Heh...screw you music industry

[gear02]

Read the following thread on slashdot about a stupid rant made by the Toronto Star.

http://slashdot.org/articles/03/04/19/1749200.shtml?tid=141

Summary: "'We must ask ourselves what Elvis would do to stop the theft of music via the Internet, now so widespread and so brazen that it makes the Baghdad looters look like trick-or-treaters.'"

Oy...

Read the other thread on slashdot about the US Government siding with the record industry with using the DMCA to track song swappers.

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/03/04/19/1647222.shtml?tid=158&tid=103&tid=95

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This made me think (which is a bit scary at 1am). Let them shut down our Kazaa and music trading. You really think that would increase your sales? HA! If all mp3s in the world self destruct right now and no one could download songs, I bet in 3-4 years the music industry will be DEAD. Why? Very few people will shell out $20 for a cd. People will care less and less about music since they wouldn't have much access to it until finally interest would dindle to nothingness.

Think about it. The less supply there is, or access to supply, the less demand will be. Already interest in music is dwindling. There are other forms of entertainment that music has to compete with such as TV (and it's many, many channels), computer and internet, gaming, etc. Charge an exorbant price for music cds, and people will find another interest.

MP3s aren't killing music. The music industry is and they're too blinded on one scapegoat to realize it.

[Jenny]

I totally agree with the dying music industry in 3-4 years. heh

[bachviet]

Haven't bought any CD for a long time.

[Speedfreak]

Originally posted by bachviet
Haven't bought any CD for a long time.

Oh, I buy a lot of cds. Then I fill them with music that I downloaded. :P

[TofuNinja]

I won't purchase CD's unless they are under 10 bucks or I really like the artist. Like Michelle Branch (last CD I bought), I think she is good enough to get her cut of the 10 bucks I paid :)

[johnnymk]

The used CD market would make up for the difference. That would include used new and used copied. :)

[gear02]

Well I'm basically saying that if the RIAA and music industry have it their way, they would die because interest would drop significantly. No one will pay $20 for 10 songs that they couldn't do anything with, such as rip to a personal mp3 player or home jukebox.

[seqiro]

I thought this article (http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0411/p13s02-almp.html) was a very interesting read as well.

I'm all about buying independent artists.

[Merlin]

Bought all of one CD last year - Bruce Springsteen "The Rising"
Plan to buy only one CD the year - Liz Phair to be released in May/June.

And that's it. Sorry if it ain't enough for the industry. :shrug:

[cheapie]

i don't buy many cds cuz i'm not interested in paying $15-20 for something with only a couple of songs that i like. however, i don't download music over the web because i do feel it's stealing.

[Cantacuzene]

If they want me to think their product has some sort of inherent value, then they shouldnt give it away for free on the radio.

If a fast food place gave away lunch for free it would make me less inclined to pay a ton of $$ for dinner there.

[skynet]

Could the fact that most of the music out there is crap be a reason why the industry is dying?

I don't care how cheap a boy bands cd is or isn't, I won't buy it either way because it sucks.

I used to buy Loads of Music CDs, but now it is all that new boy band/crap/techno junk.

If Led Zeppelin was still in production (entire band together) I'd still be purchasing every CD as it hit the shelf, but that is just me.

[johnnymk]

Originally posted by skynet
Could the fact that most of the music out there is crap be a reason why the industry is dying?
I don't care how cheap a boy bands cd is or isn't, I won't buy it either way because it sucks.

I used to buy Loads of Music CDs, but now it is all that new boy band/crap/techno junk.

I don't know what you mean by boy band music, but if it's the garbage that they play at the local gym I go to, I know what you mean.

Talk about no talent misfits trying to pass their stuff off as music. I guess anyone who can pick up a guitar or play a keyboard and can open their mouth is considered a musician nowadays.

I can imagine a kid going to their class reunion ten years from now and wondering which music to play from this era and finding practically nothing.

[Momma Kitty]

Personally, I have been rather unhappy with the recording industry for quite some time now. I understand that it is a business and that the want to make money, but $20 for a few songs on a cd, come on!! I can make a cd with 50 songs on it for ~$2, so where does the rest of the money we are suppose to pay go???

