Gordon Lightfoot Forums - View Single Post - RIAA lawsuits and changing the music industry

Auburn Annie · 09-11-2003, 07:20 AM

There's an article in today's CBS News website on the file-sharing lawsuits. The author offers a variety of eventual results as the industry flails about trying to save the old business model while the ground shifts under their feet. An excerpt:

"Big Music Fights For Its Future"
Sept. 11, 2003

"...Another possibility - and this is something that the recording industry isn't going to like - is that we start to rethink the nature of the music business. Just as the break up of AT&T helped lower the cost of long distance calls, the dilution of the oligopoly of big record labels could dramatically reduce the price of recorded music.

There was a time when artists needed big record companies because the cost of recording, pressing and promoting an album was prohibitively expensive for all but well-heeled companies. But those days may be over.

Today, technology makes it possible not only to professionally record music on a standard PC or Mac, but also to burn CDs or upload music so that fans can buy it directly. Perhaps what we, as a society, ought to be thinking about is a new paradigm for music.

Such a paradigm might have less room for big record companies or even big name artists, but it could have plenty of room for the thousands of talented musicians whose work is barely noticed because they either don't have a recording contract or - for whatever reasons - they're not heavily marketed by the labels who have signed them.

Fans would still have music and musicians would have an audience and a market. Few if any of these musicians would stand a chance of becoming a multimillionaire superstar, but that's already the case. For every superstar, there are thousands of very talented artists who make virtually nothing from their music.

A paradigm shift doesn't happen by fiat, but if the recording industry succeeds in alienating itself from enough of its customers, we might see such a scenario evolve over time.

In the meantime, I recommend that people refrain from stealing music and start looking around for alternatives - including legal Internet downloading sites - that feature emerging artists and something even more radical: go to local concerts, support your local musicians and buy their CDs. They'll appreciate your support and they certainly won't sue you."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in572599.shtml

09-11-2003, 07:20 AM	#1
Auburn Annie Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,101	There's an article in today's CBS News website on the file-sharing lawsuits. The author offers a variety of eventual results as the industry flails about trying to save the old business model while the ground shifts under their feet. An excerpt: "Big Music Fights For Its Future" Sept. 11, 2003 "...Another possibility - and this is something that the recording industry isn't going to like - is that we start to rethink the nature of the music business. Just as the break up of AT&T helped lower the cost of long distance calls, the dilution of the oligopoly of big record labels could dramatically reduce the price of recorded music. There was a time when artists needed big record companies because the cost of recording, pressing and promoting an album was prohibitively expensive for all but well-heeled companies. But those days may be over. Today, technology makes it possible not only to professionally record music on a standard PC or Mac, but also to burn CDs or upload music so that fans can buy it directly. Perhaps what we, as a society, ought to be thinking about is a new paradigm for music. Such a paradigm might have less room for big record companies or even big name artists, but it could have plenty of room for the thousands of talented musicians whose work is barely noticed because they either don't have a recording contract or - for whatever reasons - they're not heavily marketed by the labels who have signed them. Fans would still have music and musicians would have an audience and a market. Few if any of these musicians would stand a chance of becoming a multimillionaire superstar, but that's already the case. For every superstar, there are thousands of very talented artists who make virtually nothing from their music. A paradigm shift doesn't happen by fiat, but if the recording industry succeeds in alienating itself from enough of its customers, we might see such a scenario evolve over time. In the meantime, I recommend that people refrain from stealing music and start looking around for alternatives - including legal Internet downloading sites - that feature emerging artists and something even more radical: go to local concerts, support your local musicians and buy their CDs. They'll appreciate your support and they certainly won't sue you." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/...in572599.shtml