Another Example Of How The Music Industry Can Respond To File Sharing
from the oh-look dept
For years, we've pointed out that if the music industry actually bothered to think about it, there are many, many different ways they could respond to file sharing that don't involve locking up content and suing fans. Here's yet another example. Apparently, the latest Tool album comes with a book with a stereoscopic lens that lets you view images to go with the album. In other words, it adds additional value to make buying the physical CD worthwhile that can't be copied by any download. Obviously, not every musician should do the same thing, but the point is simply that creative artists will always figure out ways to sell something that people want to buy, rather than trying to treat all their fans like criminals. For some musicians it may be this booklet and lens, for others it may be travel services to see the band in concert, for others it could be "access" to the band. The point is simply that there are plenty of business models out there for the industry to choose from.
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What would really be cool...
I'd be all over that next Gwen Stefani disc ;-)
Oh yeah, FIRST, baby!
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CRAP
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A real comment
Something like that would make me want to buy them again, and now that I've heard about it, maybe I will. But I'll still rip it to mp3's, because it's hard to take CD's to Iraq............
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sigh...
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Heehee....
But I mostly buy my music online now.
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Chill out Bro
No need to give yourself a coronary over it.
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:-(
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Nice idea, but it won't work.
But the reality is that the expense of producing something unique for each release would be staggering. The actual cost of mass-producing a CD is pennies, the main costs are packaging and distribution.
It's difficult to believe that music companies would invest huge sums of money into developing creative new ideas and spending money to put the goodies into CD packages. Throw in sums spent on failed ideas and CDs that didn't sell as planned and bonus items like this could easily drive up the production and disribution costs for CDs to 3-5x current levels.
Let's not be silly and think that the music companies will willingly absorb these costs and risks. Of course, I don't think that consumers would willingly pay $5-10 more for a CD with some lame toy inside that will be thrown away within a few minutes. So who's left to bear the cost? Nobody, so it ain't gonna happen.
It might be a good publicity stunt for a on-off item (I remember the Pink Floyd package with the red LED) to have unique packaging or stuff inside, but realistically, it's not a "business model" that the music industry can adopt.
Personally, I favor a fixed price all-you-can-download model of some kind.
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Re: Chill out Bro
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Hell with 'em
Some artists (like Prince) embrace the download thing. Others (like Metallica) do not deserve the scum from the bottom of my shoe.
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Re: Nice idea, but it won't work.
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Added value
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Re: Nice idea, but it won't work.
Special packaging is quite common if the label thinks there's a buck in it. I have that Floyd album (Pulse, if anyone doesn't know). I also have the ZZTop Recycler in diamondplate. I have Ozzy Live & Loud in speaker grille. I have Aerosmith Get a Grip in fuzzy cow-print.
I don't have any delusion that every album can come out clad in special packaging, but there are any number of inexpensive things that could be tossed in the CD case that would add virtually nothing to production costs. Band stickers, free memberships to fan clubs, whatever. Mixed media CDs also offer a wealth of possibilities, like videos, "karaoke" versions of songs with flash lyrics, whatever.
The point is, being creative does not have to be expensive. Being creative with packaging sometimes is expensive, but that's passed directly on to the few suckers willing to pop for such (like me).
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Re: Hell with 'em
And if an artisit is truely into it for the art only you would never hear their work. I say this because of radio edits. Do to censorship laws in order to enforce governmental parrenting The FCC prohibits obscene materials from being aired outside of 10p through 6a. I have tried to find out what exactly is obscene material. So far, even after reading the entire FFC website, I know for a fact that is a pierced nipple covered in metal jewelry and the F word. interestingly the F word cant be used during the "safe time zone" of 10 pm to 6 am.
Bottom line is it's for the money get to know any musician, and ask. Except maybe for blue oyster cult. Any band touring the chicken wire clubs for 30 years has a fetish for chicken wire not $.
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Well, not quite
You're right about external content. Though funky 3d glasses won't make me a buy CD. Sorry, but dorky 3d glasses are well...dorky.
I stopped buying iTunes because of DRM, I only bought CDs. As something of an audiophile I prefer to have lossless version that I can convert into level 9 quality OGGs (think 320kbps VBR here folks). Now that I don't buy anything from RIAA Member Labels (we need to boycott these fools) stupid gimmicks won't bring me back. Here's what will:
1) Stop screwing over (royally!) 99% of your artists.
