete.”

I then checked out MC Lars on myspace and found an artist for the future, taking the best parts of the old music industry and combining them with clear thinking and new moves that are going to propel him to success.

According to Tom Gates, “It’s pretty amazing what a 22 year old kid did from a dorm room.  Just in one territory: He’s going back to the UK for the 5th time in one year opening for Simple Plan and then will go back in March for his first headline tour…this all without tour support.  We’re about 6 months from his new genre busting (it’s called “nerdcore”) and he’s going to make ten times as much bank than he would have if had signed to a major.  Then you add in the costs of what he’s spent to do this and it just all points to the future, especially when you compare it to what majors spend on developing artists.  $7,500 recording costs (powerbook+protools studios) vs $250k major label.   $400 photo shoot vs major label $15k photo shoot.  $7,000 video vs $50k major (directed by the guy who did Eminem and just really likes Lars).  Art $0 (he did it and artwerks laid it out) vs $10k major label. Recoupability takes on a whole new light.”

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Comments

24 replies
  1. leanne says:

    mc lars rocks i met him on tuesday after a simple plan gig in nottingham and he was awsome i cant stop listning to signing emo its wkd!! love leanne xx

  2. leanne says:

    mc lars rocks i met him on tuesday after a simple plan gig in nottingham and he was awsome i cant stop listning to signing emo its wkd!! love leanne xx

  3. leanne says:

    mc lars rocks i met him on tuesday after a simple plan gig in nottingham and he was awsome i cant stop listning to signing emo its wkd!! love leanne xx

  4. adin says:

    It’s interesting that artwerks did the layout for him–it tells me that all of the Nettwerk artists really are working together and helping each other out.

    If I’m not mistaken, Artwerks is Bill Leeb’s (Delerium) wife’s art studio–and she’s the one that did all the art for Delerium (Coverart, Videos & Concert cinematics).

    That fact really reinforces what a record label is *supposed* to do–not just make big advances and charge the artists–it’s really a family of artists with a (common) goal beyond making money–making music, supporting each other making music, and helping the community.

    The “Majors” need to start taking notes. Every day Nettwerk impresses me a little more (with the exception of the problems with their download store)

  5. adin says:

    It’s interesting that artwerks did the layout for him–it tells me that all of the Nettwerk artists really are working together and helping each other out.

    If I’m not mistaken, Artwerks is Bill Leeb’s (Delerium) wife’s art studio–and she’s the one that did all the art for Delerium (Coverart, Videos & Concert cinematics).

    That fact really reinforces what a record label is *supposed* to do–not just make big advances and charge the artists–it’s really a family of artists with a (common) goal beyond making money–making music, supporting each other making music, and helping the community.

    The “Majors” need to start taking notes. Every day Nettwerk impresses me a little more (with the exception of the problems with their download store)

  6. dings-14 says:

    the tune used for “download this song” seems familiar
    what song is it used in originally?

  7. dings-14 says:

    the tune used for “download this song” seems familiar
    what song is it used in originally?

  8. dings-14 says:

    the tune used for “download this song” seems familiar
    what song is it used in originally?

  9. holzz says:

    i met MC Lars on valentines day at rock city
    when i first heard that a rapper was supporting simple plan, i thought, meh, hes gonna be crap, rap sucks, but when he came on stage, i thought, fuck me this guy is awesome lol he was so lively n unlike normal rappers that talk about sex n hav naked girls parading around them, Lars was something different, he sang about things that mattered, things that go on in the world, his songs have meanings, and he is just fuckin awesome! i couldnt believe it when i went to the merch stand n he was just sat there, he signed my top ‘holly rocks!MC Lars’. he is a totally awesome guy n he has amazing songs. as you can prob tell from what im saying, i have since become a huge fan!
    i think MC LArs is a legend!
    okie pokie, thats all
    =]

  10. holzz says:

    i met MC Lars on valentines day at rock city
    when i first heard that a rapper was supporting simple plan, i thought, meh, hes gonna be crap, rap sucks, but when he came on stage, i thought, fuck me this guy is awesome lol he was so lively n unlike normal rappers that talk about sex n hav naked girls parading around them, Lars was something different, he sang about things that mattered, things that go on in the world, his songs have meanings, and he is just fuckin awesome! i couldnt believe it when i went to the merch stand n he was just sat there, he signed my top ‘holly rocks!MC Lars’. he is a totally awesome guy n he has amazing songs. as you can prob tell from what im saying, i have since become a huge fan!
    i think MC LArs is a legend!
    okie pokie, thats all
    =]

  11. Yub says:

    The sample used on “Download This Song” is from the Iggy Pop song “The Passenger”.

    Lars is an artist for his time and Nettwerk has it’s head firmly on it’s shoulders, unlike the major labels and the RIAA/MPAA and co, who have it firmly shoved up thier arse.

  12. Yub says:

    The sample used on “Download This Song” is from the Iggy Pop song “The Passenger”.

    Lars is an artist for his time and Nettwerk has it’s head firmly on it’s shoulders, unlike the major labels and the RIAA/MPAA and co, who have it firmly shoved up thier arse.

  13. acert says:

    Way to go Lars!!! Way to hit back at those jerks who only care about money..They have only bought all this upon themselves when they started over charging people. If they had not overcharged…. copying and downloading might not have taken off as easily as it did.

    Once again thankyou for this awesome song man.

    FILE TRANSFER COMPLETE!

  14. Jules says:

    I’ve heard of this guy before. (Gotta love Triple J). I really loved his rap-version of Raven, the Edgar Allen Poe poem. His style is fresh and I admire the awareness present in his lyrics. Good on him.
    -Jules, Australia

  15. Jules says:

    I’ve heard of this guy before. (Gotta love Triple J). I really loved his rap-version of Raven, the Edgar Allen Poe poem. His style is fresh and I admire the awareness present in his lyrics. Good on him.
    -Jules, Australia

  16. Jules says:

    I’ve heard of this guy before. (Gotta love Triple J). I really loved his rap-version of Raven, the Edgar Allen Poe poem. His style is fresh and I admire the awareness present in his lyrics. Good on him.
    -Jules, Australia

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Kusek, author of this book and co-inventor of MIDI music, shared this bit of trivia about MC Lars: According to Tom Gates, “It’s pretty amazing what a 22 year old kid did from a dorm room. […]

  2. […] Kusek, author of this book and co-inventor of MIDI music, shared this bit of trivia about MC Lars: According to Tom Gates, “It’s pretty amazing what a 22 year old kid did from a dorm room. […]

  3. […] Kusek, author of this book and co-inventor of MIDI music, shared this bit of trivia about MC Lars: According to Tom Gates, “It’s pretty amazing what a 22 year old kid did from a dorm room. […]

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