Food for thought, from Haiyaku on RB.
By: haiyaku
Reply To: None Saturday, 15 May 1999 at 6:34 PM EDT
Post # of 19781
the mp3 ruse ~ i just spent some time re-visiting the mp3com site. what amazes me is that mp3 posters think that music will actually and continually be Free to All.
mp3.com and others like it (including realnetworks) are not promoting mp3 for nothing. it's the hook routine..and they want an entry into the lucrative world of music distribution. while promoting the old hacker's lament (originated by author william gibson) that "information wants to be free", they are building a business.
many internet companies run deficit but their stock price is based on future income. this is the same model that mp3 companies are using. they are offering music for free, but in future, once the sheeple are hooked, there will be a fee. count on it.
how many companies (such as mp3.com which now sports a supposed 27 million free songs including some artist that recorded his girlfriend's voice into what sounds like whale mating sounds) will be willing to continue to provide server space for free...or start filtering out the music wannabees against the gifted? (if an aspiring musician or a group wants to get their work noticed, are they supposed to upload to hundreds, thousands of sites or will mp3.com or realnetworks or the latest mp3 kid on the block accept just anyone's mp3 music? they are going to have to charge one of these days...will they charge the wannabees for an upload fee or will they charge the consumer for a download fee?
some mp3 proponents want to compare this revolution to software's shareware/freeware category. (how many of you have downloaded shareware software which has a request for money but based on the honor system?) I thought so. Very few software programmers ever make it into the commercial lines.
The biggest thing that bothers me about this whole mp3 movement is the threat to overall intellectual property rights. there are more channels of creativity than music: movies, videos, art, books...and even communications as in net telephone services. so, what mp3er's are saying is that, starting with music, everything should be free or, at least on the honor system!
mp3 is a complete ruse and hogwash! (however, it is a clever idea to undermine the multinational conglomerates and create a new market....) i wonder how wall street will value mp3.com's coming ipo. i am hoping it will value it the same way they valued realnetworks announcement re mp3 (down 24 points, if i recall).
hai (ever the capitalist)
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