2) Stop suing fans
3) Stop assuming everyone and their mother's a "criminal" by implenting *any* DRM
4) Make online stores that I are both internet standard friendly and implement web 2.0 features like viewing and sharing playlists, AJAX interfaces (add songs and make playlists easily, fading effects and crap if you have to), easy and painless song purchasing. Windows, UNIX and OS X compatible, working easily with Safari, IE and Gecko based browsers
5) Provide MP3s in 3 quality levels, provide OGGs in 3 quality levels, provide AACs in 3 quality levels, and provide FLACs for premium users who take extra bandwidth. That way I can convert them into whatever format without needless quality loss
6) Implement a secure and anonymous file sharing system (think bittorrent) that allows you to share your files with others who've recently purchased the songs you have, leave it seeding for say 10 days and get a credit to your account that makes the difference between compressed and lossless versions
Until then...you RIAA goons can kiss my sweet dollar goodbuy.
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Why should they do anything???
What if you said the same thing about food or clothing? You can't just wallk out the door with a shopping cart full of goods and expect the grocery store to not press charges... AND it shouldn't be up to the store to entice you to stop breaking the law.
Lets all face it, it was fun while it was free but it was wrong and now we have to pay for it or they will come for us and punish us...just like stealing ANYTHING else.
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not to disrespect Tool or anything like that (kicks ass) - but its more to try and show people that the music industry isn't dead just yet and try to keep people from loosing faith in them...
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Re: Nice idea, but it won't work.
Well, they do invest huge sums of money on developing the latest copy protection technology (that is always cracked within the first week), so why not invest in something that simply adds value and is incapable of being "cracked"?
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Re: Why should they do anything???
Not the same thing. More closely, say I buy a melon at the store. I go home, plant the seeds from the melon, and give away all of the melons that grow from those seeds. Is this stealing from the grocery store? Are they then within their rights to come after me for felony melon infringement?
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MAKE BETTER FUCKING SONGS
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Re: business models
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Re: Why should they do anything???
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement
Two different things, two different economic impacts. If you're going to whore out the RIAA lines use the right terms.
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Re: Re: Why should they do anything???
if you did a painting and sold it to me. i took the painting home and sat it on my wall. after awhile my mates make comments about how they could do with a painting like that.one you tell your mates they can buy one off me or 2 you could get the painting copied (much cheaper). if you elected the second option then there are now 2 copies of my painting (creative property) out there for which i have only been paied once for.
so your happy with your painting
your mates happy because he got a painting cheaper then what you did
then theres me 2 artworks out there and paid for one!
i dont know about you but if i was trying something i made and then found out people where coping and making more i wouldnt be happy about it if i'm trying to sell them.
but back on your mellon theroy
you paided for the whole mellon when you bought it correct?
and you can do what ever you want with the mellon since you own it.
so you choose not to eat the seeds and plant them, thats fine because you bought the seeds with the mellon(as a whole unit).
so iif u want to give away the mellons you payed for thats fine =)
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Through the website they can give access to: song demos, early releases, jam sessions, extended band biography, lyric explanations, etc. As well as monthly newsletter access. All only accessible online.
It's business . Musicians and bands need to accomodate their consumers, and deal with the fact that their music is attainable.
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so big
why there is so big level of piracy?
Well, in our country, 1 music CD costs about 5% of average monthly salary.....
Would you buy a music CD if it's 5% of your salary?
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It is almost 5%
Cd's do not cost that much to produce. Why does anyone in the recording industry need to be millionares? If the executives would stop hemoraging money and paying themselves millions of dollars in salary, maybe it would only cost $8.99 for the new breaking benjamin cd.
Then I might just buy it. Call me crazy.
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Tool are not the first or the last
It contained the album, a dvd and a booklet created by the members of U2.
it had various thoughts, paintings, photographs and a nice little philosophy too.
I actually payed triple the amount of money for the normal CD.
And it wasn't DRM-ed either.
Quite a good investement. The special edition was a "limited" 1 million copies.
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Re:
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my two cents
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Old News
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Re: What would really be cool...
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hmmm
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The music industry sues because they're scared
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floyd
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Re: Re: Re: Why should they do anything???
The point is, I cant buy a book and make photocopies of it then distribute those copies for free...I paid for just one. I can lend the book to a friend to read, because hey, I paid for it and its mine.
