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possible solution for mp3 piracy???


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Sorry if this has been brought up before....

I am not a pro by any means but i was thinking....If music is being downloaded for free and producers and engineers and artists are not getting paid there money....why not raise the cost of recording and producing? If a band goes to the studio, how come the engineer doesn't raise his/her rates if they know they won't get paid any points on the record? Why don't producers do the same? At least they would be covering their asses in this new digital era...would they not? As far as the artists....well, I guess they would still lose unless they go on tour and raise the price of their tickets and merch. Or would this be the way to totally destroy an all ready crumbling music industry??? If I am totally wrong here, I'm sorry......just a thought.

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I think your solution would be undone by basic market principles -- unless you formed a cartel with the muscle to enforce the price fixing (which, among other things, would be illegal).

 

As long as recording gear keeps getting cheaper and 'facilities' more widespread, there will be downward price pressure. Since many people perceive that overdubs require little skill and not much equipment, budget-conscious record companies send artists to small overdub rooms and project studios for much of the work, further depressing going rates.

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How is this a solution? All this will do is weaken the pool of recorded music being produced. It will discourage more artists. The studios and producers will get less business, and fewer artists means less music for the consumers. Nobody wins.
That's why I specifically said that I am no pro and I am sorry if I am totally wrong. I am glad you replied because I DON'T know. That's why I asked.
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People will actually buy music if they are inspired by it. A lot of my friends are rabid music fans, and they buy a lot of stuff. And most of that stuff is really creative, unique music that really connects with them, so they'll go and buy 5-10 CDs a month. A lot of my friends don't have a lot of money, but they are really inspired by the music, so you can't say it's because they have disposable income.

 

BTW, I don't think that raising the rates that engineers and producers charge would assist at all, sorry!

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I agree that good music will always be bought.

 

There will always be the 'singles' type personality(John Lennon for instance, he couldn't sit through an entire album of anybody), and a great deal of those types will want and pay for mp3s, and many will steal them.

 

Then there are the album, CD, DVD types that want the whole package, and there are alot of great albums, I just picked up Grant Green's "Idol Moments" and its from the early '60s. Also recently bought Zep's DVD(we didn't have MTV back then, and I don't recall them doing Don Kirshner's Rock Concert or the Midnight Special either), and Diana Krall's "Live at the Montreal Jazz Festival". Of course I'm sure there are people with high-speed connections that will get ahold of these for free.

 

When I was a teen we taped, now its ripped and downloaded. Still music sold then and sells now if its good even if its not that popular. Thievery will always exist but musicians still get paid for live performance and airplay.

 

Steve

You shouldn't chase after the past or pin your hopes on the future.
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So now that i-Tunes is selling millions of downloads, how much is everybody making ??

 

Everybody should be rich, rich, rich and hopefully the bitchin' about free downloads and calling music listeners thieves will stop.

 

Anybody get a check yet ??

 

And how many downloads have you bought ???

Living' in the shadow,

of someone else's dream....

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Originally posted by ryst:

why not raise the cost of recording and producing?

These days,large studios are having a hard time even staying in buisness due to the fact that a lot of stuff is being done in homes and small project studios.Raising rates would only chase even more potential customers away even further.What you propose though is already in place to a degree,and the outcome is the higher production costs that get passed on to the artist,record company and ultimately the consumer buying the product,and most consumers already consider the going price for a commercial CD too high as it is,thus contributing even more to inspire illegal downloading. In short : Bad idea! You need to think in terms of the record companies updating their buisness model by offering convenient downloads at competitive prices rather than going even further in the direction that got them in the very spot their in,like the Liquid Audio inspired i-Tunes etc.
"A Robot Playing Trumpet Blows"
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This is not my idea, but I think it is worthy of serious consideration: Add a surcharge to everyone's internet service provider fees and distribute the money collected to musicians, composers and other content creators/rights holders. Then everyone can be free to download any content. Money can be apportioned by an organization to content creators proportionally to the quantity of downloads of a particular creator's work. (in a manner similar to how songwriter royalties for broadcast airplay are disbursed by ASCAP/BMI)

 

Another potential solution is to implement a convenient international system for collecting and dispersing small payments for content.

