smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | Hersh Forman <hiforman@yahoo.com> |
| Subject | Re: copy protection / mp3s / CDs |
| Date | Thu, 10 Jul 2003 10:42:47 -0700 (PDT) |
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Well said, and bang on!
--- Kevin Gandel <oddsmanink@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Time for me to chime in. Warning, this is a rant.
> I'll probably be
> flying all over the place in this email. If you
> don't like reading
> these type, stop now. you've been warned.
>
> Portrait of an Audities member:
>
> Like most people on this list, i'm a music nut. I
> own over 1000 CDs. I
> am frequently seen at concerts in the area. I feel
> fortunate to call
> many of the local musicians in the area my friends.
> I've spoken with
> them for hours and hours about the state of the
> industry, state of the
> genre, and state of the econonmy. Each conversation
> has been like a
> puzzle piece for me, and after each one I feel that
> I'm that much closer
> to seeing the big picture, from both the vantage
> point of the musician
> who wants to earn a living, to the label who wants
> to turn a profit, to
> the fan who wants his music with no strings
> attached.
>
> The first thing I do when I buy a CD is rip it as
> 192kbps mp3s. The
> next thing I do with the CD is put it in my CD wall
> unit where it never
> gets touched again unless someone wants to borrow it
> or i've got a
> concert stub to stick in the back of the case.
>
> This is not a joke nor is it an exaggeration.
> *occasionally* I'll put
> CD's in my 6 disc car cd changer, but I usually only
> change them about
> once every 4-6 months. I don't listen to FM radio
> anymore. There is no
> diversity. I usually listen to AM sports talk in
> the car, hence the
> reason for the infrequent changing of CDs.
>
> I live for mp3s. I have an IPOD that I take to work
> with me every day.
> I constantly change the music I've got on there.
> I've ripped about 60%
> of my CD collection, which accounts for roughly 58
> gigs of mp3s. I've
> downloaded lots of free mp3 concerts from bands over
> the years. I will
> be honest and say I've downloaded some albums over
> the years that I
> listen to some of the time, and have yet to
> purchase. But I've also
> downloaded albums and listened to them and gone and
> bought them. I'd
> say about 70% of the music I download I end up
> buying legit eventually.
>
>
> I find that the format I listen to music breaks down
> as such:
>
> 80% mp3s on either computer or IPOD
> 15% live shows at clubs/bars/etc
> 5% on CD
>
> Anything that prevents me from listening to my music
> as mp3s (or some
> other form of compressed audio) simply infuriates
> me. I have already
> spent my money on the music, I will do what I damn
> well want with it and
> play it how I want to play it and listen to it how I
> want to.
>
> I'm so sick and tired of the major labels pushing
> their crap on us about
> copy protection that I'd just assume see them all go
> bankrupt. NONE of
> the bands I listen to need major labels. They get
> their publicity from
> creative internet ventures or word of mouth (music
> lists) or small
> labels (not lame, etc). The "larger" acts I listen
> to want nothing to
> do with the major labels really anymore (Pearl Jam,
> Aimee Mann, Ben
> Folds). Some would argue that without the big
> labels, those bands
> wouldn't be in a position to succeed now without
> them, but I contend
> these bands would have made it on their own anyway.
>
> I'm not sure what the solution is to balancing an
> artist's right to earn
> money and protect their royalties on work vs. the
> consumers right to do
> with their music as they see fit, but I can tell you
> the following
> things:
>
> a. preventing consumers from using a product the way
> they want is not
> the solution
>
> b. suing your customer base is not the solution
>
> c. continuing to perpetuate a negative image of your
> organization will
> not win you support
>
> d. refusing to identify OTHER POSSIBLE REASONS for
> the decline in your
> industry will simply drag out your dipping sales
> (hello? Recession?
> quality of music? Diversity of music? Cost of
> product? Waste of
> resources?)
>
> The RIAA and the labels just don't get it, and sadly
> never will. It
> takes some thinking outside the box, and these
> people don't possess it.
>
> turning the head valve off now.
>
> -kev
>
>
> _________________
> Kevin Gandel
> Computer Consultant
> Oddsman Ink
> 410.992.3893
>
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