I have not bought a cd for a long time now, and I don't intend to untill the recording industry realizes that they are not the all powerfull ruler of the world!!

[chrissy]

I pitched this idea to my dept mgr at work. It's probably missing some bits here and there but it would make artist happy and ppl happy too.

Kiosks at Walmart, target, wherever, set up to allow downloading of songs. You pay per song and for a disc. Memberships even available if it proves popular. No, you don't bring your own disk in so the store is happy there. (The logo being on the label)

Artist can be happy because they can run their own databases linked (Napster style?) to the kiosks. They have one network person to pay to maintain the server and data. Or, one guy can run a business that does this for several artists. Bands that are just getting started can do it themselves. There would be a fee of somesort for a link to the system, should be small in compairison to what is charged now. Smaller overhead, smaller price for the disks. Customers are getting what they want and the artists are getting paid what they deserve.

[Merlin]

Originally posted by Cantacuzene
If they want me to think their product has some sort of inherent value, then they shouldnt give it away for free on the radio.

If a fast food place gave away lunch for free it would make me less inclined to pay a ton of $$ for dinner there.

Lots of folks give away free samples to get you to buy their product. It is a great way to increase product awareness.

[Merlin]

Originally posted by chosenfool
...where else can you buy Chumba wumba for $1? ha ha!...

:bigmouth: You overpaid! :bigmouth:

[Cantacuzene]

Originally posted by Merlin


Lots of folks give away free samples to get you to buy their product. It is a great way to increase product awareness.

The problem is the radio isnt a free sample. You arent getting clips, you are getting the whole song. Granted you don't get the whole album, but you do get the only material worth buying on the said album. Filler. Burger King puts onions on the Whopper for free but I still have them leave it off.

Like I said, our economy is all about perceived value. The majority of the country still perceive the vale of music at $20. Whereas people with a cd burner view a cd as worth $.50. The record companies havwe to meet somewhere in between, and probably closer to $.50.

Since the artists themselves only make a buck per disc sold, then I'd be willing to pay $1.75 for a cd. A dollar for the artist. I'll be very generaous and allot 50 cents for production costs and music video costs etc. The remaining quarter can go to the record company for their troubles (which werent great.) Heck I'll even allow the retailers to mark the cds up to $2 so they can make a profit.

[WhiskeyPapa]

Originally posted by chrissy
I pitched this idea to my dept mgr at work.
[snip]
Sounds simple. But it isn't.

Personics tried this in the late 80s. Each kiosk had about 6,000 songs available. Mostly oldies and lesser hits. Mainly because the record lables were unwilling to license current hits for this method of distribution.

A few companies tried an internet-connected system around 1997-98 but it didn't fly. One of the bigger companies was RedDotNet (www.reddotnet.com), who have since retooled their focus and now provide info on CDs and DVDs, and not the actual product itself.

Why? RedDotNet's test showed that consumers really liked using it. The music industry again has refused to license enough content to make the system viable. Retailers have also been resistant, since their focus is on moving as much of the current stock of music as possible, rather than looking for new sources of revenue.

You may have seen RedDotNet's kiosks at Disneyland, where you can make your own compilation CD of Disney songs. That's the only place so far that has been very receptive to the digital-on-demand system.

[Merlin]

Originally posted by Cantacuzene

The problem is the radio isnt a free sample. You arent getting clips, you are getting the whole song. Granted you don't get the whole album, but you do get the only material worth buying on the said album. Filler. Burger King puts onions on the Whopper for free but I still have them leave it off.

You're right, it is not free. I have to listen to inane commercials to get it. ;) But outside of that the analogy still stands as music can only be stored if you possess it. The radio says here is a free sample of music that if you buy it you will be able to listen to it whenever you want. Hummm, maybe if I said it is more like a test drive where you get to experience most of the good stuff we'd realize that radio play works to market the music.

