Copy Protected CDs

It’s this kind of stuff that got the labels in trouble in the FIRST PLACE!

Why do these companies feel that their actions have no consequences?  It’s
not only record labels, it’s the radio industry too.  They cut the playlists,
added a ton of commercials and what happened??  PEOPLE STOPPED LISTENING!  Yup, they keep making new people every day, the population is increasing, but radio listenership is down.

In the nineties the labels released shittier and shittier acts with only one
good track on their CDs that kept going up in price.  The companies believed
they had all the power, that they could DICTATE to the marketplace.

Wrong.  The customer ALWAYS has the power.  To see P2P services purely in the
context of free is to miss the point.  From the very BEGINNING of Napster,
when fewer people were trading files than today, however much publicity the
practice was receiving, college students were TESTIFYING!  Albums sucked and were overpriced to boot!  And that they wanted to acquire music in a new way.

The battle is over.  Apple’s already sold 22 million iPods.  Don’t expect a
fall-off for Christmas.  The iPod Nano will be hotter than any album released
by the Big Four.  iPod users want the file, the CD is irrelevant, unless it’s
used as a ripping device.  WHICH IT CAN NO LONGER BE!

Instead of looking towards the future, getting AHEAD of the marketplace and
corralling the public in a profit-making venture, the labels want to keep
everybody in the past.  They want to focus on CD sales.  Oh, Edgar Bronfman, Jr.
and the other powers say they BELIEVE in the digital sphere.  But the iTunes
Music Store and Rhapsody and Yahoo Music are INHERENTLY crippled services that
the public is not interested in.  Only a tiny FRACTION of the public utilizes
these services.  Because they don’t deliver what people want, which is much more
USABLE music at a LOW PRICE!  But, these services do one thing the labels
LOVE!  They make the CD look like a good alternative.  This is like selling
Hyundais with three wheels and saying horse and buggies look good in comparison!  Or, as the Firesign Theatre once said, "How can you be in two places at once when you’re not anywhere at all?"

TODAY the CD is the main revenue generator.  I have no problem with labels
selling CDs.  To switch to files only would decimate their bottom lines.  But,
by not preparing for the future adequately, they’re INSURING their marginality
in the era to come.  They somehow believe their big budget productions sold
solely in the way they want will rule in the future.  I don’t think so.  I think
independent acts are going to eat their lunch.  After EMI gets burned by
giving all that money to Korn they won’t be ponying up that kind of dough in the
future.  Which will INSURE that the artists of the future, or at least SOME OF
THEM, those who treasure artistry over greed, will do it all themselves. 
Invest little in dollars but a lot in sweat and get a lot back.  NOTHING is being
done by the majors to combat this paradigm.  This paradigm is what they fear. 
Then again, maybe I can’t berate them for defending a dying business model. 
But do they have to do it via a disinformation campaign and the suit of music
LOVERS?  I mean they can live in the past, but must we ALL?

But what’s bad about copy protected CDs is they’re insulting the people who
are PLAYING ALONG with the majors’ game.  The people willing to plunk down ten
to fifteen bucks for a disc.  They can’t duplicate the CD for use in their
car, and they CAN’T RIP THE FILES FOR USE ON AN iPOD!

What I hate about fat cats is they’re so technologically stupid.  You insert
one of these CDs into your computer and it adds all this software, just to
PLAY the disc!  Windows XP is rickety enough.  You’re going to add an untested
program which might interfere with not only other programs but your whole SYSTEM
just to hear a fucking CD??  Talk to computer users.  They see that warning
that they’re about to install software on their PC and they FREAK OUT!  In an
era where viruses and spyware make your machine almost unusable you DO NOT want to add anything unnecessary to the mix.

But, you can rip copy protected WMAs.

I’ve got to ask you, when you think of digital music do you think of
MICROSOFT??  Is that the big name in digital music?  No, you think of APPLE!  And,
Apple’s iPods won’t play copy protected WMAs.  Why should they?  Apple should
give Microsoft an in after the company monopolized the market for desktop
software?  (Yup, Microsoft was ADJUDGED a monopolist by the government.)  It would be one thing if the Microsoft solution was better.  But it’s not.  There ain’t a
player on the market as good as the iPod.  There’s not JUKEBOX software as
good as iTunes made by Microsoft or any other third party.  Microsoft’s tethered
download software Janus???  It’s so defective that Yahoo won’t even charge
for its use.  And APPLE is supposed to capitulate?

