I’m happy to announce that my new song, OCCUPY, will be debuting tomorrow night (1/28) on CYBERAGE RADIO broadcasting out of Albuquerque, NM.  The show is hosted by TOMMY T of DSBP records, and is one of the longest running Industrial/electronic radio shows in the US.  You can listen in the New Mexico are at 89.9 FM, or via the internet at www.cyberage.cx or www.kunm.org

You can listen in to hear the new song starting at 1am – 6am tomorrow night.  I’m very excited to release this song! It will be available for purchase via the internet following the debut at my Bandcamp page, found at brianbotkiller.bandcamp.com, where you can also purchase my previous album, “Welcome to Postwar USA”, and other goods.

I hope to hear from you about what you think of this song! Thank you all for your support!

-brian

*Disclamer* This is opinion, so make up your own mind

Recently, the FBI shut down Megaupload and Megavideo, both well-known file sharing services. These shutdowns happened under the pretense of copyright infringement by the company’s owners, and the FBI’s belief that the website was hosting and sharing large amounts of pirated videos and music.

Well, this is partially true, I mean, we all know that Megavideo hosted plenty of videos which shouldn’t have been up there; but, here’s a truth – Youtube hosts thousands upon thousands of videos and audio files which contain copyrighted work.  ”How dare he attack Youtube!”, you say; but the truth of the matter is that Youtube is not at all innocent in the world of piracy.  In fact, no one is, if they’re on the internet. We are are all going to come across some kind of pirated material one way or another as we traverse the net.  It’s going to happen.  So, why does Youtube get to keep going, yet Megavideo has been shut down?

Firstly, no website can track all of the user uploaded data which it hosts.  To assume that one could, is silly.  Therefore, to arrest the site’s founders under the pretense that they knowingly participated in copyright infringement, is quite silly.  If we’re blaming site owners for user uploaded content now, we’d better start arresting a lot of people at Youtube, Vimeo, and other sites which host user created data.  Even with a team of people checking videos, and unless you institute a human filtering process to check every video before it goes live, there is no way to ensure that everything uploaded to a site like Megavideo will be legit.  While this seems like a cop-out, Youtube uses it everyday as an excuse.  The law will say otherwise, of course; but the law bends to the highest bidder.  Plenty of large scale media corporations have a stake in Youtube.  None had such stake in Megavideo.

So that brings us to the REAL reason that Megaupload was likely shut down, and that is Megabox:

Megabox was meant to be a music cloud hosting and publishing format for independent artists. Megaupload had stated that they had partners in Amazon mp3 and Gracenote, and were planning to launch the service to allow artists to upload their own work, sell it in a cloud based format, and keep 90% of the profits.  This doesn’t sound like a model that a big record label would very much like, does it?

“But they were pirating!”, you say.  ”They would have done that with music, too!”.  Again, this argument doesn’t make sense.  There is no fool proof way to control user uploaded data.  However, controlling music for copyright would be even easier, thanks to services which can identify a song and tag it (such as that used by Youtube, although Youtube’s algorhithm for doing so sucks BAD), and then mark it for deletion if someone does not own the copyright.  This is harder to do with Video, hence why Youtube still has such a plethora of content not owned by the uploaders.   So, using a tagging and recognition system, copyrighted music could have been found and tagged, while artists could have uploaded and sold their music in a cloud based format in which they would get the most money back over any deal they can currently enter with a digital aggregator such as iTunes (in which an artist gets roughly 70% of a sale of an mp3).  This service was slated to roll out this year, and Megaupload was shut down on January 20th. Does that sound like reason for a shutdown? It does to me.

The shutdown triggered Anonymous’ cracking of the MPAA and RIAA’s websites, as well as the Department of Justice.  Shots fired, kids. You want to see what will happen if you keep fucking with the Internet? You’re going to find out, real fast.

Listen, we all know that piracy is more rampant now, than ever.  We know that plenty of people aren’t paying for things they get on the Internet.  But, we also know that people WILL pay for things on the internet, if paying for those products is easy, fast, accessible and affordable.  I personally believe that $10 for a digital album is too much (and I’m a musician!), and it stops me from buying many albums.  For $10, I would rather purchase a CD from an artist and support them directly.  So, I believe that to sell our products digitally and reduce piracy, we must find a good price point to sell at, and make the product very, very accessible.  Megabox would have been another offering that could have done that.  There are others, of course, such as Bandcamp.com, which make it easy for an artist to upload and sell their works – but Megabox would have been a first in cloud-based music which was easily accessible to the artist.

