In this article, Betsy Schiffman of Wired Magazine, sets out to find out why MP3 Blogs have yet to be targeted by the RIAA, subsequently she declares that these blogs could be a "win-win" situation for all parties involved--including Google.  An owner of a blog aggregator divulges that record companies contact them about promoting bands."  The owner goes on to say that he performs this service free of charge; Schiffman declares that MP3 blogs are not a moneymaking operation.  Many blogs run ads, but these only add up to 75 cents for each hour put into it.  These ads come from Google's AdSense program.  Google reportedly makes 1/3 ($1.45 billion) from AdSense in 2007 alone.

This article discredits the Guardian article's assertion that blog aggregators hurts  the music industry.  If labels are voluntarily seeking out these hubs in order to further their band's notoriety, than they can't be "killing music" because if these labels could avoid a middleman they probably would.  Also why is the RIAA so laissez faire about MP3 blogs? Could it have something to with the fact that both sides are making money, emphasis on the record labels?  They are getting free promo, while bloggers toil simply out of love.  Also could the influence of Google, who has just as many lobbyists as the RIAA, carry a certain amount of clout in the RIAA's unwillingness to act?

In this piece Louis Pattison of the Guardian contends that MP3 blogs do more harm than good, and their 'grass-roots' 'for the love of music' tone is causing a detriment to the industry.  He  begins the piece with a succinct and emphatic statement: MP3 Blogs are killing the music industry.  He describes audio bloggers and music as if they are in an abusive relationship, calling that kind of coverage, "killing it with love."  Pattison showcases the Rapture, a band on a small New York-based indie label who have witnessed a significant decrease in sales since the advent of MP3 blogs.  It also brings in the underlying complications of having MP3 Blog Aggregators like The Hype Machine, who index every blog with a downloadable song of the band you search for.  Pattison says aggregators cause frequenters to develop a sense of "comfort."  Pattison says that  users will not use these MP3s as a means of trying before buying, but use them for a quick fix.

This article provides a contrast to the Vampire Weekend article in Spin Magazine.  For every Vampire Weekend, there are other lower level bands who will not reach instant success.  Smaller indie labels are sometimes hurt by the widespread use of blogs.  Although blogs appeal to a small number of people, the demographic for an indie band is just as small, allowing for a dramatic effect on sales.  Pattison also brings in the implications of Blog Aggregators, that act as central hubs, allowing users to put together a band's entire album by rounding up every relevant MP3 blog.  This complicates my argument that MP3 blogs are a force of good in the music industry, in regards to fans ultimately purchasing the band's music after being swayed by a particular band's buzz.  However, under the new terms of success name recognition, is just as, if not more important than CD sales.