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Best Buy Backs CD Copy Impairment
borkus writes: "Chief Operating Officer Allen Lenzmeier of Best Buy, Co, owner of Best Buy Stores and Musicland said that his company would support industry efforts at copyright protection, though he didn't specify any particular technology. Although Best Buy stores sell MP3 players, CD-Burners and tape decks, they aquired Musicland in 2001. According to the article, the 10% decrease in music sales in 2001 was caused mostly by Internet file swapping. As a major retailer of both electronics AND music, Best Buy could have a huge impact on the future format of music player hardware as well as software."
Okay.. I'm going to say something snarly here. Have they actually given serious thought to the possibility that the reason sales are down is because the fanatical followers of bubblegum pop have started to grow up?
Probably not.
This is a supply/demand issue. It's quite possible that the listening audience demand has dropped because the supply is drek.
BestBuy was just eliminating a competitor when they bought Musicland. They were already one of the largest sellers of cd's in 2001. The real issue behind this is that BestBuy owns a record label (can't remember the name, Red Line Records?) and as such they are indirectly member of the RIAA.
The RIAA, BestBuy and others continue to make two, essential false assumptions about the music industry.
- The decline in sales has nothing to do with the content being produced by the music industry.
Sorry, try again. Many, many people who download songs end up buying the albums, however there is a severe lack of anything new or remotely innovative in popular music, right now. Record companies are STILL placing all their bets on Teen Pop, Metal, Rap and a stunning number of bands who have decided to get Eddie Vedder impersonators as their vocalists. Sure, there are a few exceptions, but really, the catagories I mentioned are the sum total of 99.9% of the music industry right now.
If people don't buy CDs, the record company mentality goes, it must be because of something wrong with the customer. They are unwilling to admit that they have alltogether tightened the reigns on the industry to the point where it is being choked. Radio playlists across the country are exactly the same, paid for by corprate moolah (indirectly, of course) and some DJs are not even permitted to play ANY songs of their own choosinig.
MTV has descended to the point where you get one, single video show per day and that's it. (if you are lucky)
TRL is a pressure cooker for sales. Videos are premiered on the show and since that is for many the only exposure to videos they have, they simply vote for the video they have been spoonfed. The result is a never-changing block of videos that are fed to the masses in a trickle so the minimum amount of variety can be used to gain the maximum amount of exposure for an "artist". This extremly tightly focused enviornment is used to force an artist on as many impressionable people as once, and give them few other musical options.
Now, for the second false assumption:
- That BestBuy, and any company that supports such measures will ever receive my business again.
I've spent thousands upon thousands at particular stores or products by particualr companies over many years. However, their business practices mean that my disposible income will cease to flow into their cash registers.
And I'm not alone.
The music industry has shown their utter contempt for me and I see no reason to give them a dime of my money any longer. I would like to support the artists I like, but even buying a CD now means risking buying crippled media. It doesn't matter WHY I would want to use a non-copy prevented CD, I'm sure it would surprise them that I would be doing nothing remotely illegal, just keeping one CD in the car and a couple of MP3s in my playlist.
But they don't care, and therefore, neither do I.
There are countless others like me now, and there are more all the time. I really hope the record industry likes what they've done.
You reap what you sow, and believe me, the record company better count it's blessings that a 10% drop in sales is all they have to deal with right now.
It's going to get much worse, and their strong-arm tactics are the only reason why.
As an avid music fan who lives effectively between the US and Europe, let me put my two cents in.
I think there are numerous factors going into this. Does illegal copying affect sales? Sure! I have friends who think that it's perfectly ok to go hunt after music online because they can't find in a store here in Finland. Or better yet, one person will have the original and the rest will copy it. I rant and rave about IP laws, and get stared at.
On the other hand, I've noticed that a LOT of people upon reaching their 20's just couldn't care less about downloading the music. Most of the people I see downloading now are those teen pop trash fans. So that is probably hurting sales to some degree.
However, I'm the kind of person who is perfectly willing to buy good music. I'll buy good releases, but I won't rush to get them the instant they come out. The problem for me is being aware of what's good out there. There's too much hype about the latest teen sensations and no enough real coverage of good music.
Conscientiously, I've decided to not necessarily rush out and buy big-label records. I'll often get them used. I will buy small-label records at retail, as they're less likely to abuse artists.
Lastly, hey, the future ain't looking as bright as in the middle of the dot-com bubble. I incurred plenty of debt then and so did a lot of other people. With the joys of interest and shaky jobs, I reckon that quite a few others are working hard to pay of debts quickly and save some money for the anticipated 'rainy day'.
Suggestion for recording industry? Put something worthwhile in the CDs for the kiddies who download all the time so they might buy that bubble-gum pop crap, and find some quality artists that you don't abuse and let them get some press coverage.
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it. - G.B. Shaw
Don't shop there. Better yet, buy your copy protected CD's there, and when they sound like crap in your computer, dvd-rom based dvd player, or anything else that will choke on it, take it back and demand your money back. By being the RIAA's face to the customers, they get to directly feel what happens from moving in lockstep with them.
The truth about Scientology, Xenu, and you: Operation Clambake
..if stores like Wal-Mart & MediaPlay don't back these "damaged" goods, Best Buy could go quietly the way of the Dodo. I see one hell of an ad-campaign for thier competitors.
Jaysyn
There is a war going on for your mind.
Nobody wants to offer this service because the record companies make more money doing what they do now: namely, packaging one or two hit songs onto an $18 disc and convincing consumers to buy two or more per month. Do the math and you'll see why they don't like the idea of a $10 or even $20 subscription-- at least, one that gives you a large number of new releases that don't expire.
