Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.
Re: Recording Industry and MP3s
Author: Dennis Peterson Posted: 5/5/1999; 1:54:33 PM Topic: Recording Industry and MP3s Msg #: 5702 (In response to 5690) Prev/Next: 5701 / 5703
Of course the huge revenue stream disappears...that's why the record companies disappear. C'est la vie. If they're smart they'll transform themselves into merchandising companies. As for the small touring bands...If you could get all the recordings for free, would you pay more for the ticket? I would.There are a lot of ways to work things. But the point is, no matter how much the record companies would like to stay in charge of things, they may be outstripped by technology and social change. The fact that they introduce a copy-protected format does not mean that MP3 goes away. And any downloadable copy-protection is probably going to involve executable code, which introduces security risks.
Anyway, I think we can look to the software industry to see how things are going. Microsoft has a huge revenue stream, which Redhat will never match. Nevertheless, Redhat has significant "side effect" revenue, like support (comparable to merchandising and ticket sales). And they are able to sell a lot of packaged Linux boxes, even though the bits are free, just because it's more convenient to get that way.
I think the artists will get by just fine. The record companies used to have a valuable function, because only they had the resources to manufacture and distribute the music. But now they only make money by standing in the way. They may make money for a while, as they do now, by heavily promoting a limited number of artists, and prosecuting copyright violators. But free music will overtake them, sooner or later.
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