Clear Channel Buys Concert Recording Patent, Tells Bands To Stop
from the there-they-go-again dept
Just as more bands have been realizing the power of offering instant concert recordings to their fans, you knew the industry would somehow figure out a way to kill this new, growing business model. Submitted by someone anonymously, comes this story, that tells us that some company actually had a patent on making instant recordings of concerts for sale - and radio giant Clear Channel has now purchased that patent. Of course, now that they have it, they're cracking down on many bands that want to offer such recordings. They claim they want to be "artist" friendly, but are looking at it from a business perspective - meaning stamping out the competition and selling licenses to any bands that want to offer immediate recordings to their fans. It's amazing how the industry continuously finds ways to use intellectual property protections to harm new business models, rather than to let them help grow the overall industry. Of course, once again, you have to wonder what exactly is patentable here: it's basically a CD burner. Why does selling concerts via a CD burner immediately after the show need a special patent?
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I'm not sure live music sells like it used to (frampton comes alive and Kiss alive were monsters in my time) but this does seem more hurtful than helpful. I know I'd be more likely to snag a disc of a show i'd been out rather than just a live set.
Time for the bands to simply record audio/video of the show then sell the MPG on their own site. Low production cost, virtually all profit to the band, content to the people.
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See ya Sunday
Wow I'm rich, and I didn't have to do anything.
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Prior Art
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they cant stop us, its still going to happen
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