Brazilian Pop Music Scene Thrives on Piracy

langelgjm writes "When people talk about the failing business model of the traditional record company, they often only offer vague suggestions as to how things would work otherwise. But a concrete example of a music scene that thrives on piracy is to be found in Brazil, in the form of tecnobrega. From the article: 'While piracy is the bane of many musicians trying to control the sale of their songs, tecnobrega artists see counterfeiters as key to their success ... Ronaldo Lemos, a law professor at Brazil's respected Getulio Vargas Foundation, an elite Rio de Janeiro think tank and research center, says tecnobrega and other movements like it represent a new business model for the digital era, where music is transformed from a good to a service.'"

Comments

Re:Freeloaders ahoy in Brazil

[synthespian]

As for the lumpenproletariat nature of the listeners, well, that's always where the best music comes from. Rap, rock, jazz, blues, country...all of them were originally seen as low-class crap for the low-class subcultures.

You ever read a biography about a Jazz musician, where his pop would beat the shit out of him if he didn't play the trumpet for 8 hours a day?

This is not the kind of music I'm speaking of. Consider Hip Hop. A major industry phenomenom. To me, the sound of retards. Tecnobrega is more like in this 2nd category. We're talking people with no musical talent (then again, I suppose anyone can push buttons).