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Online Business Model for a Band?

Posted by Cliff on from the strike-up-a-tune dept.

Backes asks: "I've seen a lot of submissions about P2P, iTMS, DRM, piracy, and the RIAA, lately. Apparently everyone has an opinion on this and most seem think that the recording industry are a bunch of greedy people that stick it to the consumer as well as their own artists. After hearing some of the stories, I'm not even sure that getting signed to a label would be the best course of action for an aspiring musician or band. So what is a better option? What would you, the Slashdot community, do to make it big on your own using the Internet?" "What kinds of features would a site need? Would you pay for downloads of MP3s from a band's site or not? At what price? Would donations work, or would everyone just freeload? How often would you need updates or new songs to keep you coming back? If downloads were free, would you then buy a full length album from the site just to get the CD? What special features should the CD include? How would you get your name out? What do you think is the best course of action for a band that wants to completely circumvent the whole music industry process and do it themselves?"

43 of 420 comments (clear)

  1. The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Pope John Paul II was found dead in his Vatican City apartment this afternoon. There weren't any more details. I'm sure we'll all miss him, even if you weren't a Catholic or believer in his faith or any other faith, there's no denying his contribution to popular culture. Truly a Polish icon.

    1. Re:The Pope Is Dead by orthogonal · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      "I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Pope John Paul II was found dead in his Vatican City apartment this afternoon"

      You humorless, compassionless bastards. The Pope was a great man who deserves veneration, and the Stephen King troll is a venerable Slashdot tradition. I'd have posted it myself, if the AC hadn't gotten to it first.

      Mod parent up.

      --
      Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
    2. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Hey, I thought they said the same thing about Ronald Reagan?! Now who's not telling the truth here?

    3. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Wait...why is parent -1 Troll?...he did take down communism...

    4. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
      Yeah, right. Communism destroyed itself. The downfall was not due to Reagan or the Pope.

      Dumbass.

    5. Re:The Pope Is Dead by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      Ahhh...so it's the Pope's fault that people can't keep it in their pants. This, on a continent where Christianity is a minority (although increasing).

      Naaa...couldn't be the fault of the individual. Let's blame it on the big guy. After all...they followed his instructions to the letter. No condoms, and go screw your brains out with anyone and everyone.

      Yes...it's all the Pope's fault.

    6. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      No wasn't he!
      The real kill was done by islamist in Afganustan! (the same guys who America abhors today and whom she generously offered support at that time - what a stupid bitch!)
      Unfortunately this shit somewhat continues today
      Anyways Catholicism becomes more and more irrelevant , nthing to see here, please move along!

      P.S.: Yes I am a proud communist!

    7. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      How would Communism, even the corrupted pseudo-communism of the USSR, have fared if it wasn't under constant attack from the Corporate Reich of America (USA)? We'll never know if the problems that set in in the USSR would have happened if they hadn't had to remain constantly militarised thanks to the USA's aggression, having to devote millions of man-hours to defence because the fascist (read up on Roosevelt) USA was constantly threatening them?

      We _know_ the USA worked to corrupt and undermine communism in the USSR. How much of the crap that happened in the USSR was thanks to people having to fight off the USA instead of working together on more useful stuff? (personally, I think Lysenko did most to damage the USSR, not the USA, but that's a separate rant).

      Hell, the US Corpies won't let free market capitalism exist either (see their "free" trade agreements which ALWAYS extend the scope of patent applicability, by definition antithetical to free markets)

    8. Re:The Pope Is Dead by TheoGB · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Or alternatively we could all just read Noam Chomsky's "Hegemony or Survival" ourselves.

      Let's not kid ourselves here. Much as I hate corporate America, Stalin is vastly responsible for the buildup of weapons in the USSR post war, and indeed the regime was simply a dictatorship as fascist as any other.

      The problem is that people (the U.S.) ascribe the fascism as being the result of communism in an attempt to victimise left-wing ideas...

    9. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Master+of+Transhuman · · Score: -1, Offtopic


      And like all Polish icons, he's dead.

      One less Christian asshole (and better yet, one of the Christian assholes whose particular cult STARTED this whole crap by hijacking a Jewish prophet who had no intention of starting a new religion - much less one that would persecute his own people for the next two thousand years.)

      Have a nice day, moron.

      --
      Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
    10. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Palefrei · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      >>responsible for more deaths and other atrocitys than any other

      That is a load of bovine excrement. you are apparently one of those primitive christophobes, and a buffoon.

      Regardless of my opinion of the Pope, Catholicism, and Boy-Buggering Papists in general..

      More people have been killed/tortured in the name of the secular state/communism/fascism/godless humanism in the first half of the last century than by any other entity in the history of man.

