In our society we seem to have forgotten a very simple concept relating to capitalism. This concept is known as the dollar vote. The record companies will not produce that which you are not willing to pay for, and they will not charge what the consumers are not willing to pay. The fact that they do is evidence of how little an impact Napster and similar applications have had on the record industry. If, as they had claimed, free distribution of music had hurt their industry, then they wouldn't be maintaining sales at upwards of $15/cd. They still have a huge audience, and one that is more than willing to shell out the $15.
What Napster IS allowing is an alternate venue for those who already were not willing to pay $15 for a CD. Those people previously got audio tracks from their friends, used MiniDiscs, etc. Remember mp2? Music sharing is NOT a new concept. Before then it was cassettes. Napster just makes it a little easier to find music. Those who previously purchased CDs will continue to buy CDs even if grudgingly because some people think the artists should get money even if it is just a meager piece of the pie. Others will continue not purchasing CDs. OR, they could hear something they really like and WANT to buy the cd. Imagine that.
Today I grudgingly purchased 4 CDs. I seldom purchase music, but in spite of the record company, I want to show my support for the artists. No profit for the artist means no money with which to produce music. If I hear something good, I want to make sure I hear that same good music in future.
Really, the record companies aren't going to lose their current consumers to napster and they only stand to gain new ones. Antagonizing those who do purchase CDs is not a good way to secure the future of the industry.
Yeah. That's a great philosophy. Welcome to corporatism. Try capitalism on for size. Consumers and economic conditions create demand, not the corporations. If the consumers decide they're fed up with buying cds with one good song with a load of crap tracks then it's up to the record companies to find an alternative means of surviving in the industry. I buy CDs, but I'd far prefer to be able to purchase a flatrate license to download products of a certain artist or record company.
I'm a willing consumer if the product suits my needs.
Slashdot Mirror
In our society we seem to have forgotten a very simple concept relating to capitalism. This concept is known as the dollar vote. The record companies will not produce that which you are not willing to pay for, and they will not charge what the consumers are not willing to pay. The fact that they do is evidence of how little an impact Napster and similar applications have had on the record industry. If, as they had claimed, free distribution of music had hurt their industry, then they wouldn't be maintaining sales at upwards of $15/cd. They still have a huge audience, and one that is more than willing to shell out the $15.
What Napster IS allowing is an alternate venue for those who already were not willing to pay $15 for a CD. Those people previously got audio tracks from their friends, used MiniDiscs, etc. Remember mp2? Music sharing is NOT a new concept. Before then it was cassettes. Napster just makes it a little easier to find music. Those who previously purchased CDs will continue to buy CDs even if grudgingly because some people think the artists should get money even if it is just a meager piece of the pie. Others will continue not purchasing CDs. OR, they could hear something they really like and WANT to buy the cd. Imagine that.
Today I grudgingly purchased 4 CDs. I seldom purchase music, but in spite of the record company, I want to show my support for the artists. No profit for the artist means no money with which to produce music. If I hear something good, I want to make sure I hear that same good music in future.
Really, the record companies aren't going to lose their current consumers to napster and they only stand to gain new ones. Antagonizing those who do purchase CDs is not a good way to secure the future of the industry.
Yeah. That's a great philosophy. Welcome to corporatism. Try capitalism on for size. Consumers and economic conditions create demand, not the corporations. If the consumers decide they're fed up with buying cds with one good song with a load of crap tracks then it's up to the record companies to find an alternative means of surviving in the industry. I buy CDs, but I'd far prefer to be able to purchase a flatrate license to download products of a certain artist or record company.
I'm a willing consumer if the product suits my needs.