But, you say, Apple has DRM, known as FairPlay.

But I’m gonna let you in on a little secret.  Just about every file on the
iPods in this world have no copy protection.  Because they were ripped from CD
or acquired P2P.  As far as this copy protection battle goes, the public thinks
it’s a joke.

So, what we need are unprotected files that everybody can acquire and pay
for.  We’ve got every element except the last.  We’ve had P2P for five plus
years.  But the labels refuse to charge for it.  We have the SOLUTION, but they’d
rather spend money suing than collecting.

The labels are clueless here.  They think the fact that copy protected CDs
are selling today means nobody cares.  The backlash is BREWING!  There are
entries on Weblogs.  People are PISSED!  The majors are just further breaking the
trust with their customers.  Insuring division.  PROMPTING file-trading.

Really, you label heads, the people making this inane decision to copy
protect CDs.  I’m telling you now.  You’re wreaking havoc on your bottom line that
you can’t foresee.

Then again, maybe you don’t foresee further employment.  Maybe you don’t plan
on sticking around that long.

If you believe CD burning is the culprit, the reason sales are down, then you
probably believe landlines are hurting the cell phone business.  You probably
believe that cheap typewriters at flea markets are hurting the computer
business.  You probably believe copy machines are challenging e-mail.  You probably
believe the floppy is hurting hard disk sales.  You probably believe the
cassette Walkman is challenging the iPod.  You probably believe radio is hurting
album sales.  You probably believed home taping killed the music business.

But it did not.

It’s not free to burn a CD.  You’ve got to BUY the CD.  You’ve got to take
the time to burn it.  You’ve got to give it to a friend.  It’s absent artwork. 
And it’s not what you want ANYWAY, you just want the FILES!

Why can’t the labels just cut to the chase.  Why can’t they make files
available cheaply and easily.  We’re living in the future.  No, we’re living in the
PRESENT!  This is the system that exists TODAY!  Can’t anybody acknowledge it?
Do we have to wait until EVERYBODY trades P2P and sales are dismal?  This is
not unlike what happened in New Orleans.  Everybody knew the levees were
weak, that there was an accident waiting to happen.  They just figured if they
ignored it, maybe it wouldn’t happen on their watch.  Then, disaster hit and the
public saw how incompetent those in charge were.

The public already knows how incompetent the record labels are.  The only
people who DON’T know are the labels themselves.

But every fucking week sales get worse.  You’d think they’d address the
underlying problems.  Lousy overhyped acts selling overpriced CDs.  But rather than
deal with the CORE they’d rather deal with the penumbra.  It’s not THEIR
fault but the customers’.  If we just make it a little harder to steal, everything
will be all right.

But it’s not.

And you can still steal anyway.  By burning the files to disk and then
re-ripping them.

But why do that?  When from the moment you purchase the CD the unprotected
MP3s of the music contained therein ARE ALREADY AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET FOR
FREE!  Only the record labels would INCENTIVIZE their customers to steal.

3 Responses to Copy Protected CDs »»


Comments

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  1. Comment by Tom Zito | 2005/09/21 at 14:24:38

    And, as I’m sure you’re aware, the copy protection doesn’t work on a  Mac,
    and you just rip the things the way you rip a non-copy-protected  CD.  While
    copy-protection is simply stupid, what’s truly idiotic is their attempt to raise
    the prices on iTunes.  Currently the labels  make more money selling an album
    on iTunes for $10 than selling a CD  in Tower for $16.98, but they want to
    shoot that in the head….

  2. comment_type != "trackback" && $comment->comment_type != "pingback" && !ereg("", $comment->comment_content) && !ereg("", $comment->comment_content)) { ?>
  3. Comment by Jeffrey Morgan | 2005/09/21 at 14:25:00

    I’m a rock critic. I’ve been a rock critic for the past 30 years. I used to
    listen to vinyl albums on a turntable while typing my reviews on a manual
    typewriter. Now I listen to compact discs on a CD drive while I write my reviews on
    a computer.

