What pisses me off the most, is that the music industry, like no other industy, is perfectly poised to use the internet to the max. They could have online storefronts that opperate on a whole new concept. But they are so stuffy and greedy that they have pulled the wool over their own eyes.
They are sitting on a mint, but rather than capturing the money on the way out, they try to beat up the people that pick it up along the way.
How do they make money? They sign artists, advertise those artists, and get people to buy CDs from those artists.
They PAY to make videos and to get the music out to radio stations, they PAY to have scouts find new acts. They PAY for studio time, or they PAY to own a studio.
And they could keep doing all that, but on the internet they can do all of that FOR FREE!
If you had a site where people can download 128kbs mp3s for free from any group, then pay like allofmp3.com a small amount for 128-CD quality mp3s at 2-3 cents a megabyte. Then also from the same storefront, they could listen to streaming pandora-like stations they create, and also buy CDs and shirts and all kinds of promotional material. They would be self-advertising and make more money than they currently do.
BUT WAIT!
What stops them from letting people upload their own CDs they made, having it tossed into the mix, let the people decide who sounds like what, let the people decide what is 'good' and make some money of all the digital sales. Well. Now you've cut out the scouts too.
You can then have online scouts to pick out the cream of the crop and offer them contracts. Then get them out to tour and all-o-that. Get them to make videos for MTV.
But no. That would only turn the music industry into the biggest business to date.
The key would be letting the big labels set their own prices. Then they are still in competition with eachother. Or they each have their own sites. Whatever.
They are sitting on a mint, but rather than capturing the money on the way out, they try to beat up the people that pick it up along the way.
How do they make money? They sign artists, advertise those artists, and get people to buy CDs from those artists.
They PAY to make videos and to get the music out to radio stations, they PAY to have scouts find new acts. They PAY for studio time, or they PAY to own a studio.
And they could keep doing all that, but on the internet they can do all of that FOR FREE!
If you had a site where people can download 128kbs mp3s for free from any group, then pay like allofmp3.com a small amount for 128-CD quality mp3s at 2-3 cents a megabyte. Then also from the same storefront, they could listen to streaming pandora-like stations they create, and also buy CDs and shirts and all kinds of promotional material. They would be self-advertising and make more money than they currently do.
BUT WAIT!
What stops them from letting people upload their own CDs they made, having it tossed into the mix, let the people decide who sounds like what, let the people decide what is 'good' and make some money of all the digital sales. Well. Now you've cut out the scouts too.
You can then have online scouts to pick out the cream of the crop and offer them contracts. Then get them out to tour and all-o-that. Get them to make videos for MTV.
But no. That would only turn the music industry into the biggest business to date.
The key would be letting the big labels set their own prices. Then they are still in competition with eachother. Or they each have their own sites. Whatever.