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Interview with MusicNet Chief
prostoalex writes "Alan McGlade, chief of MusicNet, which sells subscriptions to its digital music catalog, talks about his view of digital music market, expectations and life in general."
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Why did /. even both with this one? The guy's just repeating the party line. Check some quotes:
Just like it wouldn't be hard to run a store where you just put everything on the shelves and people could just take what they want. You wouldn't stay in business very long, but it wouldn't be hard to do.
Confusing tangible property with music? That's the same mistake the record companies are making. You won't come up with any creative business models like that. In fact you'll come up with some pretty bad ones.
If somebody comes to our service and is looking for a song and they can't find it [...] they will now be forced off to a peer-to-peer site.
Forced to a peer-to-peer site? They are ALREADY on the peer-to-peer sites! What can you offer to "force" them to your site?
Well, I don't think you compete [with p2p], but you do create a service that has its own value.
Err, that's called "competing"..? I guess he assumes the p2p sites will all be shut down by the RIAA at some point.
What's the business model of Kazaa or Morpheus? How will they make money to support being around long term if the idea is to steal it and give it away for free?
If these guys can't make money, someone else will fill their shoes. Same as you, bucko. Better figure out how! And it's not "stealing" it's "copying".
[Everything MP3 already does just fine] are all things we have to do. But like I said, it's an evolution. You have to be able to download files permanently, burn them to CDs, transfer them to devices, use them on several computers, or else transfer them to other devices that can store and play back music. All those things will have to be part of that process.
Man, what is it with these guys. They think they are just wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch. What's the "evolution"? MP3 ALREADY DOES WHAT PEOPLE WANT. Do you understand?
MP3 files can be easily copied if they're not wrapped with any digital rights management. But if you have a DRM wrapper on an MP3 file, it wouldn't be readily accessible. It would have some restrictions in its use. You have streaming [...] which do have a DRM wrapper. So while you can download a file and listen to it, you'll be able to do various things with it.
Those sentences make absolutely no sense.. is he drunk??
And then you have what we call permanent downloads. In that case, you've actually purchased a track. Even if you no longer are a subscriber you can continue to use the music as you want because you purchased it.
Cool! Your service offers the same functionality as wax cylinders from 1895. Sign me up!
Digital/online music is all about making it easy for people to do the right thing!
No way would I sign up for some service where all my music could vanish if I miss a monthly payment! Neither would I sign up for some service which locked the music ONLY in my laptop and ONLY allowed me to play it under cirumstances that the RIAA deems acceptable!
The reason that online music has not fullfilled on it's promise so far is not because of the software isn't good enough or because no company has been managed well enough, it's because of greed on the part of the studio's. I'ts intimated in the story too....
As a consumer, I want lower prices overall, and I want more of the percentage going to the artist. I'm fed up with paying $15.99 for CD's while the RIAA gripes that they are being "ripped off". They are the one's ripping the artists off. I'd double again their percentage ( from $0.50 per CD to $1.50) if the industry produced a $9.99 CD. I'd pay $9.99 if it ment that I could download once and have rights to burn a spare for my car. The RIAA would save A BUNDLE under such a model, no physical media until my house, so RIAA pays almost nothing for distribution. I'd pay it because it's the right thing and because it's easier than driving over to the music store...
Problem is, they want more.....MUCH more!....RIAA want's to control HOW you listen...how often you listen, what equipment you listen on...they want to turn music into a "Pay-per-hear" system...(pay for home, pay again for car...pay again for friends house...pay each time you listen...etc)....Like the DVD, they also want to control what country you can listen in....I'm fundamently opposed to such a system, once I pay...it's mine to listen anywhere I am....I have lifetime rights to listen.....
Then there's the issue of "first sale" and RIAA's desire to get in on the used CD market.....charge twice for the same product...you no longer have rights that you would have with books....