But what about my ability to make a back up copy for myself? OK, I can do that too. But there is a line, perhaps very thin and hard to see by people who simply refuse to see how this is stealing, but a line no less, that separates making backup copies for yourself and making "backup" copies for everyone else then distributing it on a massive level. Just because you aren't charging for it doesn't make it right.
Think TV. What if a rival channel taped a hit show and rebroadcast it to the public for free? How fair would that be?
People here piss and moan about the unethical behavior of compainies, CEO's, telecos etc, and yet have no ethics themselves. Why is it so easy to demonize a company sticking up for its rights? (insert cliche arguement about five year old that didn't "know" it was stealing" here) The truth is, thats life. Ignorance of the law is not exemption from it.
So, I ask, why don't people just admit its stealing and stop trying to pretend its not? I don't care if you steal or not, I really don't. Just stop trying to justify it by demonizing the people who stand in your way, especially the people you are stealing from.
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Cheep
I just had a cd I purchased destroyed by my children. Should I have to buy another one? It was DRM-ed so I don't have a backup. Would it be illegal to down load the songs?
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my 2 cents
I still buy all my music on CD. I like the packaging, I like the physical backup, and the sound quality is better than what you can download (yes, I can hear the difference).
I also get copies of songs and albums from friends. The copy is of the same quality as whatever original they had, yet I don't consider this stealing. Why? Because if I like what I hear I go out and buy the original myself. If I don't like what I hear I don't listen to it anymore and the copy that was given to me is either passed on to someone who I think will like it or tossed in the trash. Is there something wrong with this? I'm not sure that there is.
The only problem with what I am doing is that my wife HATES the wall of CDs in our living room. I think it's pretty (almost art), but she thinks they need to go in the attic, drawers, or behind closed doors. Oh well.
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Re:
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Kilroy #39 has a good point!
This is the key here (or one of them). Mass re-distribution (*cough*torrents*cough) versus small-scale, personal redistribution. I'll use my book example.
If I buy a book and read it, then let my dad read it... is that my dad stealing it? Sure I can "give" it to my dad and that's perfectly legal. What if I give it to my dad who gives it to his cousin who gives it to my sister who gives it to me. You know... recycling a gift or something akin to that.
Is that legal? At what point does it go from legal "sharing" to illegal pirating?
Personally, the instant I read this, I thought of Pearl Jam too. No Code is a perfect example. Their other albums are "value-added" as well. Pearl Jam has some of the best lyric-books and other "additional items" in the music business. I'm *PROUD* to physically own their albums. True... most of that is for musical reasons, but I like showing off what a cd *SHOULD* be.
The same goes with computer games. Sid Meier knows how to make great games. You know what else he knows how to make? Friggin MANUALS. If I know for a fact that a game box contains only a cd with the game itself as well as a 23-page PDF manual... I may just get it elsewhere. Whether that's "borrowing" it from a friend to see what the game is like or grabbing it off of a P2P or torrentsite, it doesn't really matter. I don't look at a physical manual as "added value"... I look at not having a manual as "value subtracted"
When I open a brand-new cd and all I see is... well... a cd... I consider the physical item as worth less than the other cd's at the exact same price. Which, btw... is too much... why the *HELL* are cd's often more expensive than DVD's?!?! That doesn't make an ounce of sense.
Anywayz... yeah... make sure you read or re-read Kilroy's post to get "added value" to my post.
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Why should they do anything???
Me personaly I only bought 3 cd's in the last five years not because I download them but most everything out there right now is crap.
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Remember Willy Wonka
I say, have a thing like you see on TV all the time? Put free concert tickets into a few albums. Maybe even slip in a grand prize of being able to meet the band. I'm sure people would definitely want to buy albums much more if they knew they had a chance of winning something cool. I'm not saying put something in every album, but make there be a chance to win something. Sales would go up, I'm sure of it.
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tool packaging
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Kill the music idustry.
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Re: Re: Re: Why should they do anything???
copied message below:
if you did a painting and sold it to me. i took the painting home and sat it on my wall. after awhile my mates make comments about how they could do with a painting like that.one you tell your mates they can buy one off me or 2 you could get the painting copied (much cheaper). if you elected the second option then there are now 2 copies of my painting (creative property) out there for which i have only been paied once for.
so your happy with your painting
your mates happy because he got a painting cheaper then what you did
then theres me 2 artworks out there and paid for one!
i dont know about you but if i was trying something i made and then found out people where coping and making more i wouldnt be happy about it if i'm trying to sell them.
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