Slashdot Mirror
Bon Jovi Tries New Approach To Fight Piracy
Dudio writes "80s-era rock band Bon Jovi is taking a novel approach to fighting piracy of their upcoming album, Bounce. Retail CDs will be distributed with a unique serial number with which the purchaser can register in order to receive such exclusives as prioritized concert ticket purchases and unreleased music. Finally, somebody in the entertainment industry is attempting to adapt to the changing market rather than rushing to protect an outdated business model." All Bon Jovi jokes aside, it is nice to see a fresh approach.
Locke!Erasmus feels that this is a prudent and wise course of action for Bon Jovi to take. I only hope that they will keep some records on whether they profit from this strategy, and how much they profit. Hopefully, if it works, we will see more labels/artists try new tactics such as this one instead of simply threatening to DOS people who are running a P2P application.
I should have picked out the nickname Demosthenes!Tecumseh.
It must be piracy because everyone wants to buy new records from a rock band that is 15 years out of date.
Or will they go down in a blaze of glory?
Well, it's good to see someone fighting it in a novel way, but will it make much difference?
The guy downloading it for free probably wouldn't buy it in the first place, much less go to a concert.
Some people do illegal things just because they can.
Side note: That flag in my back pocket thing Sambora did was in bad taste.
Sent from your iPad.
It sounds like he's not really trying to combat piracy, per se, but more encourage people to buy the CD for the perks and benefits that would come of it.
Sounds like a great idea... Do something where people want to buy your CD more than trying to make it impossible for them to copy it.
I hope it works for him.
Never heard of him.
Yes, my girlfriend is a BitchX
Um, yeah. Unreleased until it's released to the paying customers, who then pass it off to the non-paying "customers." The prioritized ticket thing, on the other hand, actually makes sense.
IWARS.
People, in general, disappoint me. Politicians even more so.
Anyone that likes bon jon enough to care about priority concern ticket sales is going to buy his albums anyway.
It's a step in the right direction, but doesn't seem like a very big one.
Why not just make the cd cost $5 instead!?
What Bon Jovi jokes?
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog: Bon Jovi you are filming a new vampire movie, yes?
Bon Jovi: Yes I am...
Triumph: At last a role that requires you to suck...
"It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it."
Dark Side of the Moon was a top 40 record for five years running.
--
Socrates was asked where he was from. He replied not "Athens," but "The world."
But...I already feel like NOT pirating Bon Jovi music.
pi = 3.141592653589793helpimtrappedinauniversefactory7
Well, lets not forget the efforts and foresigth of people like David Bowie who is totally hip to the values of Slashdot. He feels that copyright will be obsolete in 10 years, and he thinks its a good idea.
www.enthea.org
I wonder if we will start seeing something like the hologram certificates that came with windows install CDs, or maybe even the new holographic CDs themselves.
Eventually, one could just buy a site license for a particular artist's music, and receive upgrades for a nominal charge. Of course, if you buy a new CD player (or equivalent), you'll have to re-register.
All kidding aside, this sounds like an interesting idea (whether BJ is first with or not) and I hope similar creative ideas become popular over the more draconian RIAA plans we've been hearing about.
This is exactly the stance I've been hoping the whole music industry takes. I'd love to buy a CD and show my support... except they need a new option when you register:
I bought this CD for-
[ ] the music
[ ] the principle
c-hack.com |
Four Catholic mothers were having coffee together discussing how important their children are.
."
The first one tells her friends, "My son is a priest. When he walks into room, everyone calls him 'Father.'"
The second Catholic woman chirps, "Well, my son is a bishop. Whenever he walks into a room, people say 'Your Grace'."
The third Catholic woman says smugly, "Well, not to put you down, but MY son is a Cardinal. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, 'Your Eminence'."
The fourth Catholic woman sips her coffee in silence. The first three women give her this subtle Well . . . ?
Mrs. B. replies, "My son is Jon Bon Jovi. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, "Oh my God. .
Daft Punk put a credit card sized card inside their CD with a unique number were you could download MP3 singles of remixes and live versions of the song from a special website.
shot down in a blaze of glory.
Sorry folks. I'll be here all week.
Evil is the money of root.
Daft punk's discovery cd did this a long while back by including a credit card w/a serial # on it. If you bought the cd you could go to their website, login, and download live videos etc.
Really kool stuff...
I think it said "Daft Club" on it.
what happens to the peopel, who resale the disks later? can the remove there registration?
