> On the other hand, if everyone has this convenient access to the same > large catalog of music, that's the end for anyone who's not included > in this catalog. Independent labels lose even more visbility and > sales. Additionally, people will feel like "I'm already paying > flat-rate, I'll make do without music I'd have to pay extra for." I'd > hoped for widespread broadband to effect a de-centralisation in music > distribution - the opposite seems to be the case.
I just wanted to mention that since using Rhapsody (I've been subscribed about 1 year now) I've actually been exposed to far more independent labels/groups than I ever was before Rhapsody. This medium isn't limited in any way (i.e., radio is time-limited) so there's no downside to adding artists. It's in Rhapsody's (and other subscription-type services) interest to add any and all interested artists to their catalog so that they may draw in more subscribers. And the existence of more than one service provides competition in the marketplace that keeps the royalties paid to small artists from being unfairly low. I don't know how their licensing deals work but I would have to think that the subscription services compensate artists an amount that's somehow correlated to the # of plays their music receives. Indeed, (haha, this is all speculation, but bear with me) they probably have "cheaper" contracts with the smaller labels so it may very well be that subscription services would prefer that you listen to independent artists. Whatever the case may be, services like Rhapsody offer links to artists that are similar to, influenced by, forerunners of, and collaborators with any given artist in their catalog. Rhapsody also monitors my listening and suggests artists, albums, and tracks I might like (I believe this is a feature of Napster and Yahoo as well). Often these are from artists and groups I'd never have heard of otherwise. There are tons of artists out there that are getting royalties from me listening to them on Rhapsody that would never have seen a penny from me otherwise. Plus I still buy CD's. Unless the subscription services are somehow (totally illogically) banning artists from their catalog, it seems like your "losing visibility" argument is akin to saying "it's so unfair that we adopted the CD player because all those artists that only want to sell cassette tapes will just not be included and it'll be the end of them". _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