[faither]

Originally posted by chosenfool
hey, i actually PAY for my radio - im a subsscriber to XPN, here in the philly area. it helps support and fund a radio station thats COMMERCIAL-FREE and plays music what you otherwise wont hear anywhere else. Blues, zydeco, bluegrass, folk, ambient music, funk, classic soul, jazz, etc. ANd they play not just the "hit" singles but the rest of the songs in that album as well.
:stupid:
I do the same thing here (NYC) with WFUV from Fordham University. On top of the great music I get many of the DJ's I grew-up listening to on FM radio before it sucked (Vin Scelsa, Dennis Elsas).

Check it out...they stream (WFUV (http://www.wfuv.org/) ).

[seqiro]

XPN and FUV are both great stations, I listen to them whenever I'm in their broadcast areas (I have relatives in Philly who used to live in Jersey, so I'm driving through NYC to Philly every so often).

In my area, I listen to WRSI (http://www.theriver.cc/). You can see their playlist (http://www.wrsi.com/ic/playlist?id=YISESSHD&mv_pc=2) is quite varied.

It's commercial radio, but many of the commercials are for local businesses. It's a great station and you get to hear a lot of things you would otherwise never know about.

[mcs328]

Isn't this similar to TIVO? Ppl downloading the shows and skipping the commercials. Some rant about it being stealing blah blah. Same here with radio I guess.

I'd pay 50 cents to a dollar for a song. But now way for 20 bucks. Speaking of which...has anyone got the money from the RIAA from that class action lawsuit or did it all go to charity or something?

[gear02]

Originally posted by mcs328
Isn't this similar to TIVO? Ppl downloading the shows and skipping the commercials. Some rant about it being stealing blah blah. Same here with radio I guess.

I'd pay 50 cents to a dollar for a song. But now way for 20 bucks. Speaking of which...has anyone got the money from the RIAA from that class action lawsuit or did it all go to charity or something?

TIVO is just a glorified VCR. You can't (easily) copy the tv shows you've recorded and move it to your computer to share to everyone.

However, if the RIAA starts attacking Tivo, there will be HELL to pay. Hell I tell you! :angry:

[Nija]

So i take it no one bought the new linkin park cd for $20? :hihi:

[Cantacuzene]

Music is the ONE redeeming factor of Best Buy. I personally have two groups that have never let me down and I buy their cds with actual money. Best Buy and their $9.99 cds makes me at least not feel totally ripped off when I actually open the wallet.

[Jenny]

If I could pay $8-$10 per cd, then I might never download another song. :shrug: But I can't justify paying $20 to buy a cd that I will listen to maybe 1/3 of the songs.

[Merlin]

Originally posted by gear02


TIVO is just a glorified VCR. You can't (easily) copy the tv shows you've recorded and move it to your computer to share to everyone.

However, if the RIAA starts attacking Tivo, there will be HELL to pay. Hell I tell you! :angry:

You are legally allowed to record, for personal use only, anything that is broadcast into your home. Tivo, VCR, cassettes etc. are all covered.

[whitak24]

there was a great article in the last issue of rolling stone about the advances in computer programs (specifically ProTools) used for recording, mixing, and editing music.

for $500 for software plus a minimal investment in equipment, you can record all day and all night with a quality that rivals studios that cost thousands of dollars per hour.

naturally, you still have to have talent. you have to have musicians, you have to have composers, and you have to have producers. but you don't have to have record company execs who want a 75% cut of the profits.

[Momma Kitty]

Originally posted by whitak24
there was a great article in the last issue of rolling stone about the advances in computer programs (specifically ProTools) used for recording, mixing, and editing music.

for $500 for software plus a minimal investment in equipment, you can record all day and all night with a quality that rivals studios that cost thousands of dollars per hour.

naturally, you still have to have talent. you have to have musicians, you have to have composers, and you have to have producers. but you don't have to have record company execs who want a 75% cut of the profits.

Think you could send links to the hit artists?? Maybe it would cut the price of things!

[whitak24]

Originally posted by Momma Kitty


Think you could send links to the hit artists?? Maybe it would cut the price of things!
i could only wish.

there are going to be major shakeups though......people are speaking pretty clearly and saying they won't pay $17+ for a CD, even if it's quality.

they can make all the prosecutions for file-swapping that they like, but it's not going to change the economic reality that if your product is priced too high, people just won't buy it.