In the Middle East, we don't hunt foxes, we hunt jackals. And we don't use foxhounds, we use royal harriers.
In regards to piracy with particular concern to digital music,
With the digitisation of music it became considerably easier to copy and distribute music. I understand this is why the big corporations are upset, but copying and disrtibuting of music has predated digital technology and will most likely continue despite the best efforts of copyrighting.
I remember growing up bringing parcels down from the letterbox to my mother. What was inside these parcels? Cassetes. For years she received the latest reggae, ska, drum and base, and all the inbetween on cassete from her friends in the UK through the post. When CD burning was available she started to receive CDs. When she went to Jamaica she made many friends and traded music also. Funny thing is many of the people she lived with took a particular liking to New Zealands Goldenhorse. So she posted them a couple of albums and apparently she has received reports from friends still there that her host plays Goldenhorse in his Stereo system across the valley to the village every morning. Sharing music can help to link and unite communities that live thousands of miles apart. Plus I'm also pretty sure that Goldenhorse have no idea they have a growing fanbase in Jamaica, (and I hope they'd overlook my mums breach of copyright, but it would have been too expensive for her to purchase multiple copies of their albums and sent them to all those people when it's so much cheaper to burn a CD for a dollar)
But what I'm trying to say is that the sharing of music is something that has been around for a while and I'm sure it will not be going away anytime soon. Technology will always be developed by people with the motivation.
Instead of trying to prevent the pirating and distribution of music, why don't artists and corporations accept that it has always happened and always will, and instead try to adapt. This may save everyone involved much time, money, and heartbreak.
I propose the idea of "added value". This is not my idea, I know I got it from somewhere, but I like it and am going to run with it.
By adding "value" to an album consumers may be more inclined to purchase that album.
What do I mean? Well by adding something that you cannot get in digital form or on an mp3.
A small example could be limited edition keyrings, stickers, or posters with album sales.
I know that when I purchased The Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness back in high school, I did so because
1) It was a f*cking good album
2) It had added value to boot!
I was impressed by the art on the CDs, but I was especially impressed with the accompanying booklet. It contained the lyrics to each song, photographs and crazy artwork. Maybe you could scan the artwork and replicate your own booklet but are you prepared to do that for every album? Do you have that much time?
The booklet was an experience you don't get from listening to the songs and certainly something that the mp3s don't have. Mp3s are impersonal, they don't have the analogue feel and nostalgia of vinyl, or a funky booklet I can lie on my bed and flick through while listening to the album. They simply provide audio, when there is so much more to the musical experience than that. Concerts, t-shirts, fan-clubs, stickers, posters, so much more corporations should be focussing on. The modern Movie industry doesn't make its money from ticket sales anymore, they make it from dvds and merchandising. Less time spent on pinging people, more time spent on selling me merchandise =)
So in order to get us out there and purchasing albums, there needs to be more "quality" added value, and I'm not talking about re-releasing the album 6 months later with 2 new bonus tracks I can locate and obtain free of charge, I'm talking about providing something I cannot download.
How many mp3s turn into posters you can stick up on your wall?
Caleb (a.k.a Mr Hasler since 2002 and still going strong)
[PS: Just a last comment. I have actually come to expect a lyrics sheet in every album I purchase, and when there isn't one I'm sorely disappointed. Maybe I take it for granted but it's one of the main reasons I buy the album and don't download. Why the heck do I wanna buy an ugly CD that hasn't been adorned with artwork for $30 when I can get the mp3s for free? The corporations need to take a harder look at what they're selling us.]
With the digitisation of music it became considerably easier to copy and distribute music. I understand this is why the big corporations are upset, but copying and disrtibuting of music has predated digital technology and will most likely continue despite the best efforts of copyrighting.
I remember growing up bringing parcels down from the letterbox to my mother. What was inside these parcels? Cassetes. For years she received the latest reggae, ska, drum and base, and all the inbetween on cassete from her friends in the UK through the post. When CD burning was available she started to receive CDs. When she went to Jamaica she made many friends and traded music also. Funny thing is many of the people she lived with took a particular liking to New Zealands Goldenhorse. So she posted them a couple of albums and apparently she has received reports from friends still there that her host plays Goldenhorse in his Stereo system across the valley to the village every morning. Sharing music can help to link and unite communities that live thousands of miles apart. Plus I'm also pretty sure that Goldenhorse have no idea they have a growing fanbase in Jamaica, (and I hope they'd overlook my mums breach of copyright, but it would have been too expensive for her to purchase multiple copies of their albums and sent them to all those people when it's so much cheaper to burn a CD for a dollar)
But what I'm trying to say is that the sharing of music is something that has been around for a while and I'm sure it will not be going away anytime soon. Technology will always be developed by people with the motivation.
Instead of trying to prevent the pirating and distribution of music, why don't artists and corporations accept that it has always happened and always will, and instead try to adapt. This may save everyone involved much time, money, and heartbreak.
I propose the idea of "added value". This is not my idea, I know I got it from somewhere, but I like it and am going to run with it.
By adding "value" to an album consumers may be more inclined to purchase that album.
What do I mean? Well by adding something that you cannot get in digital form or on an mp3.
A small example could be limited edition keyrings, stickers, or posters with album sales.
I know that when I purchased The Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness back in high school, I did so because
1) It was a f*cking good album
2) It had added value to boot!
I was impressed by the art on the CDs, but I was especially impressed with the accompanying booklet. It contained the lyrics to each song, photographs and crazy artwork. Maybe you could scan the artwork and replicate your own booklet but are you prepared to do that for every album? Do you have that much time?
The booklet was an experience you don't get from listening to the songs and certainly something that the mp3s don't have. Mp3s are impersonal, they don't have the analogue feel and nostalgia of vinyl, or a funky booklet I can lie on my bed and flick through while listening to the album. They simply provide audio, when there is so much more to the musical experience than that. Concerts, t-shirts, fan-clubs, stickers, posters, so much more corporations should be focussing on. The modern Movie industry doesn't make its money from ticket sales anymore, they make it from dvds and merchandising. Less time spent on pinging people, more time spent on selling me merchandise =)
So in order to get us out there and purchasing albums, there needs to be more "quality" added value, and I'm not talking about re-releasing the album 6 months later with 2 new bonus tracks I can locate and obtain free of charge, I'm talking about providing something I cannot download.
How many mp3s turn into posters you can stick up on your wall?
Caleb (a.k.a Mr Hasler since 2002 and still going strong)
[PS: Just a last comment. I have actually come to expect a lyrics sheet in every album I purchase, and when there isn't one I'm sorely disappointed. Maybe I take it for granted but it's one of the main reasons I buy the album and don't download. Why the heck do I wanna buy an ugly CD that hasn't been adorned with artwork for $30 when I can get the mp3s for free? The corporations need to take a harder look at what they're selling us.]
posted by Anonymous at 7:53 pm
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