Guaranteeing the File-Sharing Future
Published January 21, 2004
....Record companies and online services must also secure a song's publishing rights, also known as "mechanical rights," a term that was spurred by the invention of the player piano, the first device to reproduce a musician's work.
There are two major music publishing companies — EMI and Warner/Chappell Music Inc., owned by Time Warner Inc. — and at least 27,000 smaller ones. When attempting to release a CD for sale on the Internet, record companies must go song by song and contact each songwriter to negotiate for the online rights. Sixty-five to 70 percent of the publishers are represented by the Harry Fox Agency, established in 1927 to protect its members' rights and collect and disburse royalty payments to them.
But the rest of the publishers are not represented by Harry Fox, which means they cannot be easily located through a central database. And if found, some are unwilling to sell their rights. Some are unable to sell because they are dead.
....Some artists, such as cerebral Brit-rockers Radiohead, believe their albums should be listened to in their entirety and will not sell them online as singles.
...."It's not that we don't respect the concept of the album as art, but particularly in light of fact that all the tracks are available individually on every illegal free service, it doesn't seem to make sense that they're not available in other than on album format on the legitimate services where the artist actually makes money," said Napster's Atkins. "To compete with the illegal sites, we need to at least offer consumers what they can get there, so maybe the artists have to look at that and make different decisions." [Washington Post] Hence the appeal of consumers saying "screw this" and going for the sure thing with the file sharing services: it's all there, and of course it's all free. The file sharing services will lose their appeal when everything that is available there, is available at a pay service, or better still, when a blanket file sharing license is created.
- Guaranteeing the File-Sharing Future
- Published: January 21, 2004
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- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Internet, Music: News
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Also, consider that the "legal" services are in many cases offering the stuff they DO offer in various restricted forms and formats, wma and copy-protected crap, even if you're willing to pay. That makes these pay files distinctly inferior to what you can get for free every day on the net.
If I peer into my crystal ball it tells me there will always be a market for free file sharing. Even when pay-per-use downloading goes mainstream, free file sharing will be continue to be a useful medium for new musicians to promote their wares.
The future of music and file sharing? It ain't the RIAA, it is roll your own:
CARLSBAD, Calif., January 21, 2004--NAMM, the International Music Products Association, today announced final registration and exhibitor numbers for the association's recently concluded four-day NAMM Show in Anaheim. At show close, NAMM reported an astonishing 10 percent increase in overall registration for a grand total of 74,236 registrants. The organization previously announced breaking the all-time record of exhibitors with 1,340 companies exhibiting at this year's NAMM Show.
At the 2004 gathering, themed "Believe in Music," the record crowds marveled at the latest musical instruments and products, attended valuable business-building seminars and saw many artists and celebrities, all while experiencing the sunny weather and warm hospitality of Southern California.
...
The International Music Products Association, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization's popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $16 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages.
The music making market continues to grow, and with the addition of software like Garageband, a new market is being created.
Satisfied with your opus? Export to iTunes for instant access from your iTunes music library. In fact, iTunes 4.2 automatically creates a playlist in your name. See, you're famous already. From there you can burn it to a CD, transfer it to your iPod or use it in one of your iPhoto, iMovie or iDVD projects just like any other song in iTunes.
Look how long the majors ignored hip-hop. The new music market is all about using the network to make and distribute music using P2P sharing.
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i see a story at cnn indicating that 532 more people have been sued.