The thing that nobody seems to be talking about is how this affects the QUALITY of the music that is released. I know that the argument can be made about subjectivity and opinions, but the fact of the matter is, as long as the record companies feel threatened - whether or not that pervieved threat is real or imagined - they will be less likely to take chances with artists outside of the proven commercial formulae. This study actually enforces that position, stating that the "niche" artist are the ones whose CD sales drop when compared with downloading activity.
I'm no huge fan of the RIAA, but I love music more than I hate the RIAA, and anything that can be done to increase the quality of the current state of music is a positive thing, IMHO. It was hard enough for musicians to make money before this controversy, thanks to the record companies. Now they are less likely than ever to part with control of the funds generated by the music industry, it seems to me.
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The thing that nobody seems to be talking about is how this affects the QUALITY of the music that is released. I know that the argument can be made about subjectivity and opinions, but the fact of the matter is, as long as the record companies feel threatened - whether or not that pervieved threat is real or imagined - they will be less likely to take chances with artists outside of the proven commercial formulae. This study actually enforces that position, stating that the "niche" artist are the ones whose CD sales drop when compared with downloading activity.
I'm no huge fan of the RIAA, but I love music more than I hate the RIAA, and anything that can be done to increase the quality of the current state of music is a positive thing, IMHO. It was hard enough for musicians to make money before this controversy, thanks to the record companies. Now they are less likely than ever to part with control of the funds generated by the music industry, it seems to me.