Don't Sever A High-Tech Lifeline for Musicians

Licensed2Hack writes "Janis Ian, who provided this slashdot interview last September, has written this editorial in the Los Angeles Times. Janis says, "After I first posted downloadable music, my merchandise sales went up 300%. They're still double what they were before the MP3s went online." And the RIAA's stated goal in preventing this type of activity with their lawsuit against Verizon is to increase sales..."

Comments

Re:To be fair

[Gortbusters.org]

Nothing that is so, is so.... The corporations would lead you to believe that the music downloads are crippling their industry. Examples like this show that to be more false than true. This artist has enjoyed a spot light, and some of her success might be atributed to the marketing through the MP3 controversy. So, where is the truth? One theory I might suggest is that the business model is flawed. Perhaps the technology is also outdated. Why aren't they selling DVDs filled with music videos, interviews, lyrics, kareokee(sp?) and what not rather than simple music CDs for so much?

This is all fine and well...

[stubear]

...but the decision to publish music on the web must be made by the copyright holder, not the public. Many cry that fair use rights are being taken away but by the same token, p2p services are taking away the rights of ALL artists, whether they are backed by large corporations and organizations or are struggling to make it on their own.

We need to bust this abusive trust

[Dukeofshadows]

The RIAA is acting as abusively as trusts did early in the 19th century and our current president is certainly no Teddy Roosevelt. They have proposed a nationwide charge of all ISPs to "compensate" them for "lost profit", they jack up the price on blank CDs to compensate them on "lost profit", and they overcharge for regular CDs at the expense of artists then have the nerve to try to criminalize any and all competition to release through their outlets to recompensate for "lost profit". The abuses by the RIAA are bordering on violation of freedom of expression and freedom of speech, never mind the already flagrant violations of privacy. Has anyone considered a lawsuit against the RIAA for abuse of monopoly power? I propose that an entirely free service supported through advertising be set up where artists submit samples/songs for free downloads. No hitch, no subscriptions, no catches, just free music submitted with the intention that it be distributed freely. If there are already multiple out there, consolidate them under one or two sites to increase their exposure to the general public.