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Okay,

Everybody please go listen to the fun, funny, smart, tech-savvy, pop rock of Jim's Big Ego right now. The Boston-based band's lead singer, Jim Infantino, "gets it."

"JBE Radio" is waiting to fill your speakers.

Their song Mix Tape (free download) was written about the music industry's inability to understand that people have always shared their favorite music and will continue to.

Their music is released with a Creative Commons license. "Jim's Big Ego Won't Sue You!"

Listen to previews of the tracks from their album "They're Everywhere" (and other albums.) Buy the album in 192kbps MP3 unrestricted shareable copyable non-DRM format.

Okay, thanks. Back to your regularly scheduled John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Tom.

Okay,

Everybody please go listen to the fun, funny, smart, tech-savvy, pop rock of Jim's Big Ego right now. The Boston-based band's lead singer, Jim Infantino, "gets it."

"JBE Radio" is waiting to fill your speakers.

Their song Mix Tape (free download) was written about the music industry's inability to understand that people have always shared their favorite music and will continue to.

Their music is released with a Creative Commons license. "Jim's Big Ego Won't Sue You!"

Listen to previews of the tracks from their album "They're Everywhere" (and other albums.) Buy the album in 192kbps MP3 unrestricted shareable copyable non-DRM format.

Okay, thanks. Back to your regularly scheduled John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Tom.

Okay,

Everybody please go listen to the fun, funny, smart, tech-savvy, pop rock of Jim's Big Ego right now. The Boston-based band's lead singer, Jim Infantino, "gets it."

"JBE Radio" is waiting to fill your speakers.

Their song Mix Tape (free download) was written about the music industry's inability to understand that people have always shared their favorite music and will continue to.

Their music is released with a Creative Commons license. "Jim's Big Ego Won't Sue You!"

Listen to previews of the tracks from their album "They're Everywhere" (and other albums.) Buy the album in 192kbps MP3 unrestricted shareable copyable non-DRM format.

Okay, thanks. Back to your regularly scheduled John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Tom.

Okay,

Everybody please go listen to the fun, funny, smart, tech-savvy, pop rock of Jim's Big Ego right now. The Boston-based band's lead singer, Jim Infantino, "gets it."

"JBE Radio" is waiting to fill your speakers.

Their song Mix Tape (free download) was written about the music industry's inability to understand that people have always shared their favorite music and will continue to.

Their music is released with a Creative Commons license. "Jim's Big Ego Won't Sue You!"

Listen to previews of the tracks from their album "They're Everywhere" (and other albums.) Buy the album in 192kbps MP3 unrestricted shareable copyable non-DRM format.

Okay, thanks. Back to your regularly scheduled John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Tom.

Okay,

Everybody please go listen to the fun, funny, smart, tech-savvy, pop rock of Jim's Big Ego right now. The Boston-based band's lead singer, Jim Infantino, "gets it."

"JBE Radio" is waiting to fill your speakers.

Their song Mix Tape (free download) was written about the music industry's inability to understand that people have always shared their favorite music and will continue to.

Their music is released with a Creative Commons license. "Jim's Big Ego Won't Sue You!"

Listen to previews of the tracks from their album "They're Everywhere" (and other albums.) Buy the album in 192kbps MP3 unrestricted shareable copyable non-DRM format.

Okay, thanks. Back to your regularly scheduled John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Tom.

Okay,

Everybody please go listen to the fun, funny, smart, tech-savvy, pop rock of Jim's Big Ego right now. The Boston-based band's lead singer, Jim Infantino, "gets it."

"JBE Radio" is waiting to fill your speakers.

Their song Mix Tape (free download) was written about the music industry's inability to understand that people have always shared their favorite music and will continue to.

Their music is released with a Creative Commons license. "Jim's Big Ego Won't Sue You!"

Listen to previews of the tracks from their album "They're Everywhere" (and other albums.) Buy the album in 192kbps MP3 unrestricted shareable copyable non-DRM format.

Okay, thanks. Back to your regularly scheduled John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

Tom.

Did you know that Jim's Big Ego did that ages ago with their song Mix Tape?

For another Creative Commons song that absolutely doesn't suck, check out Mix Tape by Jim's Big Ego.

For another Creative Commons song that absolutely doesn't suck, check out Mix Tape by Jim's Big Ego.

Let's just disregard the fact that you have no real perspective.

If you don't like the law and don't like the RIAA's tactics, don't buy music from publishers and recording companies that support it. Buy music only from groups and companies that are expressly not members and/or support file trading.

Jim's Big Ego (http://bigego.com/) is a great band and they release their music under the Creative Commons License. Only buy music from enlightened places like Magnatune (http://magnatune.com/). CDBaby (http://cdbaby.com/) works directly with artists and gives them most of the profits.

Once you have done all that, then tell the companies that you would normally buy from why you aren't going to buy from them until they leave the RIAA or reign it in. Until you do that, if you still download music that you haven't paid for and don't have permission to download, you're full of crap.

Boston's fun, funny, hip, and technologically-aware Jim's Big Ego did this in May 2004. Their song, "Mix Tape," makes some good statements about the RIAA. Several contest entries and the original song and component tracks are available for download.

http://www.bigego.com/egog/article.php?story=20040 504090919481

http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/4162

Good economic analysis. One part bugs me, though:

Of course, if there is an easy way to get a product free, people are unlikely to demand it at any price other than free

It is true that if you price a product above a person's price point, they will not buy it, but it is not necessarily true that people will always buy a lower priced substitute when there is a higher priced one available. Your claim only holds water if you assume that monetary price is the only motivating factor behind a buying decision. In reality, there are many other factors which determine whether someone is willing to buy a CD or download a song.