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Originally posted by hard truth:

This is not my idea, but I think it is worthy of serious consideration: Add a surcharge to everyone's internet service provider fees and distribute the money collected to musicians, composers and other content creators/rights holders. Then everyone can be free to download any content. Money can be apportioned by an organization to content creators proportionally to the quantity of downloads of a particular creator's work. (in a manner similar to how songwriter royalties for broadcast airplay are disbursed by ASCAP/BMI)

 

Another potential solution is to implement a convenient international system for collecting and dispersing small payments for content.

There's already a surcharge on blank media that gives the consumers the right to record anything they want. That money goes into a big fund that is distrubuted to artists, so how many times must the consumer pay ????

Living' in the shadow,

of someone else's dream....

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Here's some other food for thought.

 

The majors aren't losing that much in sales to illegal downloading. No more than they were to home taping. It's all been an excuse to cry poor, lay people off, and pay the artists less royalties.

 

Sales were in a slump not because of MP3's but because the public was buying other stuff that was more interesting like DVD's video games and computers.

 

Record budgets today are half of what they used to be. The major labels have actually become more profitable than ever. All of it is siphoned off to the parent conglomerates and shareholders.

 

I'm not saying illegal downloading is OK. If left unabated, it would eventually have had a serious impact. MP3's actually benefit the business more than they ever hurt it.

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The surcharge on broadband has been suggested in Congress and in most states. However, that's viewed as a tax on the internet and everybody freaks out at that.

 

The surcharge on blank media doesn't do anything for downloading, especially when you consider that even those folks that burn CDs are using mp3's where they can put 100's on one CD -- a far cry from the 10 or so songs you can record onto a tape from your turntable or the FM radio.

 

I personally don't think there's any simple solution -- digital media is just too easy to pirate. The answer will be combination of technology, legislation, and reasonable alternatives (read: change by the recording industry -- iTunes is a step in the right direction, but far from perfect).

www.ruleradio.com

"Fame is like death: We will never know what it looks like until we've reached the other side. Then it will be impossible to describe and no one will believe you if you try."

- Sloane Crosley, Village Voice

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Originally posted by djwayne:

Originally posted by hard truth:

This is not my idea, but I think it is worthy of serious consideration: Add a surcharge to everyone's internet service provider fees and distribute the money collected to musicians, composers and other content creators/rights holders. Then everyone can be free to download any content. Money can be apportioned by an organization to content creators proportionally to the quantity of downloads of a particular creator's work. (in a manner similar to how songwriter royalties for broadcast airplay are disbursed by ASCAP/BMI)

 

Another potential solution is to implement a convenient international system for collecting and dispersing small payments for content.

There's already a surcharge on blank media that gives the consumers the right to record anything they want. That money goes into a big fund that is distrubuted to artists, so how many times must the consumer pay ????
Further, little if any of that money reaches beyond the ranks of best selling artists on corporate labels.

Again, an idea that doesn't help---& to a degree actually works against---self-produced artists.

 

The best aproach for anyone, at any level, is an equitable but secure & controlled method of delivery to purchasers.

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Originally posted by ryst:

I think I deserve the award for dumbest post of the year so far. :cry::cry::cry:

No post that tries to reach out or seek knowledge is even remotely dumb.It's usually ones that don't leave any holes for air that usually cover that ground.Relax. ;)
"A Robot Playing Trumpet Blows"
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Originally posted by hard truth:

This is not my idea, but I think it is worthy of serious consideration: Add a surcharge to everyone's internet service provider fees and distribute the money collected to musicians, composers and other content creators/rights holders. Then everyone can be free to download any content. Money can be apportioned by an organization to content creators proportionally to the quantity of downloads of a particular creator's work. (in a manner similar to how songwriter royalties for broadcast airplay are disbursed by ASCAP/BMI)

 

Another potential solution is to implement a convenient international system for collecting and dispersing small payments for content.

OK, so how many of you have ever collected ANY money from ASCAP/BMI for the surcharge on recordable audio CDs? Anybody? I don't see any hands up out there...

 

This type of tax generally ends up being a way to pay welfare checks to music publishing corporations. It has no benefit for anyone else.

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Yes, and all a surchage on ISP providers would do is raise your and my internet costs, so shaddup already !!!!...and quit dreaming up ways to pick money out of my pocket !!

Living' in the shadow,

of someone else's dream....

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