Billy Bragg, Bebo and Promotional Biryani

Biryani: A form of payola in some circles

Billy Bragg’s op-ed on Bebo in The New York Times last sparked a really good debate online, in particular this one on The Stalwart in which Mike Masnick from TechDirt and Billy Bragg himself participated in, which is well worth a read. I’m a fan of Bragg’s music and impressed by his commitment to artists’ rights online, but his argument that musicians should get a cut of the sale of Bebo didn’t make any sense to me, especially when you consider how he got started in the music business.

Billy Bragg got his big break in 1983, when he heard British radio DJ John Peel mention on air that he was hungry. The quick-thinking Bragg rushed down to the BBC studios with a mushroom biryani, which he offered to Peel in exchange for playing a song from his first album Life’s a Riot with Spy Vs. Spy (Peel accepted, but later claimed he would have played the record anyway). Mr. Bragg is an incredibly talented artist who deserves all the success he has enjoyed. But when he was starting out, he was willing to exchange not just his music for airtime, but also mouth-watering plates of fine South Asian cuisine. So what doesn’t he get about the willingness of today’s struggling musicians voluntarily uploading their music to social networks like Bebo to get a little exposure?

I think the reason Bragg doesn’t get sites like Bebo and the value they create is because he’s generally frustrated about artists not earning money online, a point he conceded over on Stalwart, but also because he happens to be world famous recording artist Billy Bragg. As he sees it, “the claim that sites such as MySpace and Bebo are doing us a favor by promoting our work is disingenuous. Radio stations also promote our work, but they pay us a royalty that recognizes our contribution to their business.” The point Bragg is missing is that a transaction between artists and Bebo is taking place, and although no money changes hands, this transaction is as real and as useful to a struggling artist as giving a DJ a biryani.

The terms of using Bebo are clear, and the fact that millions of musicians use it, even though there are social networks out there that do share revenue with artists, suggests this is the case. This is because most artists are not in the same position as Mr Bragg is now. Musicians that enjoy his level of success are the exception, not the rule and this was true long before the internet. If Bragg were just getting started today, it is less likely he would be furnishing DJs with hot meals and more likely he would be happily uploading music to social networks.