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Any medium to small time artists and few unfortunate to have negotiation with large reputation, don't get jack for CDs.
Pirating CDs is good for the band, because you get to like the music and go to their concerts
when and if they visit your stomping grounds.
You go to concert, buy a shirt or two, and band
gets rich from you liking the music that way.
If you buy CDs, unless they are by Michael Jackson and alike, the rich part goes to RIAA
friends, and jack squat to artists.
Daft Punk had something similar with their Discovery album. You got a card in the case with a number, and using that number you could register and receive access to songs and remixes and things that you couldn't really find anywhere else.
It wasn't exactly advanced tickets, but it was something that you could only get with the purchase of the cd. And I wish more artist and record labels would move in this direction instead of worrying about something that is in reality helping their sales.
...for not stealing my music!
Imagin that.
--
You sure got a purty mouth...
It's refreshing to hear of a "retail-minded" band that is adding value to their CD in order to combat piracy. I like the idea of "perks" for those people who purchase the CD.
Hopefully, this will do well and maybe the industry will begin looking at alternative ideas, those that benefit the customer, rather than punishing, to combat piracy.
Then again pigs may fly over my house...
Daft Punk put a credit card sized card inside their CD with a unique number were you could download MP3 singles of remixes and live versions of the song from a special website.
So the people who bought the CD could trade those as well?
We Build Beautiful Websites
So they now want you to submit personal information to marketing teams who provide you extra opportunities to spend your money with them?
Isn't like like registering a piece of software so you can recieve technical support and advanced information on new features and upgrades?
What on earth does this have to do with piracy?
Another reason to like him is he married his high school sweetheart and stayed married through the rise and fall and so far for his second trip up the success ladder.
Anyway this seems like the kind of thing a real musician would do for his fans. Certainly not the lawsuit slinging behavior some other hair metal rockstars have shown their fans.
I've hit Karma 50 and gotten a Score:5, Troll... I win!
well, even though I never liked bon jovi, this is an interesting idea.
although after seeing jon bon jovi's interview on leno a while after he was on ally mcbeal - the guy is an absolute moron. self centered over the hill idiot.
so its safe to say that this is *not* jon bon jovi's idea - and I would like to give credit to the person who came up with this plan.
but seeing as how jon bon jovi is (as previously stated) a fool - I wonder what the hidden catches are.
Hey jon bon jovi - you're not a rock star (as you said way too many times in your leno interview) you're a has been that has been sold a novel idea on the release of your(?) new CD.
real musicians actually write all their own stuff - which is rare in the industry these days.
I need the keygen for Bon Jovi 1.0. Reply "me too" if you n33d it too. Many thanks to the CR3W!
why not pass on bon jovi and go for the much cooler 5 piece banjo ensemble ban jovi?
can't find a website for these guys, but here's a place where you can buy their cd
no real affiliation to th band in question - just heard them play once at an underground music festival in taiwan (they are american)
Now I have to cancel my subscription to the RIAA backed online music sites.
Make up your minds already!
If you buy the new Counting Crows CD (and you should, because it's quite good) it gives you access to a secret bit of their site with unreleased tracks and whatnot. Makes for an interesting reverse engineering project.
it's not going to stop until you wise up, no it's not going to stop. so just give up.
I think the theory is that it adds something of value, that can't be ripped and distributed, to the CD.
"that's not encryption - it's a new perl script that I'm working on..." - from some Matrix parody
you can pay a anual fee for access to teh site that has interview concert tickets, unreleased music. If this concept was implimented like BonJovi has I think it woudl work. The serial number gives you an exclusive access to the site ( it would finally justify the cost of CD's) then fans could get access to exclusive offerengs thus bring the artists and fan closer. Almost makes me wish I thought of it.
Problem: RIAA products overpriced given what you get, people don't want to pay for them.
Sympton: People pirate the music instead.
Solution: Add value to the CD that makes people more willing to buy it.
The RIAA in the past has been trying to cure the symptoms, without attacking the core problem. This is a MAJOR step in the right direction.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
and Plastikman's "Sheet One" album came with a (dud) sheet of acid
cpeterso
When you by the Hip album "In Violet Light" you get membership to The Hip Club. Membership includes things like free bonus tracks of unreleased and live material, exclusive merchandise only available to THC members, first in line ticket access to select shows... Sounds like more new ground being broken by Canadians and credit being given to Americans.
