The Low-down on Downloading Music Part 2

By: Robert O Connor

The music industrys relationship with the Internet and the use of digital music formats has been the subject of a lot of press coverage in recent times. Various conflicting viewpoints have been presented from those claiming that the Internet is the source of all the music industrys woes, to those who claim that the large labels are stifling competition and ignoring consumer demands for accessible legitimate services. In an article last week I briefly discussed the music industrys position, followed by an outline of some of the legally endorsed services available and an overview of the file-sharing networks. In this article, I offer my own viewpoint on the subject and how I believe the music industry should progress in the future.

Possibly the most important point to make is that the Internet and file-trading are not the source of all the music industrys troubles and in fact this issue masks deeper problems. In the world of music piracy, file-traders account for a very small number of offenders. High quality bootlegged CDs created in piracy factories in countries that do not honour international copyright laws present a much higher problem. Despite this, the music industry seems to be bringing legal action against the softer target. For example in April of this year the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sued 4 students for using P2P networks in college and settled for damages ranging between $12,000-$17,000 outside of court.

On top of the substantial bootleg problem comes another problem for the music industry: today there are more items vying for consumers disposable income than ever before. The phenomenal success of DVD and the huge video game industry must be recognised. The difference in price between a new release DVD movie and music CD is negligible, yet the consumer sees the DVD as being of greater value for money. The effect the huge growth in the video game industry on the music industry is also a factor. Last year, the gaming industry generated more revenue than the Hollywood movie industry money that must be coming from somewhere!

There is also the element of content quality. While peoples musical tastes are not the subject of this article, I do question the ability of many of the current crop of popstars. I believe a lot of this is to do with the fact that executives view their music as products rather than artistic expression. Most of the pop acts currently operating seem to be exercises in marketing rather than genuine music makers. Studies have shown that the real money to be made in music is in sustained album sales.

Have a look at the current top twenty and try to imagine how many will be around next year, let alone in 5 years? Artists such as Pink Floyd must be a record labels dream-signing with Dark Side of the Moon hanging around the Billboard Top 100 for over 30 years!

Record company executives are claiming that file-traders are taking money out of artists pockets, which is true to a certain extent. However, before they blame everyone else, they should examine how they let this happen in the first place. As someone who has a great love of music, I recognise the great contribution artists make to society and that they deserve to be recompensed for their efforts. Perhaps if the music industry took the following steps, it might find itself in a better position:

* Embrace computer music formats rather than shun them. It is obvious that there is a demand for digital music. By refusing to supply legitimate services for so long, consumers have grown accustomed to the free P2P systems and changing attitudes will prove difficult. A good first step for the industry would be to show consumers that they're “with themes.
* The legitimate services need to be as user-friendly, simple and restriction-free as possible. Many of the legitimate services mentioned earlier have limitations, such as the inability to burn purchased tracks to CD. Consumers should be able to do whatever they please with something they've paid for.
* Re-examine the price of CDs. In most Irish high street record shops, a new release CD costs approximately EUR25. When you compare this with the cost of a new release DVD movie or video game, which do you think an average teenager will opt for?
* Stop suing customers. Taking legal action against the very people they're trying to target for sales does not appear to be the brightest course of action. When music executives go around suing children (as in the case of 12-year old Brianna LaHara - http://www.theregister.co.uk/
content/6/32731.html), it is very hard to generate public sympathy for their cause.

This is a topic I regularly follow so if anyone would like to read more on the subject you can visit my weblog at http://www.jbwan.com/roblog.