The problem is, for them to make money selling CDs online, they'd have to charge much higher prices than what you propose, just to keep their revenue flat. People don't want to pay what the record companies would have to charge, especially with all of the free alternatives out there.
What we're seeing is a classic example of executive punting. Whether they realize it or not, the label executives have put their business on a course of nearly guaranteed disaster. Their customers will hate them, those affected by draconian copyright legislation will hate them, and in the end it will all fail. However, no executive wants to be the guy who embraced online music at a reasonable price, and consequently reduced earnings by 30-50% over the golden-goose CD model. They'd never work again. (I've heard various industry professionals acknowledge the gist of this argument in private, though few yet acknowledge the contention that sharing-prevention efforts are doomed to failure.)
In other words, any exec who does the long-term intelligent thing for the industry, namely putting its long-term survival over short-term profits, would be destroying his or her career. So it won't happen, and the idiots will get high-paying jobs elsewhere while the recording industry suffers the fallout of those short-sighted decisions.
Yes, at least indirectly internet file swapping could be one of the causes, though I don't think for the reasons they mean.
Take me for example. Before MP3's were starting to get big I consistently bought 2-4 cd's a year. I had for years. Now comes MP3's and I could both listen to an album for a few days/weeks before I bought and could listen to unknowns for me. I found out I like some bands with names that had really turned me off before. I started buying 10-15 CD's a year. During this time the sales of cd's was consistently rising so I would be willing to bet I was not the only one.
Next the RIAA/MPAA began an insane journey to not only stop me from getting MP3's (which is thier right to do) but they did it in a way that was going to destroy much of the things that I should/am allowed to do (DMCA and it's ilk). Well, I pretty much said screw them and quit buying.
While of course I am only one person most of my friends have done this and they have "spread the word". I would be willing to bet this is not that uncommon. I still occasionaly buy a cd (back to the 1-2 a year deal) because a few cd's I want something more than an MP3 for quality. Also since much of this has now moved outside of the geek sector (it now no longer takes knowlege of technology to see the effects, my parents fuss about not being able to fast-forward through the FBI warnings) they should start seeing effects like this more often.
Unfortunatly I think this will cause them to get even wilder and give them more evidence to use for congressional battles. It will take an act of congress or the judicial branch (much like the VCR crap they tried way back when) to force them to embrace a new profit strategy. No matter what congress passes it will always be ineffective and some day they'll realize that.
------- Sorry about the spelling, I suffer from two problems. Dyslexia makes it difficult to spell well, lazy makes it
Back when there were just a handful of channels, it was easy to trace the history of television through the major trends. People had nothing else to watch, so it was easy for something to dominate. Then, with cable and eventually satellite, people had dozens, even hundreds of choices. Suddenly, the major channels could no longer define television culture with major trend starting programs.
The major television stations are still running just fine, but they no longer control the world of television.
Similarly, the filesharing culture now allows people to easily find obscure music. With more things to choose from, less people listen to the biggest thing.
The music industry isn't waiting around for the next big thing. It never has. It used to *make* the next big thing. Right now, it's trying very hard to make another big thing, and failing miserably.
mlylecarlin
I agree 100%. I'm boycotting a lot of companies on this priciple. The problem isn't the boycott itself (very few companies really sell anything that I NEED, other than say the grocery store). The problem is keeping track of who I'm not buying from and why. A really cool website would be one that tracked companies that have come down on one side or another, so people could keep a handle on who the assholes are, and who the consumer-friendly companies are.
Extend the concept a bit, and you could allow users to create a profile where they track who they specifically are boycotting. Then every so often, the website could email that companys' marketing department and say:
"Dear Best Buy:
Your policy of supporting the RIAA has resulted in xxxx consumers boycotting your store. blah blah blah"
and then attach any personal "messages" from the consumers in the boycott...
Man, what a cool way to make a difference. I wish I had the time.
A few interesting things to note, here...
Best Buy *does* own its own label, Redline Entertainment. One of their more notable artists is Prince, whose latest CD, Rainbow Children, has gotten incredible billing in Best Buy store signage and in-store TV ads. Why does this matter? If I recall correctly, Prince was something of a proponent of services like Napster while also something of a detractor of the RIAA. His pick of Redline for the new album seems to indicate an opinion that that particular label is more decent than the rest.
Now its parent company is joining up with the fair use rights abusers.
A second thing to note here is that Best Buy is a fairly powerful presence. Their CD and software sales represent something significant both to consumers and professionals. Their recent decision axing Mac software and peripherals gives many developers pause in producing Mac ports for games, simply noting how few consumers will have access to store shelves containing their product without Best Buy support.
The point here being, a giant like Best Buy is setting a standard for fellow retailers. Musicland, Sam Goody, and Suncoast all are part of the Best Buy enterprise and represent a considerable slice of the pie for any consumers. Sure, you can buy your music elsewhere, but with BBY, SG, and ML comprising the easiest sources, where else can we go?
Let's also not forget just how expansionist Best Buy is. They acquire chains and build new stores the way the rest of us shave and eat breakfast each morning. I imagine the latest portion of their retail arm, Canada's Future Shop, will also be supporting "anti-piracy" measures.
Big news, here, folks.
I have bought ONE new CD in the last 4 years. And that wasn't even in the US.
There's nothing interesting on the radio. I live on the ass end of nowhere with no local artists or concerts of things I like, and all my friends listen to is rap. No exposure to anything good except via the internet.
If the mainstream focusses too narrowly, the industry is going to lose EVERYONE who isn't totally fixated on the few most popular bands, and aren't in a position that they're finding anything that appeals to them.
Taking away our tools (a CDR drive is NOT a toy), is not going to solve their problem. Putting the parts of the business into fewer hands isn't going to help anything. It'll probably just hurt, because the entire industry is expendable.