A devastating response to the "free music" generation.

[iJazz]

So, where do library rips fall in this mess? The music has been paid for, and technically the public owns the library so each member of the public has in some small way purchased a portion of that CD.

I'm curious how many of those posting so strongly in favor of the status quo as being so supportive of the performing musician are members in good standing of their American Federation of Musicians Local? Come on. Take out your union card and raise it proudly in the air. Don't have one but you play for money and claim to be concerned about the plight of the working musician? Give me a single reason I should listen to your opinion.

iJazz - I thought so.

 

[livinitup0]

In my opinion "spreading awareness" or "making people do the right thing" will be about as effective as a 1-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. When it comes to something as easy and virtually ramification-free as downloading music 99% of people simply don't care.

The only way to combat piracy is to make the music industry responsible for their own security. DRM is a joke and until they get off their butt and make pirating music more difficult it's not going to stop.

Someone mentioned the gaming industry...this is a great example. Nowadays modding systems and copying games isn't something your average person knows how to do or is willing to learn.... Its actually kind of a pain in the ass and when you consider the time invested just to circumvent having to pay for the game most people usually decide it's not worth it. That's how it was back in the early 90's with music too.

It's going to require a lot of trial and error to figure out a model that works effectively and the music industry is essentially just trying to get out of footing the bill to adjust to technology. It's kind of pathetic IMO... If you want to keep an industry alive then you have to roll with the changes... Not bitch and moan to the government when technology catches up to you.

Is this going to be possible? Is technology and the Internet to the point where stopping the spread of illegally shared music impossible? Maybe. However arguing about it and pointing fingers... Whether right or wrong... Does absolutely nothing.

Just my 0.02

 

[3l3phantstomp]

In my opinion "spreading awareness" or "making people do the right thing" will be about as effective as a 1-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. When it comes to something as easy and virtually ramification-free as downloading music 99% of people simply don't care.

The only way to combat piracy is to make the music industry responsible for their own security. DRM is a joke and until they get off their butt and make pirating music more difficult it's not going to stop.

Someone mentioned the gaming industry...this is a great example. Nowadays modding systems and copying games isn't something your average person knows how to do or is willing to learn.... Its actually kind of a pain in the ass and when you consider the time invested just to circumvent having to pay for the game most people usually decide it's not worth it. That's how it was back in the early 90's with music too.

It's going to require a lot of trial and error to figure out a model that works effectively and the music industry is essentially just trying to get out of footing the bill to adjust to technology. It's kind of pathetic IMO... If you want to keep an industry alive then you have to roll with the changes... Not bitch and moan to the government when technology catches up to you.

Is this going to be possible? Is technology and the Internet to the point where stopping the spread of illegally shared music impossible? Maybe. However arguing about it and pointing fingers... Whether right or wrong... Does absolutely nothing.

Just my 0.02

I hope it doesn't go the way of current corperate trend: Consumer Reports Based Music Pricing! How much is this Cd? Hrm...you paid your cell phone bill late last month, and are refinancing your home so you have a lot of report checks going on...$35 dollars it says. Sorry. For Sweet Earl Earlbillpayer? $15.

 

[UncleFluffy]

Is technology and the Internet to the point where stopping the spread of illegally shared music impossible?

Impossible? It's been impossible to stop for some time now, ever since they put a "line-in" port on a sound card.

Less convenient than paying for it? That might happen.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Doesn't matter. The genie is out of the bottle and he ain't going back in.
The business model must adapt or die, simple as that.

We're not talking about a business model here but about a choice of society.
Do you consider normal that artists get retribution from the music they make, or is music a frivolous art for which practitioners deserves no money? This is what's on the balance.

That's a damned lie. Creative Commons

A very interesting read, indeed. I wonder why the unfounded attack on Creative Commons, though?

Creative Commons were made up as a hobby sustainer for overpaid geeks.
It tries to look respectable but really it's another tool to deprive artists from their money.
It poses the exact same issues as weekend bands playing for free in bars.

 

[Blassebassist]

It's not just musicians that are going to have to adjust, it's the consumers too and ultimately the culture. It seems inevitable to me that a society that devalues music is going to get bad music. All those studio cats with chops? Gone. All those producers with wisdom and taste? Gone. All those engineers with skills and ears? Gone. You're basically going to end up with a bunch of hobbyists making things that would have been considered demos 20 years ago. Who's going to spend $1 million and a year of their lives to make another Aja or Songs in the Key of Life if they have to give it away for free? No one. That kind of high level music making is really only possible with the involvement of a large number of professionals who have the TIME to develop their craft, which is what the money ultimately buys. Of course, you can go get Aja and Songs for free, but that just means you're living in the past and YOUR culture is dead and you'll just end up complaining that today's music sucks and nothing good's happened since the 90's (which just happens to be around the time the industry collapsed). So go ahead, impoverish musicians in the name of whatever, but know that you're really only impoverishing yourself.

 

[Jhengsman]

That reminds me of the French film DIVA where the opera star refused to be recorded because she believed music was a live experience. When a postman made a clean bootleg at a concert the mafia went after him to get it. One of the mafia thugs was listening to French folk music in mono with an earbud while chasing him. He represented the masses who could care less about reproducing Aja or Songs in The Key of Life.

 

[CrewsControl]

Creative Commons were made up as a hobby sustainer for overpaid geeks.