    So when I put a new CD in my computer to review it, I expect it to play. I
    don’t expect to see a splash page suddenly pop up on my screen with the
    officious title: DIGITAL CONTENT END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT.

    I also don’t expect that in order to actually be able to listen to the music
    I first have to click YES that (a) I agree to the voluminous terms of their
    legal agreement; and (b) that I allow the record company to automatically
    download who knows what kind of suspect software of theirs onto my computer’s hard
    drive, just so I can have the privilege of listening to one of their CDs.

    I have no problem with record companies encoding their CDs with anti-piracy
    software which will prevent me from burning additional copies after I’ve played
    them. But I should be allowed to listen to them on a computer first without
    having to agree to the installation of invasive "digital keys that are
    downloaded to your computer system via a secure digital key delivery system."

    If record companies have the right to impose conditions like these before I
    am allowed to listen to their CDs, then I also have the right to just say no
    and not review any of them.

  4. comment_type != "trackback" && $comment->comment_type != "pingback" && !ereg("", $comment->comment_content) && !ereg("", $comment->comment_content)) { ?>
  5. Comment by Mixerman | 2005/09/21 at 14:25:35

    "It’s this kind of stuff that got the labels in trouble in the FIRST PLACE!" "Why do these companies feel that their actions have no consequences?"

    Bob,

    It’s a good question-one that has been baffling me for years. As usual, you
    made many great points. I wanted to take a moment to make a few more.

    It’s quite obvious to me that the Music Business (which I am a part of)
    forgot what made them successful in the first place. These days, The Music Business
    sells songs. We used to sell acts-long-term.

    In the late seventies, my older brother was buying Led Zeppelin and Yes
    catalog. We would spend hours upon hours listening to those albums. These two bands
    were past their prime by the time we were listening to them, but we owned the
    entire catalog and loved the bands. Listening to their albums wasn’t about
    listening to a song. It was about listening to the collection of songs over a
    career.

    I bought Ghost in the Machine the day it came out-Synchronicity too (just two
    years later). I loved the Police. I wasn’t buying their album in hopes for
    one good song. I was buying the album for a collection of songs by a group that
    I adored. A group that I was already invested in. That’s right. I was invested
    in the Police. Like a stock-holder, only my reward wasn’t money-it was good
    music. I knew all their songs. I could sing every word. And when each new album
    came out, I knew that I was going to get a new collection of songs that I
    could learn and enjoy. I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. The album would provide
    hours of entertainment.

    That’s not to say I never listened to certain songs over an over again. I’m
    quite sure I played "Mr. Blue Sky" two hundred times in a row-a foreshadowing
    of my career, perhpaps. But whenever I bought an ELO album, (as catalog) I knew
    I was going to get an entire collection of songs that I would love. Even if
    some songs were dearer to my heart, it was still a great album, and I wasn’t
    disappointed. Again, I was invested in the band. And when they came out with a
    new album, I wanted to invest more in the band. I knew my investment would
    reward me with great music. And yes, eventually, I didn’t dig what they were doing
    any more. But all artists have their run.

    By the time I was old enough to go to concerts; U2 was the band for me. I
    didn’t really like New Years Day which was played ad nauseum several years
    earlier on the radio. But my friend loved them and took me to their Unforgettable
    Fire concert. I was sold! I bought all five of their albums the day after the
    concert. I was a fan of the band. Not a fan of a particular song. And you want
    to know something else? I even loved New Years Day after that, because it was
    in context. As a song, without an investment in the band, I didn’t love it.
    Once I was invested in the band, I understood the song.

    By the time the nineties rolled around, I was in the business. As a fan, my
    personal perspective became skewed, or so I thought. Finding acts that I could
    invest in was becoming more and more difficult. I figured that being in the
    studio for 12 hours a day was making me too tired to appreciate the music. But
    that wasn’t it. The business had changed. The Music Business was no longer
    selling acts for people to invest in. The Music Business became about selling
    songs. The acts were disposable.

