The 'Ringle,' Or What Passes For Innovation In The Recording Industry

from the something-else-you-won't-want dept

It's no secret that the record labels face a chronic inability to innovate in their business models, choosing instead to continually repackage content and seek ways to force people to buy stuff they don't want in order to get the things they do want. It's this sort of thinking which has brought about the "ringle": a combination of a single and ringtone, and apparently Sony BMG and Universal Music's latest strategy masterstroke. Buyers would get a CD with the full-length track, a B-side or two, and a ringtone for $6-7 -- which doesn't really compare favorably to a 99-cent download and a few bucks for a ringtone (or a download and free homemade ringtone). Is there any real benefit for the consumer here? It's hard to see any, but that's not really surprising. It seems more like an attempt by the record labels to try and deter people from buying single-track downloads, since they don't like the low price and the way they've blown up the album sales model -- which itself is another variation of the "buy stuff you don't want to get the stuff you do" model. It's unlikely that many consumers will fall for it, especially since the CD single is pretty much a dead format. It's probably also worth pointing out that just like the labels try to recycle content, they recycle their innovative ideas as well, since it would appear that Universal tried pretty much the exact same thing in 2004, just calling it the Pocket CD instead of the ringle.

Filed Under: music, music downloads, recording industry, ringtones
Companies: sony, sony bmg, universal music

Canadians Figure Out How To Properly Release A CD

from the maybe-they-read-techdirt dept

There's a really simple strategy for bands who are worried about the "threat" of file sharing: embrace and add value. That means not freaking out about file sharing, recognizing it's going to happen anyway... and then coming up with ways to add value so that fans will want to pay you anyway. Back in July, Canadian band Stars battled the digital leak of its latest album, In Our Bedroom after the War, by releasing the digital version of their album 3 months early, thereby giving their fans a legitimate path to obtain the already leaked album. Rather than fret about how this would "hurt" them, as the actual release date approaches on September 25th, the band decided to give their fans a reason to buy the physical CD -- they're including a limited edition DVD that chronicles the the band's tour. It's fantastic to see glimmers of hope in the music industry -- from Hip Hop Artists to Trent Reznor. Perhaps soon the music industry will wake up and embrace the changes that are happening to them. At least they're trying now.

Filed Under: cd, music, music downloads, recording industry

Limewire Becomes The Latest P2P Company To Try And Go Legit

from the been-down-this-road-before dept

P2P company Limewire, one of the lucky recipients of an RIAA lawsuit following the Supreme Court's Grokster decision, has announced that it's going legit and trying to shed its image as a treasure trove of unauthorized content by opening a DRM-free music store. While it's nice to see more companies become DRM-free music retailers, it's hard to see Limewire succeeding where so many other P2P operators have failed. As Om Malik notes, plenty of them have gone down this path, and none of them have really seen any success. Their user bases simply shrug and move on to the next network -- and there's no sign that things will be any different for Limewire.

Filed Under: file sharing, music, music downloads, p2p
Companies: limewire