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Ask a Music Producer/Publicist About Filesharing and the RIAA

Bill Evans is one of those people in the music business who doesn't get a lot of public exposure, but keeps the wheels cranking behind the scenes. He's not just a musician and techie, but a publicist whose clients include Numavox Records artists Kerry Livgren and Michael Gleason as well as progressive rocker Neal Morse; he's produced (among many others) songs for the Burning Annie soundtrack and the Kansas Tribute Project. Naturally, since he makes his living in the music business, Bill is not 100% in favor of unrestricted filesharing. But what might work? And what might not? Let's find out what this music biz insider thinks -- one question per post, of course. Answers to the "Top 10" questions will be published soon after he gets them back to us.

14 of 371 comments (clear)

  1. ummm... by radiumhahn · · Score: -1, Troll
    Ask a Music Producer/Publicist About Filesharing and the RIAA

    Honestly....why even ask?

  2. another perfect cut! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Hi, kids.

    Filesharing is cool.

    Carry on.

  3. YUO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    R TEH POOP

    1. Re:YUO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
      Second First Post (Score:-1, Offtopic)
      by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723005)
      For Durst, post.
      Shoot me, Ghost!
      [ Reply to This ]

      What options are out there? (Score:3, Interesting)
      by TopShelf (92521) * on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723010)
      (http://freethepenguin.com/ | Last Journal: 2003.08.08 23:49)
      What do you see as the most promising means of maintaining the commercial tie between artist and audience, but in different form than today's "stone tablet", whereby a song or album is burned onto a CD with copy protection? What about enhancing other revenue streams, like fan clubs, for example?
      --

      Bypass [amazon.com] the local monopolist
      [ Reply to This ]

      ummm... (Score:1)
      by radiumhahn (631215) on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723011)
      Ask a Music Producer/Publicist About Filesharing and the RIAA

      Honestly....why even ask?
      [ Reply to This ]

      another perfect cut! (Score:0)
      by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723018)
      Hi, kids.

      Filesharing is cool.

      Carry on.
      [ Reply to This ]

      marketing (Score:2)
      by cybercuzco (100904) on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723022)
      (http://slashdot.org/journal.pl?op=lis t&uid=100904 | Last Journal: 2003.07.28 20:59)
      Have you or anyone you know done any studies of the marketing effect of free music sharing? That is, how much has the free marketing that is a result of filesharing offsetting the potential lost sales?
      --

      IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:
      Run around, scream and shout, breathe real hard till we all pass out.
      [ Reply to This ]

      YUO (Score:0)
      by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:03 (#6723027)
      R TEH POOP
      [ Reply to This ]

  4. Never heard of you. by mkelley · · Score: -1, Troll

    Who are you? And why should I care? I mean, it's one thing to be a music promoter, but are you known outside of your region?

    --

    m.kelley
    life is like a freeway, if you don't look you could miss it.
  5. HaH! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    TwICe I haVe BeATen tEh GNAA!

    Oh wait, that sounds perverted.

    Oh well, The GNAA can SUCK IT!

  6. Re:What options are out there? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Slashdot requires you to wait 2 minutes between each successful posting of a comment to allow everyone a fair chance at posting a comment.

    It's been 1 minute since you last successfully posted a comment

    Chances are, you're behind a firewall or proxy, or clicked the Back button to accidentally reuse a form. Please try again. If the problem persists, and all other options have been tried, contact the site administrator.

    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
    Second First Post (Score:-1, Offtopic)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723005)
    For Durst, post.
    Shoot me, Ghost!
    [ Reply to This ]

    HaH! (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:05 (#6723046)
    TwICe I haVe BeATen tEh GNAA!

    Oh wait, that sounds perverted.

    Oh well, The GNAA can SUCK IT!