Whether this is truly the reason that Megavideo was shut down or not, we’ll never know; but the fact is that the FBI works as the police for the RIAA and the MPAA, and major media corporations, who DO NOT like the democratization of tools for creative people to share their work with the world. Why would they? If they don’t control all the ways money can be made from created works, they don’t make all the money.  If an artist can self-publish to millions without a record label, why would that record label stay viable, unless they were to change and evolve their model?  The record labels won’t do that, and so they instead get the FBI to do their dirty work, and do it under the pretense of copyright infringement, which only drives piracy up.  More sites like Megavideo will appear, more material will be freely shared, and you WILL NOT stop this process.  You MUST adapt, or die. The Record labels refuse to do this, and therefore, need to die.  They’ve had their time, and they’ve overspent, underpaid artists, and they cling to a dying business model as if it will someday be viable again.  It will not. It will be the independent artists, doing things without these huge, monolithic labels, who will create the new market.  We are more educated about the music business than ever at this point, and we’re not getting screwed anymore.

I leave it to you to make up your own mind about this situation, which you of course should. I as always ask that you support independent artists, and continue to support yourself, and be educated.  This is how we can be viable and successful, unlike our corporate counterparts, who are currently riding a quickly sinking ship to the bottom of the sea.

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Happy Holidays, ya’ll.  Here’s a techno jam tape I did when I was 16 or so.  Rough, kinda wack, etc. etc. ENJOY.

DOWNLOAD:
brian botkiller – Cassettes and drum machines

STREAM:

December 12th, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BRIAN BOTKILLER ANNOUCES THE “BOT BOX” ANTHOLOGY BOX SET

(ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO) brian botkiller, electronic musician and producer, has announced the release of the BOT BOX, an anthology and collection of his works from 2002 to present.

The limited edition box set Includes brian’s first CD, “The Sky EP”, a limited run copy of the “Against all odds” EP, “Welcome to Postwar USA”, (brian’s 2010 release, the title track of which features a collaboration with En Esch, Slick Idiot frontman and former KMFDM member), a live concert DVD, and a copy of Vertigo Venus’ “SOS” (brian is the drummer In the band).  It also includes buttons, stickers, a t-shirt, and a USB flash drive containing over 20 unreleased and rare tracks and remixes, not available anywhere else.  The music explores many musical styles, including Industrial, Techno, Chiptune, Acid-Jazz, and more.

The box set is limited-edition, and hand made by the artist for each fan who orders one.  As such, the production of the box can take up to a week.  It Is handsomely priced at $50 (or more, if the buyer wishes), and available via brian’s bandcamp site at http://brianbotkiller.bandcamp.com .  brian will donate 5% of All BOT BOX purchases before December 31st, 2011 to a charitable organization helping animals.  In addition, all buyers will receive a one-year subscription to brian’s digital releases.  They will receive rare tracks, pre-releases, and more before the general public.

A video overview of the BOT BOX is available here: http://bit.ly/botboxvideo

As the box set is limited edition, press copies will not be available.  However, digital copy is available for review.

###

Hi Everyone,

Tonight I am DJing for Burlesque Noir, and my band, Vertigo Venus, is playing live to open for Burlesque Noir at the Launchpad in Albuquerque (6th and central ave.).  The show is 21+, tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. You can get tix in advance here: http://holdmyticket.com/event/19988

We will be playing a live set at 8:30pm, so please get there early! I will be DJing all night.

Hope to see you tonight!

I’ve done a guest blog for CDbaby! Please have a read:

http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2011/10/dealing-with-band-politics-why-it-doesnt-have-to-be-so-complex/

Hey all,

Tomorrow, I will be doing a workshop on Ableton Live at QUELAB (1122 2nd st., Albuquerque, NM), for “Music of the Electrons”, a showcase of electronic music creationism and information.

I speak at 7pm, the event is $10, and there will be lots of good stuff about electronic music and other goodies!

