Brenda wrote: > And the same thing is about to happen with television and cable if Michael Powell has his way.
What is he doing? So we can expect the like of Clear Channel to own all the TV and cable outlets - eeek! Then what do we do?! > The overarching problem I have with this argument is that the RIAA strongarmed > instead of entering into serious licensing discussions with Napster and other > companies like them. Napster could have and should have been legal. Many > companies with innovative technologies tried to get licensed and the labels refused to > play ball because they didn't control the companies. Musicnet and Pressplay both > limped to market early because the RIAA was getting pressure from Congress that > perhaps they were indeed engaging in anti-competitive behavior. (Even the judge in > the Napster case said as much.) And a lot of the people who are hurt by the major > label posturing are independent artists and labels who were fine with sharing music via > Napster (many of them now do via Audio Galaxy). They were not given a choice when > the service shut down. I don't have a sophisticated argument for the issue. It just never felt right to me at a gut level. I obviously don't like the major labels having a stranglehold but Napster didn't seem so pure and innocent, either, and kind of bulldozed their way with the issue. > They are running labels like Six Degrees, Enjoy, Emperor Norton, Merge, Om and > Ubiquity. Their companies are selling records despite the general downturn of the > business. And most of them allow their music to be traded because they understand > that real music fans are still going to buy records and that trading is great promotion. > They allow their music to be streamed. They embrace the new technology because > they understand that the next generation of music lovers are all over it and the next > great movement in music will come from them. This is great. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think a lot of people across the board know about these companies or their music. It's good that alternatives are thriving but it seems like they are limited in target to specialized markets. I liked it better when it was ALL being put out there through the simple medium of radio. Although I can see the other side that certain genres or segments of the market are benefiting by getting more personal care and attention. As for the problems with the majors being run by accountants - I think it's gone way beyond that. Huge corporations that have never been in the music business have been buying up and then flipping these companies for a number of years now. It's almost like corporate raiding. It seems like the businesses get so gutted and destabilized after numerous ownership and management changeovers every few years that it is easy to see how they've devolved into mediocracy. It's pathetic. Kakki