      "the 20th Century state has proved itself the great killer of all time." --Historian Paul Johnson

      Stalin, over 40 million (purges, forced de-kulakification, de-cossacifiation, forced labour camps, re-education camps, etc). Mass deportations for the various baltic states and other soviet satellites to the Soviet Gulag archipelago, and let us not forget the many cut down crossing the Berlin wall or any other point on the Iron Curtain,

      Mao Tse Tung's Cultural Revolution, estimated at 72 million plus,

      Pol Pot's Cambodia, 3 million plus (close to one out of three people)

      The there is the perennial favorite, Nazi Germany (6 million plus), the Japanese Rape of Nanking (300,000), North Korea, Vietnam, The Armenian genocide in Turkey (1.5 Million), the communist rampages through post WWII albania/yugoslavia.

    11. Re:The Pope Is Dead by mp3phish · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      What's wrong with screwing your brains out? Because the bible says not to?

      That isn't a very convincing argument in my book.

      --
      Your ignorance is infinitely greater than you realize.
    12. Re:The Pope Is Dead by orthogonal · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      "How much of the crap that happened in the USSR was thanks to people having to fight off the USA instead of working together on more useful stuff?"

      Tell it to 20 million murdered Kulaks.

      --
      Opinions on the Twiddler2 hand-held keyboard?
    13. Re:The Pope Is Dead by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      No, not because the bible tells you not to. Because a) it does create children, and b) today it carries a significant risk (in some areas) of serious/fatal disease.
      2 very, very serious consequences. Are you willing to take those risks and live with (or die with) the results for an afternoon of fun?

    14. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      What, so the corrupt fascist (Stalin) who hijacked the communist party and killed loads of people, including most of the actual bolshevik communists in his purges (!) eliminates all the USA's wrongdoing? The question was_how many of the problems (colloquially expressed as "how much of the crap") of the USSR were as a result of the USA. No, the USA didn't cause collectivisation or the purges. But (a) it was all buddy-buddy with Stalin while they were going on and (b) it sure as hell did a load of other crap to the USSR later on...

      Fact of the matter is, WWII was not about the bad guys vs. the good guys. Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini: ALL subscribed to fascist principles. WWII was about which bad guys would control the world.

    15. Re:The Pope Is Dead by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      It's so fun when US Citizens talk about mass murder. They are the biggest killers ever, but seems to allways remember masacrees done by others. Oh, i forgot, they masacrees are "Crusades for world peace", like their sponsorhip of the dictatorships in Latin America, The masacree Nicaragua, or the was of Iraq.

      --
      WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
    16. Re:The Pope Is Dead by billster0808 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Sorry to be O.T., but the Pope is the leader of the Catholic religon, not Christianity. Get it right.

    17. Re:The Pope Is Dead by mickyflynn · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      "Often immitated, never duplicated"

      there is only one The Church, dude.

    18. Re:The Pope Is Dead by luigi6699 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      And how would free market Capitalism have fared if it wasn't under constant attack from the Soviet states? Oh wait - it was. Face it: it was a competition between two economic models. Both of them tried to trip each other up. And Capitalism won, by a landslide. Seriously; even feudal states have lasted longer than the Communist record of 71 years (1917 - 1991). Communism required that the state create an artificial market, it required that people give up their individuality, and it required that mediocrity be idealized. It never stood a chance against Capitalism, which allows the market to do what it wants, requires that people act as individuals, and requires that exceptional ability be idealized. Even a totally corrupt Capitalist country (as many would argue is the case in the USA) was more than a match for all of the Soviet Republics.

      --
      **** You never REALLY learn to swear until you own a computer. ****
    19. Re:The Pope Is Dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Because you might get aids.

      You have lost, HAND.

    20. Re:The Pope Is Dead by lanswitch · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      yes.

  2. Get some priorities! POPE is dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    The POPE is dead
    "Fluent in eight languages, John Paul II visited more than 100 countries on every continent except Antarctica."

    Lousy guy didn't like the penguins, so I guess he was anti-linux too!

    ******

    I just heard some sad news on CNN. Pope John Paul II was found dead in his Vatican apartment today. There weren't any more details. Even if you didn't care much for his work, there's no denying his contribution to archaic beliefs. Truly a Catholic icon.

  3. Get Some Prirorities! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Pope John Paul II, one of the longest serving popes in this planets history, noted humanitarian, and spiritual leader to the 1 billion catholics in this world has passed away. Yet all you seem to talk about is Online Buisness Models.
    GET SOME PRIRORITIES!

  4. Label Schmabel by SpaceyWilly · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    here's one: first you make a myspace music account, then you plug it as often as possible. Like the one for my band, The Apples tee hee hee

  5. SOME CUT UPS? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    AINT NO CUT UPS IN HERE!!!

    I CUT YOooooooooooooooooooooooooo ASS UP!

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  6. You sons of satan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    His Holyness' corpse is not even cold and yet you're already pouring your venom on his memory.