    Bands were signed instantly for having a song that the labels thought they
    could get on radio. The album no longer mattered. All that mattered was the
    song; the video (make sure they look good!); and massive amounts of airplay. This
    would be the means to sell an album. It didn’t matter that the one song was a
    fluke among a collection of mediocre songs. It didn’t matter that the band
    wouldn’t be able to produce another hit song on command. All that mattered was
    that the album sold based on that one sure-fire hit song. And when the band
    failed to produce another "hit" on their sophomore album, they were dropped. A new
    band would replace them, and the process would start all over again.

    The consumer felt burned. Over and over again.

    There was no regard to the pending consequences of this practice. No longer
    was the fan viewed as making an investment in the acts that the label sold. The
    stockholders were the only investors that counted. The stockholders wanted to
    see short-term quarterly growth. Labels no longer viewed artists in the
    long-term either. They rarely signed anyone that could produce a catalog of work
    over a career, and those rare signings were treated more as hood ornaments than
    long-term investments. Labels viewed acts as disposable-acts that would and
    could be replaced by the next disposable act.

    Now, after a decade of this, the labels are indeed facing the consequences of
    these actions. Rather than having a rejuvenated catalog of value in which
    they would be able to sell collections of songs by artists they long ago made
    their money on, they now have a catalog of songs by artists that are all but
    forgotten-nameless, faceless songs. Hello I-tunes.

    Yes, I realize that there have been one hit wonders throughout the history of
    this business. The difference being-that wasn’t the business model.

    As we all know, the advent of the CD was really the biggest reason for the
    20+ year boon in sales. Over that time period, the Boomers and Gen-X replaced
    and upgraded much of their catalog, and it was worth the price tag. Consumers
    knew what they were buying-great albums that were near and dear to their heart,
    or at the very least, proven commodities.

    But what will the massive Echo Generation (children of the Boomers) replace?
    Songs. What will they put in their Ipod’s? Songs. Not albums. Not volumes of
    songs. Single solitary songs. What artist will they go to see on tour 20 years
    from now? None. They won’t pay $300 to see an artist play one good song.
    Besides, those artists have jobs doing something else now.

    And guess what music the Echo Generation has turned to. The classics! That’s
    right. Many of the kids in my son’s school (the tail end of the Echo
    Generation) love Led Zeppelin. This simple rock group, who made their first album in a
    matter of days for a sum of $5000, has a body of work that is seemingly
    endless from the perspective of today’s teen and pre-teen. It’s a band that they can
    invest themselves in, despite the fact that they will never see the band play
    live.

    This is what the Music Business forgot. People want to invest in artists and
    bands. Not songs. Now, the labels have the audacity to expect consumers to pay
    for songs, that they already spent $17 on ten years ago. Wrong. These former
    consumers are going to take what they feel is rightfully theirs. Labels ripped
    them off for years, albeit legally. And herein lies the consequence. You
    can’t fleece someone for ten to fifteen years, and then once presented the
    opportunity expect them not to retaliate. And yes, I realize that most illegal
    downloading is from college kids, but my brother started buying albums when he was
    12 and I was 9. If you do the math, the kids that are stealing music are
    precisely the people that were violated by the Music Business. Frankly, they don’t
    trust us any more.

    Just so we’re clear. I’m not condoning the violation of Title 17. Far from
    it. I’m just explaining what I believe the thinking is behind those that do.

    The consequences.

    In closing, I’d like to take a moment to address the Record Labels, in hopes
    that it might make some kind of impact on how business is done. As one who
    makes his living making records, I have a stake in this, and I would like to
    suggest some changes.

    Dear Record Companies:

    I think you need to start signing career artists again-people that have
    something to say in their own words. I think you should look for acts that can
    write and play music that means something to people. (Hint: If the band must be
    manufactured in a computer, they can’t play live, and you will further turn off
    your consumers. People don’t want to feel as if they were lied to.) Find
    prolific acts and promote them, and stop putting such enormous pressure on them to
    write a hit. Put your muscle behind acts that will have some endurance-acts
    that you can reap the benefits from years down the line.

    Allow your customers to invest in your acts rather than forcing them to
    invest in songs. People will pay for an act. Believe me. They will pay good money
    for an act that they adore. Maybe not today. They’re burned and you have to
    earn back their trust. But once people realize an artist is the real deal, you’ll
    be able to sell them, regardless of the system of delivery.

