Follow the money: napster, file-sharing technologies and scared old men

Follow the money: napster, file-sharing technologies and scared old men

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Posted by jim m. on July 29, 2000 at 16:29:09:

As a musician, in no way am I a supporter of copyright infringement (unless it serves my purposes).
However, the real issue is not copyright, it's MONEY. The recording industry is terrified of this new means of distribution and will stop at nothing to stifle it.
Why?
a. The recording industry is crooked from the ground up and the RIAA is nothing more than a shill for criminals. One-stop distributors and certain retailers are almost completely mobbed up.
b. The wholesale/retail skim from CD sales can account for almost 55% of a CD's price. Remove these people from the equation, and the actual price of a CD would be about $10.
c. I don't know what Metallica and Madonna's deal is, but most artists are lucky to realize 25 cents in royalty per album sold. And by the nature of the beast, record companies have squadrons of attorneys and accountants on staff to insure that the bare minimum of artists royalties are paid. Most often, NO royalties are paid.
d. The recording industry is also criminal regarding artists rights. The list of artists harmed by recording companies is so long it's one of the saddest stories in the entertainment industry: Jimi Hendrix's family, John Fogerty, the Rolling Stones (listen to "Cocksucker Blues" to sse how they got out of their London contract), the Beatles, TLC, Bo Diddley... the list is endless. REAL artist rights and artist distribution would make sure that this never happens again. Of course, Strauss Zelnick (BMG) would most likely be out of a job, but when was the last time you bought a Strauss Zelnick album?
Meanwhile, in the real world...
The BBC reported this week that the World Bank is considering setting up a multi-billion dollar development fund for the purpose of developing an MP3 distribution mechanism for the African recording industry, allowing African artists to gain distribution worldwide.
But here in the good ole US, we don't use the metric system and we ain't gonna let them durned mp3s take over our Amurrican record industry.
I conclude with the American capitalists benediction.
"Whatever isn't nailed down is mine. Whatever I can pry up isn't nailed down."
Cornelius Vanderbilt

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Re: Follow the money: napster, file-sharing technologies and scared old men greedy bastards 04:49:58 7/30/00 (0)

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: As a musician, in no way am I a supporter of copyright infringement (unless it serves my purposes). : However, the real issue is not copyright, it's MONEY. The recording industry is terrified of this new means of distribution and will stop at nothing to stifle it. : Why? : a. The recording industry is crooked from the ground up and the RIAA is nothing more than a shill for criminals. One-stop distributors and certain retailers are almost completely mobbed up. : b. The wholesale/retail skim from CD sales can account for almost 55% of a CD's price. Remove these people from the equation, and the actual price of a CD would be about $10. : c. I don't know what Metallica and Madonna's deal is, but most artists are lucky to realize 25 cents in royalty per album sold. And by the nature of the beast, record companies have squadrons of attorneys and accountants on staff to insure that the bare minimum of artists royalties are paid. Most often, NO royalties are paid. : d. The recording industry is also criminal regarding artists rights. The list of artists harmed by recording companies is so long it's one of the saddest stories in the entertainment industry: Jimi Hendrix's family, John Fogerty, the Rolling Stones (listen to "Cocksucker Blues" to sse how they got out of their London contract), the Beatles, TLC, Bo Diddley... the list is endless. REAL artist rights and artist distribution would make sure that this never happens again. Of course, Strauss Zelnick (BMG) would most likely be out of a job, but when was the last time you bought a Strauss Zelnick album? : Meanwhile, in the real world... : The BBC reported this week that the World Bank is considering setting up a multi-billion dollar development fund for the purpose of developing an MP3 distribution mechanism for the African recording industry, allowing African artists to gain distribution worldwide. : But here in the good ole US, we don't use the metric system and we ain't gonna let them durned mp3s take over our Amurrican record industry. : I conclude with the American capitalists benediction. : "Whatever isn't nailed down is mine. Whatever I can pry up isn't nailed down." : Cornelius Vanderbilt

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