The point is, if you're not going to buy the CD, you're not going to buy the CD. At least this way, people who actually shelled out the money for the CD don't have to jump through hoops to get it to play on the computer or in the car, or wherever they want, plus, as an added bonus, they get some extras from an artists whose music they enjoy anyway.
If someone really enjoys Bon Jovi or and they also enjoy but they are short on budget, then it may come down to getting the one with the extras. Or maybe they'll decide that they'd rather get both and forego a few Happy Meals.
If a CD provides more than just music, then there's more incentive to buy the CD than just Kazaa it.
Pehaps this could be submitted as an 'ask slashdot' (and promptly rejected), but what could a smaller band do to promote CD's in the face of file sharing? An old band I was in made little refrigerator magnets (by hand with markers!) for anyone who came to a show. What is something that is cheap and scalable, includeable in a cd, yet adds value (assuming the music doesn't suck :) to a CD purchase?
What you you want to see?
A company could get a bundle for selling the customer list from registrations. You'd have some seriously targeted advertising possibilities.
I don't know about that. Very funny, yes, but I think the one where he "interviewed" the starwars fans waiting outside the theater is the best.
While I'm sure tactics like this are advertised as anti-piracy measures, I'm excited about this as a sales technique. The online community(slashdot especially) has been talking for quite some time about the relative value of copyright when it comes to music recordings. A very common response has been one which suggests that in order to assure sales, a retailer/merchant/distributor/manufacturer needs to give a prospective buyer a good reason to purchase.
The traditional extension to that idea I've come across here is that in most transactions the consumer is paying for a service rendered. For example, a new car was built by a factory and an ordinary consumer cannot make his own. Same goes for computer parts, TVs, and many types of clothes. The consumer has discovered, through the advent of consumer digital media devices(esp computers), that the act of taking an existing digital audio recording and duplicating it is trivial and practically mundane. The artist(who only has to record the album once) does a lot more work than the record company copying it, particularly within the boundries of the insane amount of elbow grease that goes into writing/recording/touring.
You may think Bon Jovi is the lamest crap on earth, but in my opinion this strategy not only sounds like an effective solution but a vote of confidence for consumers. For once a recording institution is admitting that it needs to work to keep it's customers loyal instead of the other way around.
to buy a fleet of spanish Galleons, and combat piracy throughout the Caribean.
When ask why, his Parrot said "SQUAWK!"
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
And I think I can resolve it. Maybe I'll buy the album to encourage others to do the same and then immediately sell it so I don't have to actually listen to it.
-- SIGFPE
Read the article (I thought of submitting this too!)
This isn't JUST to combat piracy, but they are collecting more detailed marketing information, such that in the future it will be easier for sales to hit their target without "wasting" money on promo's that don't work; be they airplay at the wrong time, or video exposure on VH1...
SO let me get thsi straight: I pay money, I sign up online, they get a WHOLE lot of personal data (I wonder if they ask for household income?), and I get a newsletter and maybe the chance to talk to the band and maybe a first crack at buying over-priced concert tickets at an arena where the pre-selected seats are all nose-bleeders?
SIGN ME UP!
In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
Only with a bit of effort. It used a 'digital wallet' or something of the sort. Some Windows program in order to download them and open them with a special app.
It was nicely done, but they tried to make the player too hip/unusable for my tastes.
... that's all i wrote...
I really hate when people compare the sharing of mp3 files to software piracy. Why? Because the two are totally different.
Music has been broadcast over the airwaves for years and years and then some more years. For most of those years, there has existed the technology to copy those songs onto cassette tapes and other mediums and listen to those songs at a later time; and numerous times.
Growing up, I always recorded my favorite songs off the radio; and I believe, just like recording a TV show, it was perfectly fine for me to do so. In fact, wasn't it Sony, one of the companies that is now whining about music sharing, that sold me the ability to record radio broadcasts? Why, I believe it was!
Since the radio reaches nearly every corner of our country and nearly everone owns the technology to record that music, I don't see a difference between that and sharing an mp3 file with your friends, other than you get to cut out the retarded DJ who always talks over the song like some dimwit fart.
A couple more interesting things to note, in Japan, they have stores that will rent you CDs, for a couple hundred yen, in much the same way American's rent VHS and DVD movies. Those same stores also sell very specialized cassette tapes so you can record the CD instead of having to pay around $30.00 for it. Since the stores are not owned by the record companies, I don't see a difference between this and sharing mp3s with your friends (other than you've cut out the middle man).