Jealous?

It tries to look respectable but really it's another tool to deprive artists from their money.

By forcing all artists to use CC licenses at gunpoint.

It poses the exact same issues as weekend bands playing for free in bars.

Not even close. You can't reuse a gig. You can reuse code.

 

[Blassebassist]

He represented the masses who could care less about reproducing Aja or Songs in The Key of Life.

Right, because the masses don't care about those albums, they'd much rather be listening to French folk music.

 

[noetical1]

Right, because the masses don't care about those albums, they'd much rather be listening to French folk music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzz6fAdFFis&feature=related

 

[Jhengsman]

Right, because the masses don't care about those albums, they'd much rather be listening to French folk music.

In the movie it is compared to an opera singer who they only knew because the press said she was good. Her album would be even more specialized the Aja.

 

[bolophonic]

I think that for our purposes, you could replace "French folk music" with "Ke$ha" and the masses would be satisfied.

 

[Jhengsman]

And the masses are listening on MP3 players with the cheapest ear-buds on the shelf

 

[noetical1]

And the masses are listening on MP3 players with the cheapest ear-buds on the shelf

are you kidding me?...the masses can't afford ear buds...they are listening on their friend's flip-phone...

 

[FilterFunk]

Cassettes didn't kill the industry, and magnetic tape "theft" was RAMPANT. The difference? There was no "proof." No trail of the tape, as it were. No digital tracking of who gave it, who has it, etc. The G didn't haul you off for having a shoebox of cassettes with handwritten labels on them.

The BIG difference - all the people you know would only have a finite number of cassettes, and you wouldn't have 24-hour access to all of them. Not to mention the fact that not everybody is willing to just give you unlimited access to their entire music collection. This isn't apples and oranges - making '80s mixtapes and illegally downloading thousands of song files that not even your buddies paid for are just not comparable, IMO.

 

[FilterFunk]

Not exactly what I was saying. More like: it's not stealing because after the first file it costs you $0 to make more. And you're not being deprived of any real thing, I'm just copying some 1s & 0s.

So...because the media is different, the artist/band should only get paid for the first file? What if the artist/band puts a few thousand dollars, not to mention their time/effort/talent/heart/soul, into the making of a digital album, and no one pays for it? It's NOT just "1s & 0s," it's someone life's work in digital form. Pay for it, for goodness' sake!

 

[FilterFunk]

It's not just musicians that are going to have to adjust, it's the consumers too and ultimately the culture. It seems inevitable to me that a society that devalues music is going to get bad music. All those studio cats with chops? Gone. All those producers with wisdom and taste? Gone. All those engineers with skills and ears? Gone. You're basically going to end up with a bunch of hobbyists making things that would have been considered demos 20 years ago. Who's going to spend $1 million and a year of their lives to make another Aja or Songs in the Key of Life if they have to give it away for free? No one. That kind of high level music making is really only possible with the involvement of a large number of professionals who have the TIME to develop their craft, which is what the money ultimately buys. Of course, you can go get Aja and Songs for free, but that just means you're living in the past and YOUR culture is dead and you'll just end up complaining that today's music sucks and nothing good's happened since the 90's (which just happens to be around the time the industry collapsed). So go ahead, impoverish musicians in the name of whatever, but know that you're really only impoverishing yourself.

This is one of my biggest concerns as well. I want the best artists, bands, and studio pros to keep making music. But why should they work so hard if they're not going to be fairly compensated? I paid for "Songs In the Key Of Life" when I was a mostly broke teenager who was lucky to scrape together $4-$5 for an album. And I was proud to earn the money to buy 1 or 2 LPs at a time.

 

[davec]

"Recorded music revenue is down 64% since 1999.

Per capita spending on music is 47% lower than it was in 1973!!

The number of professional musicians has fallen 25% since 2000.

Of the 75,000 albums released in 2010 only 2,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. Only 1,000 sold more than 10,000 copies. Without going into details, 10,000 albums is about the point where independent artists begin to go into the black on professional album production, marketing and promotion."

Just curious can anyone verify this? are these adjusted in any way?

Interesting article.

 

[BassyBill]

It's not just musicians that are going to have to adjust, it's the consumers too and ultimately the culture. It seems inevitable to me that a society that devalues music is going to get bad music. All those studio cats with chops? Gone. All those producers with wisdom and taste? Gone. All those engineers with skills and ears? Gone. You're basically going to end up with a bunch of hobbyists making things that would have been considered demos 20 years ago. Who's going to spend $1 million and a year of their lives to make another Aja or Songs in the Key of Life if they have to give it away for free?

This is soooooo true. There's no way anyone is ever going to record the next Aja in their bedroom or garage.

The only minor point I'd disagree with is the mention of engineers' "ears" (I know you were being metaphorical). It isn't the ears which makes an engineer or producer great - if it was, we mere mortals wouldn't be able to hear the difference these guys make to a record. What makes them great is their skills, as you correctly say, and their knowledge.

 

[Blassebassist]

And I was proud to earn the money to buy 1 or 2 LPs at a time.

Me too. I'm pretty sure that this generation of 20-something music thieves will be forgotten in 20 years because they will have made no meaningful contributions to the art of music. They'll just leave behind a giant pile of half-assed disposible crap that no one will care about because no one really cared about it when it was being made. They'll be worshiped for their awesome video games and artisan pickles though.