    I would also suggest that you release your artists albums more frequently.
    You constantly worry about how old an act is, but yet you put out an album every
    four years, that is, if you don’t drop the act outright. Does that make any
    sense? In the current model, you could put out the album of an eighty year old
    man, and he would likely outlive the longevity of his career. Yet the first
    question I’m asked when I bring an act to a label is: "how old are they?" If you
    put out an album every year or two, (this requires taking off some of the
    pressure you put on your artists to produce "sure-fire" hits) you’ll get a very
    nice catalog in a short order of time. And it doesn’t even matter if the artist
    is in their thirties. Oh, yes, teenagers don’t relate to older artists,
    right? Regardless of whether I agree with that or not (and I don’t) you are
    completely ignoring a huge and wealthy segment of our population by not putting out
    music by artists that have some years behind them. Hint: 35 isn’t old.

    Lastly, don’t break down the natural barrier between star and fan. When fans
    can watch the star, how they act, how they deal with situations, you remove
    all mystery. How can a child  put someone as goofy as themselves on a pedestal?
    They can’t. Saturation of an artist only produces short-term results. Music
    fan can’t idolize someone that they think is just a more fortunate version of
    themselves. Embrace the mystery.

    I know. I know. It’s a long-term plan-one that your stock-holders won’t
    understand, so you’d better start explaining it to them. That can be difficult, I
    know.  After all, they want to make money now. But since they aren’t anyway, I
    thought I might make a suggestion as to what you can say to them:

    We’re not signing a song, dumb-dumb. That’s what got us into this mess in the
    first place.

    Mixerman


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  1. Comment by Tom Zito | 2005/09/21 at 14:24:38

    And, as I’m sure you’re aware, the copy protection doesn’t work on a  Mac,
    and you just rip the things the way you rip a non-copy-protected  CD.  While
    copy-protection is simply stupid, what’s truly idiotic is their attempt to raise
    the prices on iTunes.  Currently the labels  make more money selling an album
    on iTunes for $10 than selling a CD  in Tower for $16.98, but they want to
    shoot that in the head….

  2. comment_type == "trackback" || $comment->comment_type == "pingback" || ereg("", $comment->comment_content) || ereg("", $comment->comment_content)) { ?>

    Trackbacks & Pingbacks »»

    1. Comment by Jeffrey Morgan | 2005/09/21 at 14:25:00

      I’m a rock critic. I’ve been a rock critic for the past 30 years. I used to
      listen to vinyl albums on a turntable while typing my reviews on a manual
      typewriter. Now I listen to compact discs on a CD drive while I write my reviews on
      a computer.

      So when I put a new CD in my computer to review it, I expect it to play. I
      don’t expect to see a splash page suddenly pop up on my screen with the
      officious title: DIGITAL CONTENT END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT.

      I also don’t expect that in order to actually be able to listen to the music
      I first have to click YES that (a) I agree to the voluminous terms of their
      legal agreement; and (b) that I allow the record company to automatically
      download who knows what kind of suspect software of theirs onto my computer’s hard
      drive, just so I can have the privilege of listening to one of their CDs.

      I have no problem with record companies encoding their CDs with anti-piracy
      software which will prevent me from burning additional copies after I’ve played
      them. But I should be allowed to listen to them on a computer first without
      having to agree to the installation of invasive "digital keys that are
      downloaded to your computer system via a secure digital key delivery system."

      If record companies have the right to impose conditions like these before I
      am allowed to listen to their CDs, then I also have the right to just say no
      and not review any of them.

    2. comment_type == "trackback" || $comment->comment_type == "pingback" || ereg("", $comment->comment_content) || ereg("", $comment->comment_content)) { ?>

      Trackbacks & Pingbacks »»

      1. Comment by Mixerman | 2005/09/21 at 14:25:35

        "It’s this kind of stuff that got the labels in trouble in the FIRST PLACE!" "Why do these companies feel that their actions have no consequences?"

        Bob,

        It’s a good question-one that has been baffling me for years. As usual, you
        made many great points. I wanted to take a moment to make a few more.

        It’s quite obvious to me that the Music Business (which I am a part of)
        forgot what made them successful in the first place. These days, The Music Business
        sells songs. We used to sell acts-long-term.