Also, you most public libraries will loan you music CDs for free.
On the otherhand, software has NEVER been broadcast over public airwaves or freely distributed in your public library. Nor are there stores that will rent you software and then the media to use to copy it. Nor has the means to copy software ever been commercially provided with the copying of software being its primary marketed function.
I think that the record industry is too damn stupid to provide their customers with a product in the form their customers demand and I think they are using an apples to oranges comparison of software piracy to sharing music to force the governments to pass laws that maintain the status quo of their current, obviously undesirable, business plans.
And all of that is why I hate hearing music sharing compared to software piracy.
A much more effective anti-piracy feature built in to Bon Jovi's brand new album is that it is such a crap that no one will want to listen to it let alone copy it or download it. It keeps piracy at practically zero level.
Code poet, espresso fiend, starter upper.
Bon Jovi doesn't appreciate the fact that people would steal his music, so he's pandering to those who would consider it. This is why I think that even if the business model changed, pirated music would be every bit as much a problem as it is today. The RIAA is used as a scapegoat to justify theft, even if it's against the wishes of an artist that so many 'fans' claim to support.
Conspiracy Theory: Little do these people know, their serial number is embedded into the audio tracks on the CD. When distributed on the internet these wartermarks can be matched against the contact information used for signing up for the free merchendise. Therefore the person who distributed the audio on the internet will be known.
Well that probably isn't the plan here, but who knows what the future will hole.
I'm sure we'll see more of this. It will be the artists who will adapt to new business models, not the fat cats. The cigar-chomping execs are too enamoured of the status quo to want to evolve. So it will be the musicians pushing the envelope. Jon Bon Jovi, unlike some other musicians (*cough*Metallica*cough*) actually gets it. Bravo, Jon!
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
Daft Punk already did it.
All kinds of cool remixes and blends of their songs, almost enough for another CD. Needless to say, that's the kind of value I appreciate. But again that's something that makes Daft Punk cool, and says nothing positive about the RIAA. Some bands like to give back.
As far as Bon Jovi goes, Young Guns is fine as a diversion maybe once a year, other than that they should have left their butt rock back in 1988. Christ first Bon Jovi, then Axel Rose and four dudes who call themselves Guns and Roses, I await the return of Winger with baited breath...no that's rising bile.
--Jimmy has fancy plans; and pants to match.
Crystal Method also did this for their Tweekend release.
At the beginning of the decade, they were asking some amount for lifetime membership in their fanclub. I don't remember the amount, but it was between $15 and $35. Got you a bunch of stickers, a newsletter, etc.
By the end of the decade, they were asking around $35 a year for a glossy magazine-style newsletter, preferential ticket sales, and backstage potential. (They were also selling 1/10th the albums.)
Doing it this way makes a lot of sense to me. Instead of charging extra to join the fanclub, put those unique codes on everything, and let folks punch in codes for everything they buy. Bought the CD? Yeah, we can hook you up with good seats at a good price. Bought the last five CD's, plus posters, videos and t-shirts? Front row center, baby!
Reward the folks who are dedicated to you, and all that stuff.
Like the Special Edition Star Wars soundtracks. 2 CDs and they came with a *book* of note by John Williams about the composition of the music. Very interesting to read.
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
With the first sample, I had to cover my ears, and now I've got my David Bellugi early rennaisance CD on to clear out my eardrums. I'm truly sorry, but someone that actually likes this stuff will have to take up the slack.
Search for the following songs:
"It's My Life"
"Livin on a Prayer"
"You Give Love a Bad Name
"Captain Crash and the Beauty Queen From Mars"
"Runaway"
"Bad Medicine"
"Wanted Dead or Alive"
that should get you started
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
There's nothing extra being offered here.
"Unique serial numbers" come with every AOL disk, but that doesn't make them any more valuable. It's a tracking tool for AOL that's also designed to make the mindless masses think they're getting into some secret club.
Bon Jovi says that registering will give you "the chance" to buy concert tickets before they go on sale to the public. But guess what? If you and 3 million other fans who bought the album have all registered, you're competing with each other for tickets. I'd say that makes that ticket sale pretty public. This is simply an effort to disenfranchise people who don't buy the latest album AND divulge whatever information the record company wants. Suddenly you're paying more (not just the price of the album, but with your personal info too) to see concerts, and you think you're getting more.