For example, going to the store may be a social activity. Some people value having the lyric book, and some people feel its important that they have a physical disc with their music on it. It's even possible that a person may buy a CD realizing that 1 or 2 percent of their money goes into the artist's pockets and would prefer to support their artist of choice. In my case, I buy CD's from non-RIAA artists who liscence their music under the Creative Commons liscence both because I like the music but also because I want to support that specific business model.

All of these other factors effectively raise the price of filesharing, sometimes to the point where the RIAA's business model becomes competitive again. Despite all that, I agree with what you're saying. I don't believe that they are pursuing a viable business model since the scarcity of bits and bytes is unnatural and virtually impossible to maintain, and a distributor relies almost solely on the scarcity of their wares to keep prices near a point where they can survive.

(within my domain)

I agree with your statement, but this turn of phrase got me thinking.

Are we actually willing to believe that, though we have paid a portion of our own salaries to them, our right to keep and enjoy the fruits of our favorite artists is subject to their whim, the whims of their managers, their recording agency, and the retail outlet that graciously lent them it's shelf space?

What about music is so inherently restrictive that it cannot be enjoyed by anyone, most of all by those who choose to buy it? You can sit outside a concert hall and hear the music. You can hum along to a tune in a local cafe. But it seems that as soon as you decide to pay for the music, everything becomes a hundred times more complicated. Once you buy a ticket to a concert, you have to stand in line to get drinks or use the bathroom, you have to agree to work around and, if necessary, with event security. You have to have a wristband to prove your age.

Same thing when you buy a CD. As soon as you buy the CD, it is blatantly obvious what you must do to avoid breaking the law: don't copy the CD and give it to anyone who didn't pay for it. Don't play it in public without a BMA/Ascap license. Don't make it available on the internet. The rules suddenly become very clear the moment you pay for your media.

But how much sense does this make, exactly? Shouldn't paying the company that makes the product result in a net increase in your freedom to enjoy that product? If not, what, exactly did you pay them for? (This is assuming, of course, that the product is freely available in piratical form.) The right not to get sued, as long as you adhere to the clear and precedented rules set out by the manufacturer and the law?

My point is, music has always been about free distribution on the individual level. Music makers make money by performing their music live, by gaining patronage from other, wealthier companies, and by maintaining as wide an audience as possible, which means many fans, as widespread as possible. (A glimpse into the business models of a given record franchise will always reveal that it makes the bulk of it's profit from live performances. Those don't make money if no one is willing to go.)

Do we really feel obligated to pay the artist for being those fans, for making sure that our friends, family, and even our P2P network buddies become fans as well? In days gone by, we would have thrown this little bit of patronage the artist's way because we enjoyed their work. It was a tiny sum as we were not rich, but it meant a vote of confidence. Now it seems like we must pay for the privilege of even judging whether the artist is worth giving money to.

Why pay the record companies anything at all, if it only leads to greater restriction? What is art without the ability to enjoy it, to absorb it, to share it? What art is worthy enough to own, but not worthy enough to preserve, to assimilate, to reiterate in a million forms for yourself and for others? Enjoying art is a messy process - especially the art that we love. Why can't we - and I especially mean we who pay for CDs, DVDs, game discs, etc. - at least grant ourselves the leeway to enjoy what we have without worrying about stepping on the artist's managers' toes?

Many have said that the solution is to leave behind the art that only restricts you when you support it, for music and artists that want their work distributed and won't punish you for anything short of releasing it with your name on the cover. But should this have to be the answer? Should the fans of Jimmy Eat World be any more restricted than the fans of Jim's Big Ego? Does that make any natural sense, or is the word "syndicate" here more than just an industry term?

No Jim's Big Ego?

For shame!

Congratulations, to the winners! Congratulations to Sheryl Seibert for her Mix Tape movie!

You can download the music for her video, for free, from Jim's Big E-Shop.

The software industry was doing the same thing as the music industry for quite a while: it was pushing an effort to ban piracy. Did you notice that we don't see big corporations making as many attempts as we did a few years back? I do. And I think the reason is quite obvious, especially to slashdotters. Open source software.

Now what I would like to point out is that open source programmers aren't programming for money (rarely anyways), they are doing it because it's what they love to do. There are some fantastic musicians out there that make some great music, but not for money, but because they love doing it. Take for example Jim's Big Ego; they encourage copying and trading amongst friends. All they ask is that if you are going to pay for a copy of their music to please buy it from them, because they're independent artists, and quite frankly they don't need the money.

The point is that we can move away from the record industry's control. We just need to stop suppording the record industry itself, and start supporting great independent artists. Support those who are making music because they love making music, not because they love making money.

Another great thing about local bands is that you can get close to them without paying Ticketmaster a chunk of money, and without buying months in advance. Local bands are often grateful if you bring a camera and take their picture, and often don't mind you recording the show. Jim Infantino of Boston band Jim's Big Ego (http://bigego.com) told me directly a few years ago, "Please Napster our stuff!" Jim is a Slashdot reader, an opponent of webcasting fees, and turns out new MP3s every month.

Another great thing is that when you go to a show, you'll be exposed to 2-3 other bands. Many of them are awful... But one in 20 is really good, and you'll end up hooked on their music, too.

Got to love live local music.

Tom in Boston
http://bostonrock.home.attbi.com