C# 411 .NET NewsAs the resident geek, my part-time job is providing computer tech support to family, friends and neighbors. One of the most common questions they ask me is:
“What’s the difference between digital songs that cost $1.29 on iTunes and $0.99 on Amazon.com?”
And being the smartass that I am, my stock answer is:
“30 cents”
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The remaining original Kiss band members, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, discussed with USA Today their first new album in a decade. The album Sonic Boom, released yesterday exclusively at WalMart, is a three-disc set with a CD of re-recorded hits, a live DVD of a Buenos Aires concert, and 11 new songs. It’s only $12, “the price of a sandwich,” says Simmons.
The pair also talked about the current state of the music biz and piracy. “Anybody who says, ‘I’m only in it for the music’ will find himself washing cars and wondering where the money went,” said Paul Stanley. “Gene and I believe in working hard and making no apologies for what we get for the hard work.”
Touring and merchandise are necessary for the band to offset losses from music piracy. “You grab an album and leave a store, they put you in handcuffs,” said Stanley. “And yet someone on the Internet can decide whether or not I get paid. File-sharing, that’s like me stealing your car and telling you I’m sharing your transportation.”
Illicit downloading is one reason the band had resisted recording new material for a decade. Says a sneering Simmons: “These freckle-faced college kids have destroyed an entire industry by stealing. I don’t believe in socialism and, the last time I checked, what we do isn’t charity.”
We reap what we sow. If we continue to demand that our music, movies and software be free, and steal anything that is not free, eventually all that will remain is free crap and corporate-sponsored product. Is this really what we want?
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In a move that will only reinforce the public’s view of a greedy music industry, a consortium of music industry groups has begun lobbying the U.S. Congress to receive what they believe is their fair share of revenue from online music performances. This includes fees for the free 30-second song samples that feature their work on websites like iTunes and Amazon.com.
The story from CNET indicates that music officials believe they should be paid a “performance” income from Apple and others for all online music including the free samples, just like when a song is played on the radio or at a sports game.
“If you watch a TV show on broadcast, cable or satellite TV, there is a performance fee collected,” David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers Association. “But if that same TV show is downloaded over iTunes, there’s not. We’re arguing that the law needs to be clarified that regardless of the method by which a consumer watches the show there is a performance right.”
I agree that everyone in the music food chain should get their cut from music sales, but collecting a fee from 30-second samples? The music industry is clearly over-reaching (once again) and apparently doesn’t understand the concept of FREE samples. See, the idea is you give a little clip away for free with the hope that customers will pay to buy the whole song. I don’t know anyone who gets their music just by listening to these short clips. Most people just steal their music outright.
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Most of my friends don’t pay for their music. Sure, they’ll buy and receive CDs for birthdays and Christmas. But when they hear a song on the radio that they like, they simply download it for free from one of the hundreds of peer-to-peer, torrent or pirate networks.
These friends enjoy access to the most comprehensive music catalog in the world that includes The Beatles and many obscure acts. They own tens of thousands of songs. They can play their music on any computer, stereo, automobile or portable device without worrying about copy protection or play limits. Their music is high-fidelity 256 kbps MP3s, a sound that’s fairly close to the original recordings. They own their music forever, with no expired subscriptions to worry about. And the best part is they didn’t have to pay a cent for this incredible restriction-free collection of music.
Then there’s me. No doubt I am the stupid one of the group for actually paying for my music. Every one of the 5,645 songs in my catalog was fully paid for, either by purchasing a physical CD or a digital download from Apple iTunes.
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AC/DC is an interesting, anachronistic mix of classic rock and modern marketing. The band refuses to sell its extensive music catalog on iTunes or other music services because the band members feel the album is an art form that must be preserved. Yet the band released its new CD exclusively at Wal-Mart. This strategy apparently hasn’t hurt the band much, as it is one of the best-selling bands of all time with over 200 million albums sold.
Now AC/DC has released a new music video as ASCII art delivered in an Excel spreadsheet. It’s a strange but oddly compelling mix of old and new technology:
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