Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Rande Is . . . HOME -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Silver_Bullet who wrote (25440)	5/7/2000 12:45:00 PM
From: Rande Is	Respond to of 57584

Friendly, you might care to read my thread on Internet Music. . .http://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=20468 . . needless to say, I disagree with you wholeheartedly. The downloading of commercially released music via MP3 format. . without payment for such. . .is seen as piracy by the U. S. courts. It is a Federal offense. . . not a personal choice. Napster is simply another loophole that makes tracing the downloads that much more difficult. There are numerous problems with piracy of music and movies. First, the lost revenues are currently measured in tens of billions of dollars and growing rapidly. . .Secondly, the two industries are not set up to withstand such an assault. Thirdly, Lesser known talented artists are losing their contracts as record companies cut budgets due to these losses. . .which is leading us to a world where we will have choice of either top artists that still sell big numbers and literally millions of other 'garage bands'. . . 99% of which are not worth hearing. . . [I spent 10 years listening to dozens of tapes per week] Next is the movie industry. Why rent and why buy when you can download from a "friend" over the net and steal it? Sure, Spielberg will still do fine. . . but again, lots of movie companies will begin to face serious challenges. Software companies faced this same dilemma. But it was easily remedied through complex encryption, copying codes and combination locks. Why can't the record industries and movie industries do the same without people saying they somehow "deserve" to get their music for free. Yes, MP3, Napster and other forms of illegal piracy can be used for good. In a similar way, the money from a bank robbery can be used for good. But that hardly makes it right. As a professional composer, producer, engineer, artist for over 2 decades. . .I can tell you that without piracy, it was hard enough to collect from all projects. . .and often times names are overlooked from royalty streams. . . .and in many arenas, music is being contracted on a "work for hire" basis which sidesteps composer royalties altogether. And we don't want a world where everyone is a composer, just like we wouldn't want one where everyone is a painter. . .to take it to the absurd. . .it would be like our art museums looking like grade school bulletin boards. Most composer/producers are lucky to receive proper remuneration for 10% of all projects taken. With piracy eating away at performance royalties, mechanical royalties and other sales. . . it will be the artists, the songwriters, the producers and other "talent" that gets the shaft from piracy. Also smaller independent labels will find making deals to keep them in biz harder to do than the conglomerates. Yes, responsible adults CAN use free music for making decisions on which CDs to buy. However, young people of high school and college age find it difficult to refrain from simply keeping free music only. And this is the primary age that keeps both the music industry and the movie industry running. Yes, Shania Twain would have sold more . .as she has becomes a bigger crossover success than Garth. And yes, without Napster and MP3, she would have probably sold tens of thousands more copies of her recordings. . .perhaps hundreds of thousands. I live in Nashville area. . .I talk with record industry professionals regularly. I attend industry functions. Tuesday, I'll be attending a party for the Recording Academy that puts on the Grammys [incidently, entertainment will be by Wynonna, Ricky Skaggs, Susan Tedeschi, Mandy Barnett, Big Tent Revival and others]. And I can assure that if I were to simply utter the words MP3 or Napster into circles there, I could instantly turn smiles upside down. I rarely find music I care to hear more than once. Similarly, I rarely find movies I care to hear more than once. Neither industry has an obligation to consumers to allow them to. . .as you put it. . ."hear before you buy". If I were to be allowed to watch a movie before I buy it. . .I would only rarely buy what I had seen. . . greatly reducing the number of DVDs and VHS I buy. That is only natural. Likewise, by allowing consumers to hear complete recordings before they buy will reduce the number of units they buy per year. This is why I prefer pay as you listen. . . which is the next wave coming. Turn on a movie and pay by the minute. Select music. . .and pay by the minute. . . you don't need to ever own it. . .just rent it. Fortunately for the music and movie industries, the Federal courts have upheld the recording industry's case against MP3 and the like. Copyrights are Federally enforced. The Justice Department, the FBI and other Federal law enforcement agencies are called in when piracy is found. Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents must be defended to protect the creative process. Otherwise we slip into a dark ages of sorts creatively. And we must continue to hold the most creative people in high esteem. The future of music in America is NOT boxes full of garage band recordings. . .as those found on legal MP3 sites. Believe me, the vast majority is terrible. We NEED enforcement of copyright laws. We need to stop the piracy. We need to continue paying the artists, songwriters, producers and other creative talent. For the sake of quality in music and eventually in film. . . we need to put an end to piracy of all creative works. Rande Is