I'm guessing that businesses like this (pressplay, music-net, etc) will exist only in the "shadow" for a while yet....the Record industry is not ready to turn anyone with a real business model loose yet....they are too busy hedging their bets right now.....I'm guessing that this outfit doesn't even have a long term contract to the music that they do stock for download. I'm guessing that it could be revoked in an instant if the studios wanted to...then they'd be out of business....and I've paid money for DRM with a company that doesn't exist anymore and rights which are not going to be honored by anyone....
I'll keep ripping and burning my own until the RIAA/Labels give me an alternative that I can accept....if not a better value, at least one that keeps the status-quo...
RIAA Exec #1: Bob, how's our new "file-sharing" service coming along, you know, the one that grants users the right to listen to a song on one computer for 30 minutes a day, all for $9.99 a month, and if you violate the terms of service, the FBI is notified directly?
RIAA Exec #2: *clik clik* Hmm, it's coming along okay Sue, three people have signed up in the past month alone. Not bad but we just can't seem to get volume of users we were predicting.
RIAA Exec #1: Actually one of those was me, and the other two were Hillary. We need to figure out what type of file sharing service people really want. If only there was some kind of "model" or "prototype" we could study. If only we could figure out some way to use the internet to profit from a music sharing system by building an extensive user base to attract advertisers and investment dollars. If only there was some way to do that.
RIAA Exec #2: I have no idea. To be honest I'm not even sure what the internet is, isn't it like a modem? I heard that once. Oh well, it's 1pm already, the work day is over, time to go golfing!
RIAA Exec #1: Good thing, my brain hurts.
The argument used constantly on /. (and elsewhere) is, "I'd rather send my money to the artist, than to the RIAA..." Great!
Do you?
Do you go to that artist's website and buy a CD directly from them? Do you send them a check every time you nab a song off of gnutella? When your pal burns a copy of "The Greatest Hits of God's Favorite Band", do you send some $$$ to the guys?
If you do, excellent. You are avoiding the Recording Industry that will screw a band over for breakfast, and laugh over lunch at how an A&R rep has "this band by the short hairs...". You are helping to end an Industry that doesn't care what YOU want, only what they can market to you.
You are supporting artists who have incurred expense to bring their music to you.
They wrote it, arranged it, taught it to the band, rehearsed it, changed it, rehearsed some more, played it at a dive for $25 and two beers each, rehearsed some more, went into a studio, paid an engineer to roll knobs, move faders, and lay it on tape. They listed to it, rehearsed the vocals, and overdubs. They went back into the studio, paid the engineer some more to get that on tape. The engineer mixed it, gave it to the band, remixed parts again, mastered it to DAT or CD. They sent it to a duplication house, they paid to have artwork done, (saved money by doing some themselves), they purchased 1000 CDs. They paid to have a website hosted, (saved a little by doing their own site), drove all over consigning CDs at record stores (small independents). They played some more shows for 50 bucks each (show. not per member), they paid the soundman 50 bucks.
Repeat every year and a half.
This is just a taste of what an average unsigned band goes through to get music "out there". There are many exceptions to this example. Some can record at home on "lo-fi" equipment. Some never rehearse. Some don't play shows. Some release everything on gnutella for the hell of it. Some try to get you interested in their CD in this manner.
Add label interest and, well, look at the links below. The point being made is: Good music is hard to find for a reason. Being a GOOD musician (not to mention songwriter) is one of the toughest (and thankless) jobs ever! The artists who go though the trouble to bring this to you should be rewarded. After all, they could have just sat in the basement writing and performing for themselves, not worried about "how is this record going to do?". The next time you grab a tune off the net, think for a moment. If you actually sent your favorite artist some money for the work that you enjoy, that artist will be able to make more music. Finally, a win win situation.
Unfortunately, artists represnted by the Industry are in a different boat altogether. For some real examples of what it costs the major label band to be a major label band, see here, here, and here. Additional info here (my fav)
Yup. What was I talking about? That's right.