The point it, if someone signs a restrictive contract that can hold them hostage for several years (likely 7 at most if they signed in California or the label's headquarters are there), they should be held to the contract. If you promise to do something, you should keep your word. The promise is the contract -- not what others say about the contract. They signed it, they suffer.
In California, the record label *must* pay you a minimum of 9k the first year and 12k (if memory serves correctly) each remaining year if you have signed an exclusive contract with them for your recording services.
As a test, I had RC2 of Win2k3 server running on a 233Mhz/256MB machine acting as a DC, primary DNS and fileshare for a network of approximately 20 machines. It worked like a champ and was even responsive on the console. ASP.net applications were a bit painful under this configuration, however.
Win2k3 is a different animal than Win2k, even if they do share huge portions of the same codebase.
artists get approximatel 11% of the money, record gets 53% and Apple gets 35%.
Horseshit. Apple pays a flat "wholesale" to the label from which it has licensed the work and it is up to the label to pay the artist and publisher. iTunes has nothing to do with how much the artist gets... and they shouldn't for the same reason that Amazon is not responsible for paying artist royalties on CDs they sell. I can only imagine that 11% royalty number coming from the fact that 10-14% is about right for an artist royalty, with 10-11% being closer to the norm for an unknown.
I have read that downhillbattle piece at least 10 times and each time I find more and more FUD. Trust me, I *hate* defending Apple on this, but feel I must. They are not the bad guys, but nor are they necessarily the good guys. More importantly, no one but the record label that an artist has an agreement with is in the position to pay royalties (with the exception of performance royalties) to said artist.
Just wait! My son just turned three and I *still* am in the same sleep pattern I had when he was an infant... wide awake sometime between 3:30 and 4:00AM. I have managed to make it work for me (my concentration seems the best now in the early morning).
The particular irony of this whole situation is that he sleeps like a log for 10-11 hours now and Dad is the one getting sleep in 4 or 5 hour chunks.
Check out the story on Loudeye acquiring OD2. Towards the bottom is this:
"For the quarter ended March 31, 2004 on a UK GAAP basis OD2 generated approximately $2.5 million in revenues, which represented over 80% sequential growth from the quarter ended December 31, 2003 and over 250% growth versus the prior year quarter."
Not outstandingly successful, but not terrible either.
NetMusic has imported a number of different players from Asian manufacturers, and the HD-800 is a 20GB player that supports OGG/WMA/MP3/WAV, FM Radio, and the best part, in my opinion, is that it uses 1.8" drives so that it is end-user upgradable.
Yes... nearly the entire 80's catalog from nettwerk (Skinny Puppy, Grapes of Wrath, etc...), Chixdiggit (cheesy porn-punk rock at its best)... oh, and Bryan Adams.
In previous stints in the belly of the beast it was not uncommon for serious developers to turn off the lights and lock the doors of their offices so that no one would know they were there. The amount of "interaction" at MS is mind-boggling. If you have never sat through a week (yes, a week of 9 hour days in a "war room") long meeting discussing the most inane, asinine, and mundane details of a project you wouldn't understand.
DRM is a ridiculous response to a ridiculous problem. The problem being, how do you protect a copyrighted work from flowing freely amongst Internet users? And, before you say that music/data/software/etc... wants to be free, understand that under current copyright law, copyright holders must make a "reasonable effort" to protect their copyrights to receive protection. Is it a reasonable attempt at protection to put out a product that anyone can copy and distribute freely? No. Is it fair to the consumer to severely limit their use of the copyrighted material after purchase? No. Hence, we have a bit of a conundrum.
What iTunes, et al, do with DRM is actually very lenient in light of what the 5 majors want (and are actively seeking). They have appeased the RIAA and brethren by perpetuating the illusion that digital material can be fully protected. In reality, all that these DRM schemes have done is place a bump in the road... and a pretty insignificant bump at that. However, that is the price that they (as retailer) must pay to allow major label content to you (the consumer).
There is a bit of a solution though. Companies like mine, AudioLunchbox, Magnatune, and a few others, are skirting the entire DRM issue by offering indie and quasi-major label material (eg, a compilation put out by an indie that contains tracks by major label artists).
As time goes on, I sincerely believe that DRM will become *less* of an issue, as the majors begin to realize that while they need to aggressively protect their copyrights, they also need to make sales to the consumer. In the interim, please support those of us who are working to bring you quality music unfettered by DRM.
I have both Magnatune and CDBaby as content partners and I have to say that you are comparing apples and oranges. CDBaby is more a la carte... no promotions, etc. They are a CD distributor that offers digital distribution. As such, they only charge a small administrative fee. Magnatune, on the other hand, is more of a digital record label... offering support and promotion for its bands. Given the services that John offers, I think that a 50% split is more than generous.
As for either one being a good deal... they are both incredible deals for the artists! Compare with an artist on a major label and you'll see what I mean. There are several major label artists that I know of who make no money from digital sales because they had very incompetent legal counsel.
While mostly true, that is oversimplifying things a bit. There are many labels and distributors out there that do not require DRM. Eventually, even the majors will allow for non-DRMed tracks to be sold... although more than likely only for back catalog material.
