<< definitely suspect...how is this web site going
to enforce its domain over the names people register
with it? >>
I don't think they claim to offer this service anymore (ubl.com), I've
discovered. But they still seem to suck (check the site).
<< i think if you're really attached to it, keep the
name. as a single artist, you have a huge advantage
over a band of multiple people, since almost every
band of people breaks up sooner than later, and if
you happen to break up.. well, then the name you
release records under isn't your biggest problem.>>
Good point! It would be hard for me to break up - unless I encountered
self-replicating machine elves with anti-matter plasma-exploding bazookas.
That's why it's best to like one-person IDM acts - they can't break up. The
worst thing they can do to upset their fans is to turn on a dime and embrace
a radically different style (paging Tom Jenkinson).
Of course, there's also the tendency of IDM artists to embrace six different
"noms de musique" and record in six different stylees depending on their mood
that day (paging Plug/Wagon Christ/Luke Vibert).
This speaks to the schizophrenic tendencies of IDM. And is schizophrenia bad
from an artistic viewpoint? No...possibly encouraged. As long as some kind
of boundaries are established.
- Fred