From Quelab:

This month, are exploring all things audio. Check out Ehren Saavedra’s circuit bent rhythmboxes, speed control for tape players, and learn how to chop and screw. Snoop on inducted sound with Adric. Trace Norris will be showing us how to make electronic drum pads and integrate them with software. Brian Botkiller will be showing off some of his music creation process. You’ll also get to play with synthesizers, off-the-shelf, homemade and otherwise. Make a simple speaker with household materials and more!

Please pre-register on Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1705018757

Facebook event is here: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212229378798183

I hope you can make it out!

-brian

When are they going to give it up. Downloading music is not stealing because there isn’t anything to steal. There isn’t anything lost and most people, like me, wouldn’t even listen to music if it wasn’t available for free on the internet or youtube. (excuse me, I pay for netflix)

If people truly believe that music and movies are art, then why shouldn’t they be available for free? As an artist, I would love for people to see my work. If I wrote a song and 10,000 people downloaded it, I would be honored. It isn’t about the artists anymore…

To which I had to reply with this:

In response to YRaz:
Er, no.  There IS something to steal, kid.  Do you really think that every fucking musician out there is making millions of dollars, and therefore you get to take all the music you want for free?
FUCK. this is why you fucking idiots piss me off.  You justify your piracy by saying that there’s nothing to steal, yet, when you TAKE that music instead of PAYING an artist that deserves it (and I mean an independent artist, not fucking Kanye West or some shit), that artist makes no money, gets discouraged, and STOPS MAKING THE MUSIC YOU LIKE. The physicality of the product DOES NOT MATTER. What matters is the person who made it, and what it takes to make it. Do you think recording an album is cheap?  Do you think promoting it is cheap?  How about the music gear one has to purchase to make that music?  Or lessons to learn how to play it?  YOU FUCKING GODAMN IDIOT, DO YOU REALLY THINK EVERYTHING IS FUCKING FREE?
For fuck’s sake, PAY for some music sometimes.  it’s not a Commodity right that you’re entitled to.  It’s an art that takes PASSION, TIME, AND FUCKING MONEY to do.  Stop paying $90 a month in fake WOW cash, stop paying $20 to go see the latest hollywood dreck, Stop spending all your money on mass produced, flavorless BULLSHIT, and spend all of $5 on an independent artist (or even a major artist) you like.  It keeps them in business.
If you don’t, you stupid FUCKING MORONS, don’t be surprised when the only music you have to listen to is Brittney Spears.  VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS,  YOU GODDAMN FUCKING BACKWARD SHITEATING FUCKTARDS.
FUCK.

I really can’t deal with the idiocy of most morons sometimes.

Hi Everyone, 

This is going to be our last big show for the year.  We won a contest from Punknews.org to open for THE QUEERS, an iconic punk band that many will be familiar with.  We are selling tickets for Ten Dollars, and this is the only way we get paid, so please, if you want to go , buy your tickets from us! 

We will deliver your tickets to you! You can email us at VertigoVenus@gmail.com, or call us at 505-750-8365 (you can text us at this number, too).  Please consider coming our for our LAST big show!

This show is at LAUNCHPAD (618 Central Ave. SW), in Albuquerque, NM.  It is 21+, and doors are at 8pm.  WE GO ON AT 9PM, so please get there early! 

We will also have NEW MERCH for this show, including new shirts and patches!

For the Facebook event, see here: 

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173867835960232

Thank you all! 

Hi everyone, 

Tomorrow is our final show of the year: 

We’ll be the house band for ANARKOMEDY, a Comedy/variety show at LOW SPIRITS in Albuquerque, NM.  The Facebook event is here: 

www.facebook.com/event.php

We hope to see you out!  We have some great shows coming up next year, so make sure to keep in touch with us! 

We’re coming to a Hot Topic near you! 

Beginning this week, we’ll be getting our CD onto the shelves  of Hot Topic stores in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.  If you’re in or near one of these states, stop in and get a CD!  We want to show Hot Topic that we are indeed a Hot Topic, so your support on this is much appreciated!  Here are the stores we’ll be arriving in: 

As always, we thank YOU, the fans, for making this a GREAT year for Vertigo Venus!  We hope you all are well! 

-Brian, drums