When will people finally realize that it is not the distribution services that pay the artists? It's the labels that pay the artists. For example, we pay a flat wholesale per track to our label partners and then they pay the artists. It's (usually) the labels that own the digital distribution rights, so it's the labels that get the cash.
Slashdot Mirror
"Shut the fuck up" might also be a likely candidate.
In California, the record label *must* pay you a minimum of 9k the first year and 12k (if memory serves correctly) each remaining year if you have signed an exclusive contract with them for your recording services.
Win2k3 is a different animal than Win2k, even if they do share huge portions of the same codebase.
Horseshit. Apple pays a flat "wholesale" to the label from which it has licensed the work and it is up to the label to pay the artist and publisher. iTunes has nothing to do with how much the artist gets... and they shouldn't for the same reason that Amazon is not responsible for paying artist royalties on CDs they sell. I can only imagine that 11% royalty number coming from the fact that 10-14% is about right for an artist royalty, with 10-11% being closer to the norm for an unknown.
I have read that downhillbattle piece at least 10 times and each time I find more and more FUD. Trust me, I *hate* defending Apple on this, but feel I must. They are not the bad guys, but nor are they necessarily the good guys. More importantly, no one but the record label that an artist has an agreement with is in the position to pay royalties (with the exception of performance royalties) to said artist.
The particular irony of this whole situation is that he sleeps like a log for 10-11 hours now and Dad is the one getting sleep in 4 or 5 hour chunks.
NetMusic has imported a bunch of MP3 players from S. Korea, and one of them, the HD-800 plays OGG/MP3/WMA. It's a pretty cool little player.
Ooops... the URL for the story is here
"For the quarter ended March 31, 2004 on a UK GAAP basis OD2 generated approximately $2.5 million in revenues, which represented over 80% sequential growth from the quarter ended December 31, 2003 and over 250% growth versus the prior year quarter."
Not outstandingly successful, but not terrible either.
Whoohooo! XHTML is going to be even easier than I thought! Thanks for that telling example.
Wow! I would have had expected it to take longer to boot with all of those emulation layers. You learn something new every day.
No, no, no... it's just pronounced "Paul Vixie" but the correct spelling is V-I-N-T C-E-R-F.
NetMusic has imported a number of different players from Asian manufacturers, and the HD-800 is a 20GB player that supports OGG/WMA/MP3/WAV, FM Radio, and the best part, in my opinion, is that it uses 1.8" drives so that it is end-user upgradable.
</End Blatant Self Promotion>
Yes... nearly the entire 80's catalog from nettwerk (Skinny Puppy, Grapes of Wrath, etc...), Chixdiggit (cheesy porn-punk rock at its best)... oh, and Bryan Adams.
In previous stints in the belly of the beast it was not uncommon for serious developers to turn off the lights and lock the doors of their offices so that no one would know they were there. The amount of "interaction" at MS is mind-boggling. If you have never sat through a week (yes, a week of 9 hour days in a "war room") long meeting discussing the most inane, asinine, and mundane details of a project you wouldn't understand.
You are correct and that was my brain quashing two items together.
What iTunes, et al, do with DRM is actually very lenient in light of what the 5 majors want (and are actively seeking). They have appeased the RIAA and brethren by perpetuating the illusion that digital material can be fully protected. In reality, all that these DRM schemes have done is place a bump in the road... and a pretty insignificant bump at that. However, that is the price that they (as retailer) must pay to allow major label content to you (the consumer).
There is a bit of a solution though. Companies like mine, AudioLunchbox, Magnatune, and a few others, are skirting the entire DRM issue by offering indie and quasi-major label material (eg, a compilation put out by an indie that contains tracks by major label artists).
As time goes on, I sincerely believe that DRM will become *less* of an issue, as the majors begin to realize that while they need to aggressively protect their copyrights, they also need to make sales to the consumer. In the interim, please support those of us who are working to bring you quality music unfettered by DRM.
As for either one being a good deal... they are both incredible deals for the artists! Compare with an artist on a major label and you'll see what I mean. There are several major label artists that I know of who make no money from digital sales because they had very incompetent legal counsel.
More importantly, do you have any studies showing any correlation at all between one's college GPA and their effectiveness?
I wonder if 42.5% of the percentages in your post are plucked from the air?
While mostly true, that is oversimplifying things a bit. There are many labels and distributors out there that do not require DRM. Eventually, even the majors will allow for non-DRMed tracks to be sold... although more than likely only for back catalog material.
Or as proof readers.
and since you posted it on /. those lucky bastards are about to get DDoSed again!
When will people finally realize that it is not the distribution services that pay the artists? It's the labels that pay the artists. For example, we pay a flat wholesale per track to our label partners and then they pay the artists. It's (usually) the labels that own the digital distribution rights, so it's the labels that get the cash.
My belief system has always included the concept of integrity, honesty, and brutal truth when it comes to comes to posting on slash dot. I guess the moral crux of the matter is that you can't trust no one.
Sometimes don't you just get so sick of it all and wish that you were somewhere in Thailand, sitting on a beach with a member of the the fair sex (or, if you prefer, a strapping young lad), testifying about how much things suck in the real world?
aha! you say... that sounds like good, clean fun!
Well, I guess that today is the day and that from this day forward we should follow through and actually live by the honor system.
Any questions?
Nah... just Larry Wall's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather fooling around.