Despite pissing off customers, fees are great. Whenever a company needs a new revenue stream, they only have to pull a new "fee" out of their ass. Credit card companies have learned this. So have the airlines. And let's not forget the fee masters, wireless carriers.
Being able to pull new revenue streams out of your ass sure beats innovating with new business models and pleasing your customers.
"we negotiated to do SOME of the tickets directly through our website"
This won't work in the long run. It's only a matter of time before TicketMaster puts a stop to it. TicketMaster will demand from arenas and venues to stop it. And those places will have to comply.
From what I read Warner Bros. sued Toberoff because Toberoff was taking advantage of content creators to file his lawsuits and get the proceeds of the copyrights himself.
Let's assume that it's true. Let's assume that Toberoff was ripping off the content creators. Even if that is true, that does not give Warner Bros. standing to bring a lawsuit.
So as far as I'm concerned, Warner Bros. lawsuit fails on its face and should be dismissed.
While I agree that apps will not save any outdated industry, I think apps are a different market than ringtones and are not analogous.
Ringtones were a pure fad. It was guys setting up Elton John's the Bitch is Back as a ringtone when his wife called. That may have been funny the first time, but it got boring real fast. I knew it wouldn't last and I didn't even know how expensive they were.
"The guy is a moron who thinks he has a problem and his only solution is to call on someone else to provide a magical solution for his problems"
The copyright industry has no clue about how to compete in a free and open market. That's because their business models exists solely because their based on a government granted monopoly.
When the music industry is faced with some sort of competition, e.g., the player piano. They'll sue. If they lose, the have new laws passed and then sue again. If they can't get new federal laws passed, they'll have state laws passed instead. If that doesn't work, they'll have draconian treaties enacted, which will force all governments to enact draconian laws to keep up.
The copyright industry will never simply roll up their sleeves and compete. They lack that ability.
So when I hear about someone who lived off the teet of copyright who's unable to come with a business model that works in a free market, I'm not surprised at all.
"If these folks have the evidence to support their position, why not take part in these debates and support their position in a way that wins over those watching?"
Mike, I'm surprised you didn't comment on the so called apology letter from NatWest.
I have examined your website and agree that you are not deliberately trying to deceive our customers
So the email says that the review was deceiving NatWest's customers, but that the deception was not done deliberately. Which is complete BS. How could anyone read a review of different banks and think that the review was actually written by one of the banks reviewed?! That makes no sense. Clearly, there was no deception or market confusion at all. Why wouldn't NatWest admit that obvious fact?
"As Levy asks, has the Washington Post now stooped so low that buying a half-page ad gets you a one-sided story?"
Mike, you're always saying that content producers should give value to their customers. Getting paid to write one-sided shill pieces sure beats t-shirts.
Flattr actually sounds like a great idea. The only problem I see is in giving your financial information (paying by credit card) to some random company like Flattr. Flattr could turn into the next paypal.
"The problem, of course, is that these two "groups" are works of fiction."
Actually, there are three groups. The consumers. The vast and powerful middlemen/copyright industry (Viacom, Disney, Sony, etc.). And lastly the artists who get screwed over by the vast and powerful middlemen/copyright industry.
It's not us against them, artists versus customers. It's the vast and powerful middlemen/copyright industry fighting consumers and artists tooth and nail to enlarge their government granted monopolies.
On the post: Has Microsoft Extinguished Silverlight?
On the post: BMI Appeals Ruling That Lets Venues Route Around BMI, Claiming It Somehow Harms Musicians
Re: Re:
Maybe, but I think you're giving them way too much credit.
On the post: BMI Appeals Ruling That Lets Venues Route Around BMI, Claiming It Somehow Harms Musicians
Silly silly Mike. Do you honestly expect a part of the copyright industry to understand how free markets and competition are supposed to work?!
Don't you realize that that the copyright industry does not operate in a free and open market?
On the post: Video Game Exec Claims Used Games 'Cheat' Developers
On the post: Ticketmaster Says People Don't Like Service Fees Because We Don't Understand Them
Being able to pull new revenue streams out of your ass sure beats innovating with new business models and pleasing your customers.
