[OT- rant- ] mp3 files

**Mike Hartley** · 2005-02-01, 20:03

[OT- rant- ] mp3 files--It's about collecting the toll

Ralph,
Part of me agrees with you 100%. Buying a CD supports the artists and
without support, artists can't afford to continue to produce music for a
living. And as a music fan I believe in artists getting compensated.
Although all of my music is on my computer, ALL of it is copied from CD's I
own.

However, CD's and the existing model of distribution are extremely
inefficient and return an extremely small percentage to the actual artist
relative to the total amount collected. The rest is absorbed by the
marketing and distribution machine of the RIAA and the major lables. And
that machine is a huge part of the value that the major labels brought to
their artists. Without it, you couldn't get your music into a store, and
therefore you couldn't get it to the consumer.

I say "brought" because you could make the case that this isn't really true
anymore. But if the cost of entry into the market isn't high for the
artist, then the RIAA/Major lables reason for being comes into
question--Something I have not seen discussed often. And this is something
that is as much behind DRM and the industries approach to electronic
distribution as is the stated fear of rampant copying. If they can't make
their money on distribution, they have to come up with a substitute to make
up the difference. And I think the real goal is not copy prevention but
collecting a toll everytime a piece of music is played or moved to a
different format by a user. All the noise about piracy and unauthorized
file trading is simply giving them the cover they need to implement DRM
schemes to accomplish this.

For me, the question is "why does a CD with 13 songs cost $13.00 in a store
and $13.00 on the internet"? Isn't the internet distribution more cost
efficient? There isn't a cost for the CD, there isn't a cost for shipping
and warehousing, and there isn't a traditional brick and mortar store-front
that has to be supported with profit margin. And yet the price is the same.
The same amount goes to the artist (maybe less in some cases). And to top
it all off, you can usually do LESS with what you bought on-line.

Mike

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: discuss-bounces (AT) lists (DOT) slimdevices.com
> > [mailto:discuss-bounces (AT) lists (DOT) slimdevices.com]On Behalf Of Damon Riley
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 10:38 AM
> > To: Slim Devices Discussion
> > Subject: [OT- rant- ] [slim] mp3 files
> >
>
> > I'm the guy that started the "where to buy music" thread, and the upshot
> > seems to be that you should buy CDs and rip them yourself. In doing
> > this, you get the benefits of a back-up copy plus it's legal.
> >
>
> My $0.02:
>
> There's one other "benefit" to buying "real" CDs and ripping them
yourself:
> You're actually supporting artists that you like. Yes, this is a benefit,
> to me and not just to the artists. We should be voting with our dollars,
and
> the recording industry does have a point. If nobody buys the CDs, then
> nobody makes money, and the artists I like won't be able to continue
> producing music. Then, boo-hoo, I don't have good new music. I just
plain
> "feel good" about actually buying CDs, the way I feel good about shopping
at
> local markets rather than selling my soul to walmart, the way I feel good
> about recycling. It's just the "right thing to do". I have also vowed
> never to buy music off of eBay again, since I found most of the CDs for
sale
> are "promo" copies and not legally saleable -- same problem.
>
> Vote with your dollars, and support the artists that you like!
>
>
>

[OT- rant- ] mp3 files

[OT- rant- ] mp3 files

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