Led Zeppelin Agrees To Digital Distribution

cphilo points out a NYTimes article on Led Zeppelin's decision to sell its music online. The group is one of the last superstar acts to hold out against the digital tide. There was a months-long, trans-Atlantic bidding war for the rights to license the band's catalog. In the US, the only digital holdouts that outsell Led Zeppelin are the Beatles and Garth Brooks.

Comments

Garth and Beatles decide to give away music

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I can only interpret the lack of digital sales as an implicit authorization for free digital downloads. While I am of the mind that no one is entitled to content that others produce, if the content is not available through standard distribution channels, in this case iTunes, then any rational person realizes that the content will become available through other channels. In the case of the Beatles, one assumes that most people who want their music has already bought one of the box sets, ripped it, and probably resold the set on Ebay. I can imagine a box set transversing the world spreading the music.

Obviously the right-holders of the beatles catalog would stand to make more money from digital sales than a box set that resold ad naseum, but in their generousity they have decided that enough money has been made, and the fans should not be milked for any more money.

In the case of Garth Brooks, one assumes that he is going to have mercy on us by limiting the availability of his collections. This is quite acceptable to most of us fans, as Reba and George are widely available.