[HANASHIR:3403] RE: MP3

[Judy Git <hillel...>]

Adrian,

Thank you so much for the very detailed response to my question.  There is only
one question that remains unanswered in my mind - other than the details vis a
vis how one plays MP3 music and stuff like that.  I apologize for harping on
this one issue, but it still is very unclear to me.  How do the artists (not the
record companies, but the ARTISTS) make a living using MP3 technology?  Hey - as
you know, I REGULARLY give away my stuff - especially my plays - at CAJE, as do
so many others, and I'm all in favor of doing it.  In an ideal world, everything
would be given away and nobody would need to worry about paying rent or buying
food.  Some people in the big world beyond Jewish music are making gazillions in
the music industry.  How would - say - Whitney Houston make money if the way one
got her music was by downloading it for free off the internet?  As things have
stood up to now - to the extent that I know what I'm talking about - an artist
would make a recording which would then be put out on record, or tape or CD.
The record company and the artist would get a percentage of every such recording
sold.  That's very clear.  With this new technology, the picture I'm getting is
that the artist goes into a studio, makes a recording, puts it on the 'net, and
everyone who wants it just TAKES it.  If people had to pay even 50 cents or a
dollar per download, then I'd understand how an artist could make money this
way, and the concept of pirated MP3 recordings would make sense.  But if the
music is just given away, what difference does it make WHO gives it away; the
artist isn't getting a dime either way.  Do you see what's perplexing me?

Sorry for beating a dead horse here, but I don't like being confused.  Thanks
again.

Judy

Adrian Durlester wrote:

> Judy:
>
> Some pundits say that MP3 is the wave of the future. Noted experts like John
> Dvorak and Jim Seymour have said that MP3 will finally give the recording
> industry its comeuppance - and they feel it has engaged in serious ripping
> off of the public for years by overpricing CDs, etc.
>
> What MP3 is is a technology that allows one to create compressed (in size)
> digital music files from existing .wav music files. It has a much smaller
> file size (say 3-5 MB for a typical full length song) but it achieves this
> by use of psycho-acoustics. In other words, it eliminates parts of the data
> based on what science knows about human hearing, and it's ability to detect
> sounds above and below certain frequencies, how certain sound combinations
> are perceived, etc. They have said that only the most discriminating ear can
> tell.
>
> >From my own experience, I can tell you that I can tell. MP3 lacks a certain
> depth. In addition, there are other technologies poised to supplant MP3.
>
> However-MP3 represents the beginning of delivery on demand of music, and
> gives the consumer great power. Imagine being able to download only the
> songs you want. Imagine getting them instantly over the net.
> No longer will artists be beholden to the big music companies-distribution
> will be simple and effective.
>
> But then again, it opens the door extremely wide to piracy, and it also
> removes a certain amount of artistic control. (I would think many artists
> would prefer people to get their whole album and not just the pieces the
> consumed liked. That kind of consumer-driven market could be very dangerous
> in the arts and lead to a field only driven by commercial success and not
> artistic quality.
>
> Companies that make MP3 players and ripper/encoders (the programs that
> create MP3 files) are careful to warn people to not make illegal (pirated)
> copies. Nevertheless, most of the MP3 material currently available on the
> web is bootleg and pirated. That's unfair to the artists. (I have less
> sympathy for the record companies.) The record industry has publicly and
> privately fought MP3 and has had some success, but in the end will likely be
> overwhelmed.The recently announced agreement is a blueprint for allowing
> some sort of fairness to consumer, artist and record company alike in MP3
> distribution.
>
> As to the altruism of giving music away: well, Judy, I would hope that in
> the Jewish music business, there was some of that altruism! But at the same
> time, as we have always said on this list, we support and encourage those
> who seek to earn the meager financial recompense that is available as a
> Jewish performer/artist.
>
> Some Jewish music industry pundits (I imagine you can figure out who some of
> those are) tell me the Jewish music industry isn't quite ready for MP3, but
> that when the time comes, those who distribute Jewish music will already be
> ready with electronic distribution technology.
>
> To be honest, I have mulled over for the past few months trying to put
> together a small consortium of independent Jewish artists and attempting to
> establish a prototype MP3 distribution project. My interest in this is not
> competition with the established distributors, for I have no doubt they will
> quickly outstrip me once they are ready to start electronic distribution,
> but simply to demonstrate that the Jewish market is ready for it.
>
> Maybe those on this list can give us some idea how ready the artists and
> consumers are.
>
> Adrian
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
> shamash(dot)org]On
> Behalf Of Judy Git
> Sent: Monday, July 05, 1999 11:14 AM
> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Subject: [HANASHIR:3400]
> MP3------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Adrian A. Durlester  -  durleste (at) home(dot)com
> http://members.home.net/durleste/
> Student, Vanderbilt University Divinity School
> http://divinity.lib.vanderbilt.edu/vds/vds-home.htm
> Music Director, Congregation Micah, Nashville, TN
> http://www.micahnash.org/
> Home phone (615) 646-9788
> Nextel cel-phone (615) 207-2661
> You can page me from http://www.nextel.com
> List-Owner for hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org; Co-Owner for L-Torah (at) 
> shamash(dot)org
> http://uahc.org/hanashir
> Editor, Bim Bam (for Torah Aura Productions)
> http://www.torahaura.com/
> Alternate Email: aad (at) iname(dot)com  adriand (at) aol(dot)com
>



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