Music industry's digital plans 'fail'

[RDixon]

The music industry's attempts to replace Napster and similar copyright-breaking services with legitimate music downloads have failed, according to a report.
The report, by OC&C Strategy Consultants, says legitimate, paid-for music downloads earned only $1m (£710,000) in the US and UK last year.
At the same time, some eight billion tracks were exchanged by users of pirate sites offering free music downloads - and up to 2.7m people at any one time are logged on to them.
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[TankGirl]

What a surprise..... NOT!

- tg

[JackSpratts]

"Labels will have to accept lower priced and lower margin models for digital sales in order to compete effectively with pirate services."

Really? How about ZERO margins? Heh.

If I'm ever to buy it at all, I'd prefer getting it directly from the artist. I just can't figure what good a label's for today...

- js.

[BuzzB2K]

Originally posted by RDixon
The music industry's attempts to replace Napster and similar copyright-breaking services with legitimate music downloads have failed, according to a report. More

Wasn't it just 10 days ago that we were told "We Lost the War"?

Yahoo Says It's Over - We Lost.....

[theknife]

Originally posted by BuzzB2K


Wasn't it just 10 days ago that we were told "We Lost the War"?

Yahoo Says It's Over - We Lost.....

I actually e-mailed the author of that article just to ask him what planet he lives on...but since Yahoo has evolved into a media giant, and as such, has a vested interest in perpetuating the industrial/entertainment complex, what would you expect?

[theknife]

Originally posted by JackSpratts
If I'm ever to buy it at all, I'd prefer getting it directly from the artist. I just can't figure what good a label's for today...

- js.

well put...I don't need the disk or the packaging, ads aren't gonna make me want a piece of music...what is a label good for?

I like Courtney Love's analogy: the record companies have traditionally been the gatekeepers and they are desperately trying to keep that as a necessary part of the process...

...the labels remind me of the manufacturers of horse-drawn carriages...and it's 1910..and they're standing out in front of their shops watching the first automobile coming down the street

[JohnDoe345]

Originally posted by JackSpratts

If I'm ever to buy it at all, I'd prefer getting it directly from the artist. I just can't figure what good a label's for today...

- js.

I completely agree, that's a good statement and point you made JS. With today's technology and the internet any band can promote themselves and sell their own albums as long as they are willing to do the work themselves. A lot of profossional quality recording equipment is now cheaper and available to many users. They could also go to a studio and record their albums if they don't want to do it themselves. All it takes it that one time and they can burn as many copies to sell using their own computers. They can also upload it to the internet to promote themselves.

If their band really starts to take off, they can always hire someone to make a professional looking cover design and then go directly to some CD manufacturer and see if they can mass produce their albums. If that can't be done they can always keep it small and keep burning the CDs themselves. Doing it this way they will retain all the profits(minus expenses), but they might not have the "prettiest" looking CD.

I like Courtney Love's analogy: the record companies have traditionally been the gatekeepers and they are desperately trying to keep that as a necessary part of the process...

I think most bands think that it is still a necessity to have a record label. All the music traded through p2p networks proves this wrong, because unless someone tells you, you don't know who the record label is. The only thing needed is the music so the record labels have no reason to exist.

[theknife]

Courtney Love's diatribe on this subject is a classic......

http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/