"Unreleased music" means music that wasn't good enough to make it onto the album. If the record company thought they were good enough to sell, it would have included them on the album instead of the other crap (most albums have 1-3 good songs at most, and the rest is just crap -- this unreleased music is the stuff that was worse than the crap).
Bon Jovi also promises access to exclusive areas of BonJovi.com. What a load of crap. Anything of value that shows up in this "exclusive area" is going to end up on Gnutella or Geocities within hours.
Step away from the Kool-Ade, people.
Rather than waiting to see how the plan works out for Bon Jovi, why not ask Daft Punk? They did it on their "Discovery" album in 2001. The CD came with a credit card (16 digits, expiry date, etc.) that is used to access the www.daftcard.com site.
Seriously, a plan to strip the anonymity from the people who "rip and share" this stuff may be the best deterrent to copyright violators that the RIAA can accomplish. Think about it, when was the last time you saw members of PWA put their real names, addresses, phone numbers, etc., in something they warezed?
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
they're halfway there...
She sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue.
Daft punk did this with last years release of 'Discovery'. Each cd had a faux credit card with a number that allowed access to daftclub.com where b-sides, remixes and other things were offered.
So lets give credit where its due.
Chicago2600.net more than a lifestyle, its a survival trait.
The result: my brother and sister and I bought four copies for the three of us and a friend we would take to the concert. Ticket prices were usually well above the $12.99 promo price for the CD. Even though I had access to a burner and blank CDs cheaply, it simply didn't make sense NOT to buy the CDs with the ticket incentive. The multimedia was nice, too.
Tweet, tweet.
The Goo Goo Dolls last CD did a similar thing. You needed to buy the CD to access the "Member's Only" section of the website. Once there, you got special videos and song downloads, and the passwords to preorder tickets from Ticketbastard for their concert.
I admit, I bought the CD when I did to preorder tickets (great seats), but I would have bought it eventually.
"All I ever wanted was to see Larry Wall give Bill Gates a Perl necklace."
http://www.eisenschmidt.org/jweisen
Reminds me of a bit in an episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000:
(Joel is standing by huge array of keyboards, Crow enters, holding sandwich)
Joel: Oh, hiya, Crow...
Crow: Oh hi, whatcha doing?
Joel: Oh, we were just inspired by the cool New Age music of this movie, so we decided to use the Wall O' Keyboards to make our own great new New Age music, you wanna help?
Crow: Sure, uh, what can I do?
Joel: Well, I could teach you how to play the keyboards
Crow: Will it take long?
Joel: No, of course not, come on over here. Here, check this out, okay, put your hand over here.
Crow: Okay.
Joel: Put your finger down, see?
Crow: Like that? (puts finger on a random key, a single note is heard) Oh!
Joel: Yeah, you're playing a New Age chord now, okay? Just like Yanni. Alright now, put another finger down.
Crow: Okay. (presses another random key, a second note plays with first one, and persists throughout the rest of the scene)
Joel: See, now you're playing a Yanni lick, now hold it down for an hour...
Crow: Yeah?
Joel: Now hold it down...until you get a record contract from Windham Hill!
Crow: OH, hey cool! Servo, check it out, it's my new New Age Yanni lick! Uh, Joel, hold down my new New Age Yanni lick, I gotta put my sandwich down.
Joel: Okay, got it. (holds it)
Crow: This music's kind of dull, isn't it?
Joel: Yeah, but it's a good way to make a lot of money without a big initial investment. (lights dim, 'music' swells, Cambot zooms in on Tom Servo)
Tom: (clears throat loudly) Okay... (in laid back DJ voice) And now, 'Music From Some Guys In Space.' Tonight on 'Music From Some Guys In Space,' more fine new New Age music and sounds from super-progressive Bay Area New Age keyboardist, Joel Robinson. Joel will be accompanied on the Wall O' Keyboards by veteran minimalist Crow T. Robot. We invite you to sit back and enjoy more repetitive New Age music, as we cruise the spaceways. Come along, fellow travelers, and enjoy 'Music...From...Some Guys...In Space.
c-hack.com |
But wait, I thought Britney already proved that. I guess this is just confirmation.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
As far as stopping piracy is concerned, Bon Jovi's performance in Times Square during that first football game pretty much ensured that I wouldn't be pirating this album ... the song is terrible.
"First you gotta do the truffle shuffle."