    [ Reply to This | Parent ]

    What options are out there? (Score:4, Interesting)
    by TopShelf (92521) * on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723010)
    (http://freethepenguin.com/ | Last Journal: 2003.08.08 23:49)
    What do you see as the most promising means of maintaining the commercial tie between artist and audience, but in different form than today's "stone tablet", whereby a song or album is burned onto a CD with copy protection? What about enhancing other revenue streams, like fan clubs, for example?
    --

    Bypass [amazon.com] the local monopolist
    [ Reply to This ]

    ummm... (Score:0, Troll)
    by radiumhahn (631215) on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723011)
    Ask a Music Producer/Publicist About Filesharing and the RIAA

    Honestly....why even ask?
    [ Reply to This ]

    another perfect cut! (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723018)
    Hi, kids.

    Filesharing is cool.

    Carry on.
    [ Reply to This ]

    marketing (Score:4, Interesting)
    by cybercuzco (100904) on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723022)
    (http://slashdot.org/journal.pl?op=lis t&uid=100904 | Last Journal: 2003.07.28 20:59)
    Have you or anyone you know done any studies of the marketing effect of free music sharing? That is, how much has the free marketing that is a result of filesharing offsetting the potential lost sales?
    --

    IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:
    Run around, scream and shout, breathe real hard till we all pass out.
    [ Reply to This ]

    YUO (Score:-1, Troll)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:03 (#6723027)
    R TEH POOP
    [ Reply to This ]

    Re:YUO (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:05 (#6723041)
    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
    Second First Post (Score:-1, Offtopic)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723005)
    For Durst, post.
    Shoot me, Ghost!
    [ Reply to This ]

    What options are out there? (Score:3, Interesting)
    by TopShelf (92521) * on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723010)
    (http://freethepenguin.com/ | Last Journal: 2003.08.08 23:49)
    What do you see as the most promising means of maintaining the commercial tie between artist and audience, but in different form than today's "stone tablet", whereby a song or album is burned onto a CD with copy protection? What about enhancing other revenue streams, like fan clubs, for example?
    --

    Bypass [amazon.com] the local monopolist
    [ Reply to This ]

    ummm... (Score:1)
    by radiumhahn (631215) on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723011)
    Ask a Music Producer/Publicist About Filesharing and the RIAA

    Honestly....why even ask?
    [ Reply to This ]

    another perfect cut! (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723018)
    Hi, kids.

    Filesharing is cool.

    Carry on.
    [ Reply to This ]

    marketing (Score:2)

  7. Go Away by kfort · · Score: -1, Troll

    We don't need people like Bill Evans. We need artists connected directly with their fans. Lets keep the money hungry label execs out of it.

    Mod up if you agree.

  8. Re:marketing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
    Second First Post (Score:-1, Offtopic)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723005)
    For Durst, post.
    Shoot me, Ghost!
    [ Reply to This ]

    HaH! (Score:-1, Troll)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:05 (#6723046)
    TwICe I haVe BeATen tEh GNAA!

    Oh wait, that sounds perverted.

    Oh well, The GNAA can SUCK IT!

    [ Reply to This | Parent ]

    What options are out there? (Score:5, Interesting)
    by TopShelf (92521) * on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723010)
    (http://freethepenguin.com/ | Last Journal: 2003.08.08 23:49)
    What do you see as the most promising means of maintaining the commercial tie between artist and audience, but in different form than today's "stone tablet", whereby a song or album is burned onto a CD with copy protection? What about enhancing other revenue streams, like fan clubs, for example?
    --

    Bypass [amazon.com] the local monopolist
    [ Reply to This ]

    Re:What options are out there? (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:07 (#6723061)
    Slashdot requires you to wait 2 minutes between each successful posting of a comment to allow everyone a fair chance at posting a comment.

    It's been 1 minute since you last successfully posted a comment

    Chances are, you're behind a firewall or proxy, or clicked the Back button to accidentally reuse a form. Please try again. If the problem persists, and all other options have been tried, contact the site administrator.

    The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
    Second First Post (Score:-1, Offtopic)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723005)
    For Durst, post.
    Shoot me, Ghost!
    [ Reply to This ]

    HaH! (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:05 (#6723046)
    TwICe I haVe BeATen tEh GNAA!

    Oh wait, that sounds perverted.

    Oh well, The GNAA can SUCK IT!

