Tim Collier said: >Interesting answer. I was thinking as I read it.....hmmm, no music >industry, then nobody to pay artists, no artists being paid, no music! >What a sad, sad world that would be.
So you have a hard time getting it or what? My point was that the record companies of *now*, ie as they are structured now, will wither, because there will be new alternatives for distributing online, that will in many cases give an opportunity for new types of business models, that to a large extent will prevent the big 6 or whatever corporations that own all the other record companies in the world (!) from controlling the action. This is good. The big evil mogule record company of the 20th Century is a dodo. Good riddance when they are replaced (which will be a long process of course). The main reason music industry is doing so bad is inflated record prices, that they haven't been following with their times. I'm quite sure what people want to pay for is artists not record companies as they are now. It's very possible to create new business models online. It's actually hard work getting music for "free" (as if time was free) on the sharing networks and in many cases well worth to spend about $1 or so per track. Which is why there is a big incentive to actually purchase music. But it has to be done right. So far the only well done alternatives I know of is iTunes Music Store and Beatport <http://www.beatport.com> and swedish Dotshop <http://www.dotshop.se>, though the latter doesn't sell downloadable tracks yet I think, but they will and they do sell CDs for $14.50 incl. local shipping (normal prices like $20 or more here (with shipping or in the shops )). If you as many record companies think it's possible to turn back now, I think you're very mistaken. If online sharing is "prevented", I think a majority not buying CDs will continue to not buy these. Online services will grow if and only if they have good services, treat the customers right and have a fair price, possibly varying with demand. The only way to meet this situation is head on and not by bullying people to buy music. Because that doesn't work. The situation now is similar to the situation when the punk music had pawed the way for independent record companies in the early eighties. It took the major labels well over a decade to get control of the situation again and independent labels have continued to play a significant part in the evolution of music, again also in the late eighties/early nighties, when the dance music revolution changed the musical landscape worldwide (except for many years in the US). It's still a delight to think of the fact that some tracks for a period of time in the made it to number one in the UK without major channel airplay and without massive store presence, solely by being sold off trucks and markets, often with any label at all (which also happened for a brief period during the early punk era). The reason they could do that was because DJs played tracks in big outdoor parties and on (non profit) pirate radio. The majors, the radio stations and the record companies, initially didn't get it as many times before, that the market for music was changing very very fast. They were actually bypassed to a large extent. Of course, they got hold of the situation again, but things was changed for the better a while at least. Ok, I'm sorry for the length and prolonging this offtopic subject, but I feel strongly about this issue. -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[email protected]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- iPod Accessories for Less at 1-800-iPOD.COM Fast Delivery, Low Price, Good Deal www.1800ipod.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
