I can’t really remember how I got into creating music, I know it always attracted me. Those sounds, those melodies... It’s nothing but air vibrating at different frequencies if you really think about it. But there is something magical about it, something that you can’t really see or hear... Something which can make you feel the deepest emotions, make you experience anything from pure happiness to extreme melancholy. And that’s what I find so beautiful about music.

That’s the way I found to express those feelings I had inside me. I really liked it, and slowly with time became more professional about it. It has been around 8 years since I signed my first commercially released project, and it has been quite a ride since then. I have been able to experience amazing things, meet wonderful people, and travel in many parts of the world... I have beautiful memories written forever in my mind, and I am really grateful for that.

Now along the way as I was getting myself more and more into the music industry, I could also witness its other side, those things that nobody wants to talk about. The jealousy, people and their ego, the greed, the politics, even the hate sometime...  And I knew I didn’t want to become like that, I only wanted to share my love for music... But at some point I woke up and realized that I - in fact - was slowly becoming like those people I was criticizing in the first place. I did a lot of thinking and finally took a major U-turn, and I’m so glad I did!!! It’s not only about music, but life in general. And my life is so much better since I decided to change.

And yes I have to admit that at some point in my life I have been a very jealous person. I even hated on some people just because “they were having it all” and I didn’t. I had a pretty big ego and have been quite high of myself at times. (I don’t think I was ever very greedy though..?)

That’s the plain truth and I’m not ashamed of putting it in the open. I think it’s very important. Yes, I have done things which were not good; I know I have hurt or insulted few people with my behavior...

BUT I AM NOT THE SAME PERSON ANYMORE and this IS what matters now. I feel nothing but love for people - no matter who they are and what they do, whether they love me, hate me or are indifferent to me.  And this only, just changing what I think, feel and how I behave - it changed my life in a way I could never imagine...

Now to come back on topic with the music industry, I know why I started to produce music - and it’s certainly not to play games of politics and hate on other people who, in the end, are just like me - passionate about music. So I will do whatever I can to NOT be like this. Like for example support good music when I find it - no matter who is the artist, the label and if I have good relations with them, etc…

Many (not to say most-of) artists, are confronted with ego and jealousy. It’s something nobody really wants to admit and discuss openly. So I did the first step from my side and came clean in public. I hope others can be inspired as well and can bring more positivity in their life...

Is it what an artist is supposed to be – a number?  Looks like for most of you it does  - just seeing how artists are introduced nowadays, and even worst: how they introduce themselves… What are the first things you can read in biographies? Numbers, rankings, statistics...

What about "music", "art"..?

I mean if artists like numbers and statistics so much, they should become accountant or something like that, or better work in a bank or an insurance company – they use the very same cheap branding and marketing strategies to sell their loans...

Aren’t artists supposed to be FREE MINDs, free of all those invisible boundaries set by society, creating for the simple love of creating, of sharing with others, trying to leave something meaningful behind?

Apparently not. Sadly.

It always amazes me to see how much shameless people can become when it comes down to money... It’s like when money is there, nothing else matters – pride, honesty or even friendship is instantly sidelined – it just doesn’t matter anymore, only the potential gain does.

I wonder if they realize how sick they look with greed in their eyes, ready to stab anyone in the back just to grab some $$$. In one sense it is quite amusing to observe people in this situation, they always look the same: avoiding eye contact and discussion, trying to cowardly walk away as fast as they can... And no matter the amount - be it 10€ or 10 Millions – it’s always the same dance.

The irony is that when people play this game on me, I actually feel sorry for them more than angry; sorry to see them falling so low for something which is nothing but a simple piece paper – when it’s not only a number in a computer.

I believe we all have a purpose and everybody has a different set of lessons to learn from this life. Avoiding the temptation of greed is a one of them, a very important one. So better start now and avoid yourself the pain in the future – because life WILL throw it at you in one way or another, eventually.

This whole MegaUpload thing is starting to look really ridiculous... And to add more, artists saying “that was the day they were all waiting for” or that “they suffer so much from illegal downloads”... LOL?

Those types of statements really show the mentality of a certain segment of the industry; and at which extent they take their audience for granted. For them it is so OBVIOUS that people want to get their content (because it is so good!).

The music industry today is an over flooded market where there is MUCH MORE supply than demand, so it is really not at all obvious that people will want the content of artist x or y. In fact it is totally against the odds and should be considered like a “privilege” to the artist that somebody will show interest in their content (in such market conditions).

The sole fact to get people’s attention is already a victory for an artist or a record label, it’s the bigger part of the work. Rest is to find out how to monetize that interaction. As Gabe Newell from Valve puts it: “The key isn't to stop piracy, because piracy will never stop. The key is to provide a better service than the pirates and bring them on over to your service.”

And I couldn’t agree more, that’s what I have been doing since 2006 with Frozenforce and I have really no problems at all with “piracy” like they call it...

But coming back on the Megaupload case, other aspects are far from being funny. All I see is a businessman who got his business taken down and arrested without any trial, on the basis of funny charges like “money laundering”, “global criminal conspiracy” (they even refer to his company as the “mega conspiracy”) and the list goes on... What happened to “Innocent until proven guilty”?

In my country, murderers, dangerous criminals and drug dealers can almost operate freely without any disturbance from the legal system (and the police don’t even bother anymore, they’ll get released shortly after anyway – if at all they get charged)... But this man who simply operates his company and do not seem to be particularly dangerous - will be arrested by a giant police raid with helicopters and everything?

I’m not saying copyright infringement is a good thing. But come on, there are more important problems in this world than shutting down an online file-hosting company...

And what about Youtube and all other websites based on the User Generated Content business model? They still make A LOT of money out of millions of un-claimed copyrighted materials (from small indie artists for example)...

There is nothing so black and white, but a lot of grey...

Also see this interesting article, another side of the story...