Friday, March 17
Weblog Post #10 - The inept RIAA strikes again
In his article "Podcasters and Rights-Free Tunes," James Careless talks about how Internet podcast programs are using independent music on their shows instead of shelling out cash for unclear rights to licensed music. Make sense?
The record industry is a great example of a huge multi-million dollar industry crumbling every time new technology comes out. Think back to just six or seven years ago when Napster kept the music industry up all night. They dropped law suits on everyone from college kids to children to senior citizens. They were ruthless and many music lovers had no problem turning their back on such a greedy and souless business.
When Napster hit the scene, it put every musical artist on equal grounds. Heck, I put my own high school band on Napster and it got downloaded twice! Naturally, the money-makers hated this idea and the garage and basement bands loved it. The lawsuits came and cleaned people out. They somehow figured a hard drive full of songs-- now 99-cents -- means the owner should fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars that they don't have. Finally, record sales slipped. If you're making your customers broke, they can't buy your product.
So jump ahead to 2006. Instead of printing out clear rights for podcasters to play music, the industry is leaving the rules vague which in turn makes podcasters unsure of purchasing the rights to the music. The industry is once again shunning its consumers and blindly playing God. They must think the podcast fad will be over soon. I doubt they spend time to find out anything about who listens to their music. If they did, they would see thousands of college students strutting through college campuses listening to Ipods.
They finally handled the mp3 fiasco four years late and they should now be getting a jump on the podcast fiasco!
Pod pioneer and ex-MTV VJ Adam Curry said "there is a willingness among podcasters to pay for licenses...Meanwhile people are still getting sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for sharing music online, which doesn't make people feel very confident about paying for unclear rights."
And rightfully so. The neatest feature about the old Napster was the ability to download unlicensed music. Concert bootlegs, TV appearances and unsigned bands were readily available at high speeds. These are things people want. The record industry has proven to the masses that they have no clue. If they were smart they'd be the ones behind these new products and Internet programs, but they are not. They are way behind and in the end it makes them look like a bunch of sue-happy, whining babies...And in the end it will always hurt the music listeners.
The record industry is a great example of a huge multi-million dollar industry crumbling every time new technology comes out. Think back to just six or seven years ago when Napster kept the music industry up all night. They dropped law suits on everyone from college kids to children to senior citizens. They were ruthless and many music lovers had no problem turning their back on such a greedy and souless business.
When Napster hit the scene, it put every musical artist on equal grounds. Heck, I put my own high school band on Napster and it got downloaded twice! Naturally, the money-makers hated this idea and the garage and basement bands loved it. The lawsuits came and cleaned people out. They somehow figured a hard drive full of songs-- now 99-cents -- means the owner should fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars that they don't have. Finally, record sales slipped. If you're making your customers broke, they can't buy your product.
So jump ahead to 2006. Instead of printing out clear rights for podcasters to play music, the industry is leaving the rules vague which in turn makes podcasters unsure of purchasing the rights to the music. The industry is once again shunning its consumers and blindly playing God. They must think the podcast fad will be over soon. I doubt they spend time to find out anything about who listens to their music. If they did, they would see thousands of college students strutting through college campuses listening to Ipods.
They finally handled the mp3 fiasco four years late and they should now be getting a jump on the podcast fiasco!
Pod pioneer and ex-MTV VJ Adam Curry said "there is a willingness among podcasters to pay for licenses...Meanwhile people are still getting sued by the Recording Industry Association of America for sharing music online, which doesn't make people feel very confident about paying for unclear rights."
And rightfully so. The neatest feature about the old Napster was the ability to download unlicensed music. Concert bootlegs, TV appearances and unsigned bands were readily available at high speeds. These are things people want. The record industry has proven to the masses that they have no clue. If they were smart they'd be the ones behind these new products and Internet programs, but they are not. They are way behind and in the end it makes them look like a bunch of sue-happy, whining babies...And in the end it will always hurt the music listeners.
# posted by Jonathan : 11:04 AM
