I recently posted this comment to an article (and comments) addressing what’s on the horizon in the music business. I want to preface it by saying that I am very optimistic about the future of music - I just think the most of these people have got it all wrong. Let me know what you think!
I think most of these comments are top-down instead of bottom-up. Piracy is about one thing: rebellion. Not convenience. Not access. Not control.
Piracy is a response to feeling taken advantage of and that’s not something that “streaming music” will fix. The artists will still get the smallest share of the pie (pirates hate that). Labels will still collect royalties just for saying “yes, you can have it,” or “no, you can’t” for years to come (pirates really hate that). Labels will start double-dipping by charging pay-per-play fees to the streamers as well as take cuts of the likely to increase bandwidth fees from cable, DSL and WiMax companies (pirates are smarter than you think). And so remains the feeling of manipulation. And so remains piracy.
Imagine going to your favorite restaurant and ordering your favorite meal which usually cost $50. The waiter tells you its free if you sit in this section - a little more noisy, but manageable none the less. You agree. You enjoy your free meal and just as your leaving the waiter presents you with a check. What gives? You thought this was free! So you open up to see a receipt for $50 - itemized as: “cost of utensils! Suckered again. Same meal; same price; more noise. That’s the future of “streaming” music. A step backwards at best.
What do you think?
People have been stealing for as long as there have been people and this will never ever EVER change. The music industry needs to accept the fact that they cannot stop it. And here’s why… There is no incentive to stop and no practical way to enforce the consequences.