I agree on Mobile Fidelity, but I bought it for another reason, a pristine original. Both of mine are before CD's (12 inch) and have only been played twice to enjoy while putting them on tape for the car. (one of them is Dark Side of the Moon which is an awsome pressing) I put it on the best tape avaliable at the time and have worn out one copy. The other still gets played from time to time. At this rate the original will have seen a needle in the groove about 6 times by the time I retire. Much of my music gets the same treatment. It's an investment. The industry has no intrest in replacing just the worn out media for the performance instead of selling you a new lisence for the same content. Until that changes, I will continue to protect my investment. I learned early on (8 tracks and pre-recorded tapes, & LP's) that the media does not last forever. I am now in the process of transferring the remainder of my pre-recorded cassettes (lots of lost pads to replace) to CD to preserve whats left. I would love to trade in my tape collection for CD's for just the cost of the media. That does not appear to be an option however, so I have to do it myself.
The truth shall set you free!
On the otherhand, software has NEVER been broadcast over public airwaves or freely distributed in your public library. Nor are there stores that will rent you software and then the media to use to copy it. Nor has the means to copy software ever been commercially provided with the copying of software being its primary marketed function.
outstanding idea. why isn't there free software (ie: debian, slackware, or [insert your favorite distro here]) available from libraries?
This would be a great way to introduce adventurous people to free software et al. Also, it would give FS a larger presence in the education field.
get out and visit your local library today...
//radiotakeover.
is this going to be the future of warez? i think i'll start working on my bon jovi serial generator now.
-gerbik
I think the record companies are too cheap to go the the expense of remastering for single copy pressings. So far the CD's are mass pressed and the number is on a seprate card just like the early Windows CD keys. (any valid key for the disks.)
Office 97 is the first one I know of that does protect an install using the CD serial number. I found this when a 52X CD tossed a disk and trashed it. Later when upgrading the hardware, I tried to uninstall office to legaly transfer it from one machine to another. The office worker upgraded and passed along the old hardware & OS. I thought it pretty stupid to require the original CD to uninstall a program. Even though there were many CD's in the office of the same software (legal original copies) none of the other copies would uninstall Office 97 because it wanted the copy of the CD with the original serial number. Now there is an illegal copy simply because it will not uninstall, because the scratched CD is in a drawer for proof of ownership of the install on the new machine. The transfer was done using another copy that is installed on another machine. So the transfer was done usning the wrong copy of media (the correct CD key however) and the uninstallable copy. We tried to uninstall it. We should ask the BSA how to uninstall the extra instalation. Maybe they can tell us how (without formatting the drive and having to reinstall everything else) and replace the damaged media for us. The anti piracy feature is preventing an uninstall of a legal copy to transfer it.
Due to this experiance fighting locks with a broken key (scratched install CD) on products, we are looking at more user friendly office software. This was a consideration in not upgrading the software by the same vendor.
I personally never install anything from orignal CD's to prevent losses. I install from a working copy and keep the originals locked up.
The truth shall set you free!
Actually it isn't. The CPCC (Canadian Private Copying Collective) has managed the enviable (for the RIAA) task of charging you for nothing. The copyright law in Canada was only recently ammended to allow copying "for personal use". Previously, this was appearently illegal. In ammending the act, the government placed a levy on all blank media to compensate the recording industry or "unauthorized copies", which includes EVERYTHING, not just actual music piracy.
Now, the CPCC is trying to extend this welfare project to flash memory (for MP3 players), DVD-R (HA!), and small removable and non-removable hard drives - by the megabyte (seriously!). It doesn't take a genius to see that they are pushing for a levy on all digital storage.
In a related issue, a different copyright welfare lobby is pushing for a levy on all internet access. Seriously. These crooks make the RIAA and MPAA look stupid by comparison. While the XXIA's are buying laws that nobody can enforce, the CPCC has been raking in the dough. Myself, I'd prefer the bullshit law (since I can ignore it).
In Soviet America the banks rob you!
No, seriously... Besides going cold turkey internet, subscriber base and everything that goes with a downloading service, what Bon Jovi is doing is THE ONLY way to lure fans back from the brink of piracy. it's all about added value and so far, the labels have been doing nothing but subtractive value marketing. MP3 added value because I could at very least burn my own CDs, let alone ~ahem~ sample them before I buy. You can damn near do anything to MP3. There is so much added value in the digital format it's pathetic and the best the Labels can think of is encryption and new media formats? Not to stroke myself, but me and others have been saying this for years now-- The only way to combat this if you aren't going to move away from CDs is pack in shit with the CDs. Autographed guitar pics, tickets (their method is probably easier) and other stuff you simply can't get online. hell, I might just buy the CD as a show of support. This is actually one submission I totally agree with... Somebody is finally doing something right here, so support the bad man (it's like that 'going to a crappy video game movie' thing to 'support the cause').