        In the late seventies, my older brother was buying Led Zeppelin and Yes
        catalog. We would spend hours upon hours listening to those albums. These two bands
        were past their prime by the time we were listening to them, but we owned the
        entire catalog and loved the bands. Listening to their albums wasn’t about
        listening to a song. It was about listening to the collection of songs over a
        career.

        I bought Ghost in the Machine the day it came out-Synchronicity too (just two
        years later). I loved the Police. I wasn’t buying their album in hopes for
        one good song. I was buying the album for a collection of songs by a group that
        I adored. A group that I was already invested in. That’s right. I was invested
        in the Police. Like a stock-holder, only my reward wasn’t money-it was good
        music. I knew all their songs. I could sing every word. And when each new album
        came out, I knew that I was going to get a new collection of songs that I
        could learn and enjoy. I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. The album would provide
        hours of entertainment.

        That’s not to say I never listened to certain songs over an over again. I’m
        quite sure I played "Mr. Blue Sky" two hundred times in a row-a foreshadowing
        of my career, perhpaps. But whenever I bought an ELO album, (as catalog) I knew
        I was going to get an entire collection of songs that I would love. Even if
        some songs were dearer to my heart, it was still a great album, and I wasn’t
        disappointed. Again, I was invested in the band. And when they came out with a
        new album, I wanted to invest more in the band. I knew my investment would
        reward me with great music. And yes, eventually, I didn’t dig what they were doing
        any more. But all artists have their run.

        By the time I was old enough to go to concerts; U2 was the band for me. I
        didn’t really like New Years Day which was played ad nauseum several years
        earlier on the radio. But my friend loved them and took me to their Unforgettable
        Fire concert. I was sold! I bought all five of their albums the day after the
        concert. I was a fan of the band. Not a fan of a particular song. And you want
        to know something else? I even loved New Years Day after that, because it was
        in context. As a song, without an investment in the band, I didn’t love it.
        Once I was invested in the band, I understood the song.

        By the time the nineties rolled around, I was in the business. As a fan, my
        personal perspective became skewed, or so I thought. Finding acts that I could
        invest in was becoming more and more difficult. I figured that being in the
        studio for 12 hours a day was making me too tired to appreciate the music. But
        that wasn’t it. The business had changed. The Music Business was no longer
        selling acts for people to invest in. The Music Business became about selling
        songs. The acts were disposable.

        Bands were signed instantly for having a song that the labels thought they
        could get on radio. The album no longer mattered. All that mattered was the
        song; the video (make sure they look good!); and massive amounts of airplay. This
        would be the means to sell an album. It didn’t matter that the one song was a
        fluke among a collection of mediocre songs. It didn’t matter that the band
        wouldn’t be able to produce another hit song on command. All that mattered was
        that the album sold based on that one sure-fire hit song. And when the band
        failed to produce another "hit" on their sophomore album, they were dropped. A new
        band would replace them, and the process would start all over again.

        The consumer felt burned. Over and over again.

        There was no regard to the pending consequences of this practice. No longer
        was the fan viewed as making an investment in the acts that the label sold. The
        stockholders were the only investors that counted. The stockholders wanted to
        see short-term quarterly growth. Labels no longer viewed artists in the
        long-term either. They rarely signed anyone that could produce a catalog of work
        over a career, and those rare signings were treated more as hood ornaments than
        long-term investments. Labels viewed acts as disposable-acts that would and
        could be replaced by the next disposable act.

        Now, after a decade of this, the labels are indeed facing the consequences of
        these actions. Rather than having a rejuvenated catalog of value in which
        they would be able to sell collections of songs by artists they long ago made
        their money on, they now have a catalog of songs by artists that are all but
        forgotten-nameless, faceless songs. Hello I-tunes.

        Yes, I realize that there have been one hit wonders throughout the history of
        this business. The difference being-that wasn’t the business model.

        As we all know, the advent of the CD was really the biggest reason for the
        20+ year boon in sales. Over that time period, the Boomers and Gen-X replaced
        and upgraded much of their catalog, and it was worth the price tag. Consumers
        knew what they were buying-great albums that were near and dear to their heart,
        or at the very least, proven commodities.