On the post: Artists Realizing It's Time To Offer Cheaper Concert Tickets Directly, And To Get Rid Of Annoying Fees
This won't work in the long run. It's only a matter of time before TicketMaster puts a stop to it. TicketMaster will demand from arenas and venues to stop it. And those places will have to comply.
On the post: Superman Lawyer Claims Warner Bros. Lawsuit Is A SLAPP
Let's assume that it's true. Let's assume that Toberoff was ripping off the content creators. Even if that is true, that does not give Warner Bros. standing to bring a lawsuit.
So as far as I'm concerned, Warner Bros. lawsuit fails on its face and should be dismissed.
On the post: Porn Company Embracing 'Pirates,' Planning To Monetize Experiences
European porn. Shudder....
On the post: Now That The Ringtone Market Is Collapsing, Are There Lessons For Those Who Are Jumping On The App Bandwagon?
Ringtones were a pure fad. It was guys setting up Elton John's the Bitch is Back as a ringtone when his wife called. That may have been funny the first time, but it got boring real fast. I knew it wouldn't last and I didn't even know how expensive they were.
On the post: Reports Of The Web's Death Are Greatly Exaggerated Through Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics
Someone today asked if I was on facebook. I replied, "Do they have Gopher access?"
I must love getting confused looks from people.
On the post: U2 Manager Blames 'Free' And Anonymous Internet Bloggers For Industry Troubles
Re:
The copyright industry has no clue about how to compete in a free and open market. That's because their business models exists solely because their based on a government granted monopoly.
When the music industry is faced with some sort of competition, e.g., the player piano. They'll sue. If they lose, the have new laws passed and then sue again. If they can't get new federal laws passed, they'll have state laws passed instead. If that doesn't work, they'll have draconian treaties enacted, which will force all governments to enact draconian laws to keep up.
The copyright industry will never simply roll up their sleeves and compete. They lack that ability.
So when I hear about someone who lived off the teet of copyright who's unable to come with a business model that works in a free market, I'm not surprised at all.
On the post: U2 Manager Blames 'Free' And Anonymous Internet Bloggers For Industry Troubles
Ok, this is completely BS and an outright lie.
Piracy did not kill off the music store. The labels did. Intentionally. And with great forethought. Read all about it here.
On the post: Why Are Entertainment Industry Spokespeople So Scared To Debate Critics?
I think you answered your own question, Mike.
On the post: Did Korean Officials Really Need To Raid Google Offices Over Street View WiFi Sniffing?
All we really need to do is eat, breathe, and die. Everything else we do, e.g., sex, facebook, and raid offices, we do purely for fun.
On the post: NatWest Realizes It Screwed Up Sending Cease & Desist To Website Reviewing NatWest
So the email says that the review was deceiving NatWest's customers, but that the deception was not done deliberately. Which is complete BS. How could anyone read a review of different banks and think that the review was actually written by one of the banks reviewed?! That makes no sense. Clearly, there was no deception or market confusion at all. Why wouldn't NatWest admit that obvious fact?
On the post: Congress About To Pass 'The ______Act of____' (These Are The People We Elect?)
On the post: Media Campaign Against Craigslist Continues, As WaPo Writes Article About Its Own Anti-Craigslist Advertiser
Mike, you're always saying that content producers should give value to their customers. Getting paid to write one-sided shill pieces sure beats t-shirts.
On the post: Getting Past The Hurdles Of Micropayments
On the post: Can We Please Stop The False Dichotomy Of 'Creators' vs 'Consumers' When It Comes To Copyright?
Actually, there are three groups. The consumers. The vast and powerful middlemen/copyright industry (Viacom, Disney, Sony, etc.). And lastly the artists who get screwed over by the vast and powerful middlemen/copyright industry.
It's not us against them, artists versus customers. It's the vast and powerful middlemen/copyright industry fighting consumers and artists tooth and nail to enlarge their government granted monopolies.
On the post: Kazaa Returns As Expensive, Crappy DRM'd Music Service
Damn, I really feels sorry for those technologist who were locked away for four years.
But then again, we have to face the fact that third parties cannot truly innovate as long as the labels have complete control over their plans.
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