You need a FREE iPod Nano
When the long day is over and it's all said and done, Aunt Betty tucked in her bed while your singing yourself a lullaby in the closet, maybe, just maybe you might admit to yourself somewhere around 70%-80% of the people who use MP3 probably engage in the defined act of piracy; Downloading media they don't own with no intention of paying for some, if not all of it. You may not do it, or even like it, but the fact is that Mp3 is starting to becoming a synonomis with pirate as hacker is to some teenage idiot looking to crack a system because curosity killed the chicken before it counted all it's eggs that crossed the road and curiosity is my only crime. Yah. Yes, I honestly believe those percentages because I believe people are that weak, lazy and hypocritical (myself included).
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And don't come crying to us when you stumble upon a key that has already been used, the computer notes it, your phone/IP tagged and a SWAT team/RIAA Shock trooper combo squad busts down your door and subjects you to a very harsh scolding.
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It's about getting people to buy the damn album - pure and simple sales. If that means less people pirate it, all the better.
Working in a promotional company has exposed me to a fair bit of how marketing and sales operate, and "new and innovative" is what every client always wants, no matter how much or how little they're willing to pay for the resulting premiums (ie. toys) or services.
Most of you would be physically sick if you saw some of the promotions that are being planned in the name of kids (and their parents) maintaining the market share of certain fast food and cereal companies. Sony Ericsson phones and POX were advertised in unique and innocuous ways that increased their "cool" factor.
These promotions are ways to add perceived value to a product, which are a big part of increasing sales. We all complain about the price of CDs, whether we choose to buy them or not. Don't you think it's about time we started to at least feel like we got more value out of them?
People who solely download music are being conceited if they think approaches like this have been generated in direct retaliation to piracy. It may be one of many reasons to carry out a promotion like this, but gathering valuable market research data and generating sales full stop are far more lucrative reasons to do it.
(Regarding market research: a large company will probably keep your under lock and key for themselves so they know how to target future promotions. A company that provides free services is far more likely to sell information about you to others without asking you.)
All that said, the first value-added CD I ever bought was a Pitch Shifter album. Not only did it have two small multimedia clips on it, the last two tracks of the album were made up of royalty-free samples they'd created of the album itself. They were full stereo, neatly separated, there to be ripped and used however the buyer pleased. The only "condition" of their use was that you sent the band what you'd done with it later. I think I bought it in about 1995...
The Offspring already did this on their latest album (Conspiracy of One).
Noting new to see here.. Move along.
Here's an entry from Moby's journal where he claims that bands with technically savvy audiences don't do well in the charts because their fans rip & burn their CDs. I guess he's a little bitter about '18' not doing as well as 'Play'.
My $.02: I listened to '18' on MP3 with full intention of buying the album if I like it (I did this with Play), and I just didn't like it. IMHO, it sounded lik 'Play' warmed over, and didn't do much for me. So I didn't buy it, and I deleted the MP3s.
it's not going to stop until you wise up, no it's not going to stop. so just give up.
Daft Punk did it over a year ago with their Daft Card. Every CD came with a credit card type bit thing with a unique serial. Punch the serial into the website and get content.
I suspect what's really happened here is somebody at Bon Jovi's label is very clever and figured out a way to get a big hard plug on Slashdot.
I always felt that since manufacturing costs are going down, but CD prices are not, they should give us a little more with the CDs we buy. The Dave Matthews Band's latest album "Busted Stuff"(which has been floating around the internet for a year under the name "The Lillywhite Sessions")was released packaged with a free DVD which had two great live performances, and one song (audio only) in 5.1. It was sort of a DVD "single" if you will. It gave fans a real reason to buy even though just about everybody had already downloaded the same songs on the internet. That's smart marketing.
Jon B J, can you say "Duh?"
The thing that is really shocking is that someone would want to pirate Bon Jovi.
It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
Art is aesthetic in nature, whereas software is functional in nature. There may be art underlying the actual code, such as the layout of the icons on the screen (and obviously the icons themselves), but the algorithms themselves are merely functional. This becomes clear when you consider software such as database software or webserving software, where the artistry is absent completely and only the functionality remains.