    Shame on you.

    1. Re:You sons of satan by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      No. I Said all this stuff when he was alive, years ago. Thank you.

      AFAIK the name of my father wasn't "Satan". Get this into your head: There is No god, There is no Satan. You are on your own, if you are to weak to assume Life, then just kill yourself, you looser.

      --
      WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
    2. Re:You sons of satan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      So you can NOT disprove there is an invisible elephant flying over your house this very moment? What a moron!

    3. Re:You sons of satan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      A scientific hypothesis must be falsifiable. Gods (sheer arrogance of christians in assuming their god is the right god...) in general tend not to be falsfiable as they are assumed to have omnipotence - how do you know I'm not god? I just created the world a few days ago, along with you and a load of false memories in your head.

      But look at the evidence in the world today: If any god exists and is influencing the world, he is insane or evil or both. If there are any gods, it is mankind's duty to slay them.

    4. Re:You sons of satan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Your analogy fails to take into account the incorporeal nature that most religious people attribute to God. Science cannot speak to a subject outside of it's domain, and as such science can speak only to the natural, not the supernatural. Neither can it disprove even the existence of the supernatural.

      The problem with your analogy is that, technically you could disprove that there is an invisible flying elephant over your house, as an elephant has a physical "signature" greater than merely its effect on the visual spectrum of light.

    5. Re:You sons of satan by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      m ... geez, i don't understand how people can mix up words written in a brain-dead language that is only spoken in a few places over this world ... may be there are actually people living outside the US?. I heard once about them on the CNN. A magic race of people that are not US Citizens, how weird!.

      --
      WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
  7. Does this mean that Satan rules tonight? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    I am afraid to go to sleep tonight.

    What's the official line on this? I am not Catholic, but I've always been brought up to believe that he is the God's representative on Earth and will protect us from the Evil.

    Now, if Pope is dead, are we at the mercy of Satan until a new Pope is found?!

    1. Re:Does this mean that Satan rules tonight? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
      Yes. Satan's after you.

      Just keep an eye on that dark corner and don't forget to see under your bed.

  8. Yes, sure, that was all his fault. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Yes, that was all his fault. Find something better to do with your time, troll.

    1. Re:Yes, sure, that was all his fault. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic
      Well, actually the policies of the Catholic church, which I assume are dictated by the Pope, are indeed exacerbating the AIDS problem in the developing countries.

      He might be a troll, but he's right nevertheless.

    2. Re:Yes, sure, that was all his fault. by Clay+Pigeon+-TPF-VS- · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      If you practice abstinence (as promoted by the church) you do not need birth control (as condemned by the church). You are taking everything out of context, assclown.

      --
      Viral software licensing is not freedom, it is in fact GNU/Socialism.
    3. Re:Yes, sure, that was all his fault. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      Unfortunately that doctrine doesn't take the human nature into account. Abstinence is unnatural and will never work no matter how much GWB and the Pope would like that. Therefore, the second best option, birth control, is the solution.

    4. Re:Yes, sure, that was all his fault. by Mattcelt · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Yes, he is a troll, and no, he is not right.

      My uncle was part of an Air Force contingent that flew Vatican-approved birth control devices to Catholic nuns in a war-torn part of Africa. The nuns refused to leave because of their dedication to the people they served there. Yet constant rapes from the militant fighting groups in the region were getting some of the nuns pregnant. So the USAF, with the approval of the Vatican, flew missions to deliver contraceptives to them.

      Second, the only contraceptive device that can be used to counteract AIDS is the condom. But in most parts of Africa, using condoms is not socially acceptable due to old pagan customs. Most African men will not wear condoms, and prefer "dry" sex, so most women will swab the moisture out of the their vaginas before having sex. This makes bleeding much more prevalent, increasing the risk of AIDS transmission even more. So the Catholic stance on condom use in Africa has absolutely no bearing on the state of AIDS there.

      Anybody who tells you that the Catholic Church is even remotely responsible for the state of AIDS in Africa is full of shit.

    5. Re:Yes, sure, that was all his fault. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

      birth control is as or more unnatural than abstinence (though I personally consider everything to be "natural", including Acts of Man, I understand what most humans mean when they say "unnatural" to be "stuff in that part of nature man controls")

  9. Web Business Is Out. Patents Are In. by John+Hasler · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Get a patent on HTTP.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  10. Re:take the contract by Taladar · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I believe this is one of the best posts I ever read on /.

    --
    Linux is not Windows
  11. It depends. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Are you willing to take those risks and live with (or die with) the results for an afternoon of fun?

    Well, I don't know if it's worth it or not, yet. Let's have a look at the bitch and then I'll decide.

  12. Write a virus by Danathar · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    You could write a virus that has your music in the payload...think of the exposier!