Jan 25
RyanOf Interest, The Business copyright, digital download, nettwerk, piracy, pirate bay, terry mcbride
It seems Terry McBride might be ahead of the curve again, or at least thinking in the right direction. In his recent session at MidemNet he forecasted that there were going to be some major changes coming soon, and whether or not the music industry embraced it would not matter to those outside of the industry.
“We’re on an edge of whether this business falls off the edge, or jumps to a new edge. And it’s all to do with control over the music.” – Terry McBride
Lo and behold, around the same time Terry was discussing his concern about this looming “black cloud” and what it meant for the industry as a whole, another group were leaking information on their newest project.
“The music industry can’t even imagine what we’re planning to roll out in the coming months. For years they’ve complained bitterly about piracy, but if they ever had a reason to be scared it is now,” TorrentFreak was told. “It will be a special surprise for IFPI’s 78th birthday, and we’re thinking of organizing a huge festival in Rome where IFPI was founded.” – Pirate Bay insider
So, we have one member of the music industry recommending that the business learn how to embrace the changes that are coming, and the other side suggesting that the industry should be scared. If only they had all played nice years ago, maybe this would be exciting for everyone?
Dec 02
RyanOf Interest copyright, piracy
An interesting series of articles that they’re starting over at Have You Heard It? focuses on the ever-changing face of music piracy, and how the industry reacted to it. The one I am highlighting here covers music in the twentieth century.
Music Piracy In… The 1900s
Funny enough, it seems only one side has really been changing while the other has been crying the same concern and worry the whole time…
Oct 28
RyanMusic, Of Interest digital download, online store, piracy
Stopping piracy: How ultracheap downloads could save the music industry (SF Weekly)
As the debate over the commercial value of music rages on, it seems there may be some new results coming down the pipe in the next year or two that might help with the answer.
Youth music card launches tomorrow (The Connexion)
France is starting their Carte Musique Jeune program today, and the results may be of interest to the music industry. In the hopes of pulling youth (12 to 25 in this case) away from the lure of illegal music downloading, the government is working with various legal download sites to provide a program where a €25 card allows the used to purchase €50 worth of music.
However, given that the users have to purchase these cards, and the music is simply not cheaper for everyone, I’m not sure if the results will be as positive as hoped. Although I do believe that the majority of people out there would support musicians if they could to some degree, the option of free is a hard one to beat when you’re considering where your hard-earned money will go. That being said, the option of convenience also adds value to the music. Given the number of legal downloads iTunes alone has registered (10 billion as of February 2010), along with the majority of the market share it holds, it seems people have shown an interest in paying for music that is easy to access and of a reliable quality. So, depending on the ease of access to these cards, things just might turn around. Time will tell.
That’s not to say cheaper music is the perfect answer. Sometimes you have to weigh the value of those mp3s with the value of what you can get from people in exchange, assuming it is not money. With the popularity of some artists rising as they offer free downloads of their albums in exchange for such things as email addresses or just a retweet or post on facebook (both free for the consumer), it seems the value of the song should be measured now more in its promotion of your career rather than your immediate account balance. If a free album is heard by 30,000 people before you leave on a tour across the country, and 1/3 of those people come out to your shows, that just might be worth the loss of album sales. If your merch table and live show are interesting enough, you just might keep gas in the tank and be able to pay rent when you return home.
Again, building a long-term fan should be more important than grabbing a short-term customer. Of course, that’s assuming you want a long-term career.
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