Music is Dead. Long Live Music.
Posted by Petrice Gaskin at Apr. 23, 2008
Just as the tech world is currently debating ways to monetize the web, the music industry juggernauts are desperately trying to figure out how to re-monetize music. Ever since 1999 when Shawn Fanning debuted Napster and struck the first major blow, the music industry has proven unable to come to terms with the impact of P2P technology and the dramatic way it has reshaped the audioscape.
Toddler and a Tyrant
The music industry, or to be specific the RIAA has reacted to P2P with all the grace and composure of a two-year-old being deprived of a piece of candy. It has responded with legal tantrums and unleashed teams of rabid lawyers to sue and defang the P2P networks as they appear and disappear like gophers in a carnival game. And, when its not suing P2P networks, it turns its attentions to bullying former customers.
The Gig is Up
Unfortunately, the game is over for the RIAA, and all of its legal machinations and attempts at back-room wheeling and dealing are the evidence of its death throes. Its attempts to force colleges to monitor file sharing or create a file sharing tax levied by internet providers have proven unsuccessful. The RIAA will never again pull in the sort of revenue that it did during the early 90s--at least not from record or single sales. Downloading is far too cheap and seductive to allow record companies to reap pre-Napster rewards.
Instead of alienating its customers with pesky and cumbersome,DRM schemes , and threats or lawsuits, the RIAA needs to remove its head from the sand and refocus its assets on selling what the people are interested in. The public is still hungry for music, but much less willing to pay for it--or only willing to pay a fraction of what the RIAA is desperate to get them to pay. But, people are willing to pay for convenient, unencumbered access to large catalogs of music, and they're willing to pay for music byproducts, such as concerts and t-shirts.
The RIAA is going to have to get accustomed to making less money, and reconfigure itself so it sells what people are willing to buy. I don't expect that to happen anytime soon. I'm quite certain that the RIAA will continue with its questionable legal tactics as it alienates and sues former customers, until public outcry forces Congress to step in and tighten legal standards about access to ISP information. Not until we see rolls of bankruptcies (like in the airline industry) will the RIAA take the necessary painful steps that will allow it to prosper in a post-P2P audioscape.
Toddler and a Tyrant
The music industry, or to be specific the RIAA has reacted to P2P with all the grace and composure of a two-year-old being deprived of a piece of candy. It has responded with legal tantrums and unleashed teams of rabid lawyers to sue and defang the P2P networks as they appear and disappear like gophers in a carnival game. And, when its not suing P2P networks, it turns its attentions to bullying former customers.
The Gig is Up
Unfortunately, the game is over for the RIAA, and all of its legal machinations and attempts at back-room wheeling and dealing are the evidence of its death throes. Its attempts to force colleges to monitor file sharing or create a file sharing tax levied by internet providers have proven unsuccessful. The RIAA will never again pull in the sort of revenue that it did during the early 90s--at least not from record or single sales. Downloading is far too cheap and seductive to allow record companies to reap pre-Napster rewards.
Instead of alienating its customers with pesky and cumbersome,DRM schemes , and threats or lawsuits, the RIAA needs to remove its head from the sand and refocus its assets on selling what the people are interested in. The public is still hungry for music, but much less willing to pay for it--or only willing to pay a fraction of what the RIAA is desperate to get them to pay. But, people are willing to pay for convenient, unencumbered access to large catalogs of music, and they're willing to pay for music byproducts, such as concerts and t-shirts.
The RIAA is going to have to get accustomed to making less money, and reconfigure itself so it sells what people are willing to buy. I don't expect that to happen anytime soon. I'm quite certain that the RIAA will continue with its questionable legal tactics as it alienates and sues former customers, until public outcry forces Congress to step in and tighten legal standards about access to ISP information. Not until we see rolls of bankruptcies (like in the airline industry) will the RIAA take the necessary painful steps that will allow it to prosper in a post-P2P audioscape.