HOME TAPING IS KILLING MUSIC, PART 18,457

[defrog]

Reports from the RIAA War On Thieving Pirates Like You®:

1. Music labels are suing Internet service providers and asking judges to force them to filter their users’ traffic and adopt a “three strikes” policy disconnecting users busted a third time for copyright infringement.

2. Music labels are suing Project Playlist for “massive infringment” because it allows users to embed music players in their MySpace page to listen to music streams from files on other computers. Note that Sony BMG is the only label not suing them.

3. Microsoft says it won’t support the DRM keys on any music sold via its now-defunct MSN Music Store after September. That means people who bought tunes or albums from the MSN Music store have to pick a computer (and OS) they want to authorize to be able to play it for the rest of their lives. Once they stop using that computer, the music they legally paid for is useless and can never be played on anything else ever again. The EFF sends Steve Ballmer an open letter demanding MS apologize to its customers. Ha ha.

4. Some of Australia's biggest musical acts are appearing in a new 10-minute documentary asking fans to please not steal their music, otherwise they’ll be too poor to make music.

"There becomes a point where you've gotta make X amount to be able to continue, you know, unless you want to be an old mate that lives in Byron Bay and sits in his hinterland shack and just plays an acoustic guitar," says Ben Gillies, drummer with Silverchair.

"The problem with downloading obviously is that it's ruining our industry in a way, because I mean you know artists just aren't making money, record companies aren't making money from it," says Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas.

Oh, DO shut up, both of you.

FUN FACT: The Veronicas (who are kinda like Avril Lavigne, but twin sisters, and Australian) made $1.7 million last year.

Look: I fully understand wanting to make a living making music, but if yr a millionaire and STILL complaining, then seriously, fuck you. Maybe digital piracy will weed out these greedy fucks who whinge about not being able to be as rich and famous as U2, and then the only people left will be people who actually want to make music for its own sake.

Okay, that’s comic exaggeration. But I really don’t understand why, instead of pressuring their own fans not to download, artists don’t turn on the record companies who fucked up their chances of commercial success early on by trying to sue digital music out of existence instead of embracing it when they had the chance.

Rip mix burn,

This is dF

Comments

[thelastaerie.livejournal.com]

music has been overpriced since... i dunno... the beginning of vinyl record?

[def-fr0g-42.livejournal.com]

The price of vinyl circa the mid-80s when CDs came out seems reasonable now. I remember when they said the price of CDs would come down when they became a mass-market format. Guess they never got around to it.

[puffdoggydaddy.livejournal.com]

The music companies fear digital music because if the artists can sell direct to their fans...who needs the major record labels.

The power of the labels to decide whose record gets made and who gets promoted is jeopardized by this.

The companies are looking at a paradigm shift in their industry and they have failed to glom onto a way to be part of the phenomena.

[def-fr0g-42.livejournal.com]

Someone once said the one thing labels are typically good at that artists can't necessarily do on their own is A&R, so labels could still have a future in that sense. The problem is that they've blown so much goodwill that they're quickly becoming a liability.

I think a pain phase had to happen sooner or later, but the labels chose "later" and it's cost them their rep as well as their revenue growth.

[jasonfranks.livejournal.com]

Firstly, Byron Bay is bloody expensive these days.

Secondly, Silverchair had a massive hit last year with Straight Lines, and whatever you think of their 90's grunge-wannabe music, at least it wasn't emo-wannabe. The new song makes my ears bleed.

The Australian music scene is doing well. Tons of unsigned or barely-signed bands are somehow finding money to attend SXW in Texas or to record in LA or Scandinavia. And of course there are guys like indie sensation John Butler (notably missing from the 'documentary' lineup), who did everything himself and did it without ever whining about fans taking his money.

And of course let's not forget that the record companies take the vast majority of all earnings from CD sales, anyway. Bands make their money from concerts and merchandise. This has been true for decades. This is precisely why Trent Reznor, upon learning how much Australian retailers were charging for his music, advised a massive Sydney audience last year to steal his music.

We (Australians) pay substantially more for CDs than any other country I've ever been to, whether they're local or imported. I-Tunes, emusic and other similar sites actually restrict the material they will sell to us.. and now, as you've pointed out, Microsoft has screwed over anybone who bought music from them.

So, yeah, you want people to stop stealing music? Make it cheaper and more available.

And don't even get me started on the Myspace thing...

-- JF

[def-fr0g-42.livejournal.com]

Good commentary. I see Silverchair regularly on Rage, and they remind me more of Live now (who were sort of proto-emo back in their heyday).

Last time I was in Sydney I was surprised by how much CDs cost, but I would argue that Japan has the most expensive CDs on Earth – they have a huge local music industry, and local CDs cost almost twice as much as imports. I still have no idea why this is.

[jasonfranks.livejournal.com]

I remember Live... the singer sounds like Michael Stipe from REM...

Don't remember CDs being so expensive in Japan, but I admit I didn't buy any when I was there. I do remember being impressed with the selection of imports at the Tower Records by Nishi Akashi station.

-- JF

[thelastaerie.livejournal.com]

Japan has the most expensive CDs on Earth – they have a huge local music industry, and local CDs cost almost twice as much as imports. I still have no idea why this is.

in the 2 years that i was into J-pop while in secondary school, the Japanese vinyl 7" single and 12" album already costed almost 2-3 times as much as an english import. so i guess it's just the way they price music products.

i do know that in Japan there's no discount on new releases (it's banned by the law) and usually CD-singles are on limited release (drives fans to buy it while they can and charge higher price)... like you said, they have a big enough local market to get away with it, even during the depression.

the only way to get cheaper local CDs in Japan is go to their secondhand stores...

[bluesgirly.livejournal.com]

I am an author. Hopefully, persons who like my book let their sister borrow it who then gave it to a co-worker who couldn't help but give me rave reviews on Amazon.

I should sue the sister and the co-worker?

Idiots!

[def-fr0g-42.livejournal.com]

I wondered how you might feel about this. Authors are facing a similar issue with e-books, and I've heard it from both sides – some worry about piracy hurting their ability to write for a living, others see it as welcome viral promotion. Me, I favor the latter option if and when my own fiction career ever gets off the ground. Sure, I'd rather be paid, but I'd also like to be widely read.

[garbagecanmusic.livejournal.com]

*waits patiently for fiction career*

[dinopollard.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I'm a writer as well and I don't expect someone who's read my stuff because they borrowed it from a friend to pay me money for it. Nor do I expect libraries to pay me for each person who checks out a copy.

This has been going on with publishing for years and writers don't make shit compared to musicians.

[bluesgirly.livejournal.com]

I didn't think of that library thing - that is a brilliant point.

Publishing is the weirdest business there is.