        But what will the massive Echo Generation (children of the Boomers) replace?
        Songs. What will they put in their Ipod’s? Songs. Not albums. Not volumes of
        songs. Single solitary songs. What artist will they go to see on tour 20 years
        from now? None. They won’t pay $300 to see an artist play one good song.
        Besides, those artists have jobs doing something else now.

        And guess what music the Echo Generation has turned to. The classics! That’s
        right. Many of the kids in my son’s school (the tail end of the Echo
        Generation) love Led Zeppelin. This simple rock group, who made their first album in a
        matter of days for a sum of $5000, has a body of work that is seemingly
        endless from the perspective of today’s teen and pre-teen. It’s a band that they can
        invest themselves in, despite the fact that they will never see the band play
        live.

        This is what the Music Business forgot. People want to invest in artists and
        bands. Not songs. Now, the labels have the audacity to expect consumers to pay
        for songs, that they already spent $17 on ten years ago. Wrong. These former
        consumers are going to take what they feel is rightfully theirs. Labels ripped
        them off for years, albeit legally. And herein lies the consequence. You
        can’t fleece someone for ten to fifteen years, and then once presented the
        opportunity expect them not to retaliate. And yes, I realize that most illegal
        downloading is from college kids, but my brother started buying albums when he was
        12 and I was 9. If you do the math, the kids that are stealing music are
        precisely the people that were violated by the Music Business. Frankly, they don’t
        trust us any more.

        Just so we’re clear. I’m not condoning the violation of Title 17. Far from
        it. I’m just explaining what I believe the thinking is behind those that do.

        The consequences.

        In closing, I’d like to take a moment to address the Record Labels, in hopes
        that it might make some kind of impact on how business is done. As one who
        makes his living making records, I have a stake in this, and I would like to
        suggest some changes.

        Dear Record Companies:

        I think you need to start signing career artists again-people that have
        something to say in their own words. I think you should look for acts that can
        write and play music that means something to people. (Hint: If the band must be
        manufactured in a computer, they can’t play live, and you will further turn off
        your consumers. People don’t want to feel as if they were lied to.) Find
        prolific acts and promote them, and stop putting such enormous pressure on them to
        write a hit. Put your muscle behind acts that will have some endurance-acts
        that you can reap the benefits from years down the line.

        Allow your customers to invest in your acts rather than forcing them to
        invest in songs. People will pay for an act. Believe me. They will pay good money
        for an act that they adore. Maybe not today. They’re burned and you have to
        earn back their trust. But once people realize an artist is the real deal, you’ll
        be able to sell them, regardless of the system of delivery.

        I would also suggest that you release your artists albums more frequently.
        You constantly worry about how old an act is, but yet you put out an album every
        four years, that is, if you don’t drop the act outright. Does that make any
        sense? In the current model, you could put out the album of an eighty year old
        man, and he would likely outlive the longevity of his career. Yet the first
        question I’m asked when I bring an act to a label is: "how old are they?" If you
        put out an album every year or two, (this requires taking off some of the
        pressure you put on your artists to produce "sure-fire" hits) you’ll get a very
        nice catalog in a short order of time. And it doesn’t even matter if the artist
        is in their thirties. Oh, yes, teenagers don’t relate to older artists,
        right? Regardless of whether I agree with that or not (and I don’t) you are
        completely ignoring a huge and wealthy segment of our population by not putting out
        music by artists that have some years behind them. Hint: 35 isn’t old.

        Lastly, don’t break down the natural barrier between star and fan. When fans
        can watch the star, how they act, how they deal with situations, you remove
        all mystery. How can a child  put someone as goofy as themselves on a pedestal?
        They can’t. Saturation of an artist only produces short-term results. Music
        fan can’t idolize someone that they think is just a more fortunate version of
        themselves. Embrace the mystery.

        I know. I know. It’s a long-term plan-one that your stock-holders won’t
        understand, so you’d better start explaining it to them. That can be difficult, I
        know.  After all, they want to make money now. But since they aren’t anyway, I
        thought I might make a suggestion as to what you can say to them:

        We’re not signing a song, dumb-dumb. That’s what got us into this mess in the
        first place.

        Mixerman

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