    [ Reply to This | Parent ]

    What options are out there? (Score:4, Interesting)
    by TopShelf (92521) * on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723010)
    (http://freethepenguin.com/ | Last Journal: 2003.08.08 23:49)
    What do you see as the most promising means of maintaining the commercial tie between artist and audience, but in different form than today's "stone tablet", whereby a song or album is burned onto a CD with copy protection? What about enhancing other revenue streams, like fan clubs, for example?
    --

    Bypass [amazon.com] the local monopolist
    [ Reply to This ]

    ummm... (Score:0, Troll)
    by radiumhahn (631215) on 2003.08.18 18:01 (#6723011)
    Ask a Music Producer/Publicist About Filesharing and the RIAA

    Honestly....why even ask?
    [ Reply to This ]

    another perfect cut! (Score:0)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723018)
    Hi, kids.

    Filesharing is cool.

    Carry on.
    [ Reply to This ]

    marketing (Score:4, Interesting)
    by cybercuzco (100904) on 2003.08.18 18:02 (#6723022)
    (http://slashdot.org/journal.pl?op=lis t&uid=100904 | Last Journal: 2003.07.28 20:59)
    Have you or anyone you know done any studies of the marketing effect of free music sharing? That is, how much has the free marketing that is a result of filesharing offsetting the potential lost sales?
    --

    IN CASE OF EMERGENCY:
    Run around, scream and shout, breathe real hard till we all pass out.
    [ Reply to This ]

    YUO (Score:-1, Troll)
    by Anonymous Coward on 2003.08.18 18:03 (#6723027)
    R TEH POOP
    [ Reply to This ]

    Re:YUO (Score

  9. Artificial Migraine by AttillaTheNun · · Score: 0, Troll
    Hey, I'm in a band called Artificial Migraine - will you produce our next album?

    We've got lots of rockin' tunes, such as Stomach Ulcers, She's Butch, Chinese Water Torcher and Roadkill on the Don Valley Parkway.

    Actually, we broke up in 1987 after our buddy Colin smashed a garage window during our Hallowe'en concert and the garage door opener jammed up, but I'm sure I can rally the troops and we can dust off our awesome $200 guitars and vintage 80's keyboards (don't forget those cool Simmons drumpads) and learn a couple of chords again.

    Oh, our singer is somewhere in Africa, shouldn't be too hard to find - hey John, if you're reading this, give me a buzz - we're gonna be famous!

  10. Kansas? by gjohnson · · Score: 0, Troll

    Bill, why does Kansas suck so much?

  11. Yeah but.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    In Soviet Russia, music produces/publicizes YOU!

  12. attn michael: stop posting here evar. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    see subject advice.

  13. Re:Should we change copyright? by Erasmus+Darwin · · Score: 0, Troll
    "You misunderstand, Erasmus."

    Oops. You're right -- that's what I get for reading Slashdot first thing in the morning. Sorry about that.

    Your system would certainly solve a number of common gotchas related to IP, such as trying to get an "at cost" replacement copy when your current legitimate copy is damaged. It would also help services like BeamIt that mp3.com tried to offer, where you ran a program that would verify you had a physical CD and, after that, it would let you stream music from that CD wherever you went.

    However, I think that the way you propose things has too many problems. First, it sounds like you're killing off the library (or at least the non-public domain parts), as your licenses to a given work are non-transferrable. I think the current system, where the physical copy serves as the defacto license and it can be passed around but can't exist in two places at once, is a pretty nice compromise between the rights of the copyright holder and the rights of the public.

    Second, I think there are too many practical concerns relating to managing the licensing rights. I know I'd love it if the sum of all the IP I purchased were virtually attached to my identity and always at hand, but I'm not willing to make the sacrifices necessary for a DRM implementation that would securely do this.

    There's also an issue of IP effort sometimes being related to the physical format rather than the more intangible creative work. For example, getting a movie from film form into DVD form and VHS form isn't as automated as you'd expect. There's enough room for error that screwups have happened (such as with the Back to the Future DVDs). For higher quality releases, you'll have someone like the movie's cinematographer supervising the transfer.