[HANASHIR:3410] RE: MP3

[Judah Cohen <jcohen...>]

There's one more thing to take into account here, which in my opinion is
exceedingly important:  MP3, based on what I've seen, works more like FM
radio than like a music store.  That is:  the general unit of currency is
the song rather than the album, and the song is played (in this case
downloaded) to create a name and a following for the artist.  

What makes MP3 so powerful is that "popularity" becomes more a joint
decision between the artist and the consumer than a business decision by a
record company exec.  I've heard stories of artists who are signed to
major labels just to shut them up:  in other words, they're signed to an
exclusive contract, they record an album, and then the album is shelved so
as not to interfere with the sales of a group promoted by the same label;
this leaves the artists' hands tied.  

With MP3, the artist has greater control of distribution, and (like other
internet companies) can actually make money by giving their product
away for free.  Now, however, the currency is *people* (do you think all
those free e-mail address offers are given out altruistically?).  A group
with many downloads will command more at concert events, and will be more
likely to sign with a major label eventually (not that this has happened
yet, to the best of my knowledge).  For similar, though not parallel
examples, look at Phish and the Grateful Dead--both of these groups
gained enormous underground popularity through recording and distribution
of bootlegs.  And both have done extremely well.

In other words, a musical transaction (such as an MP3 download) which does
NOT involve money can indeed be highly profitable in the longer run.  It
also weakens the signing and culture-defining power of the larger labels
somewhat, making them work harder to stay current.

Just my few cents.
Judah.



On Tue, 6 Jul 1999, Adrian Durlester wrote:

> Judy:
> 
> The plan is that music would be available to download in MP3 format by
> purchasing it, in the same way one can now buy software and get it delivered
> over the web. Unless you are a very good hacker, you won't simply have free
> access to every MP3 download available. You'll have to make a credit card
> transaction to get the download. The artist, or record company, or whoever
> controls the website will take in the proceeds and through appropriate
> royalty arrangements the money will get to the songwriters, etc.
> 
> However-as Andy stated, there's nothing to stop people from duping stuff
> from CDs into MP3 format and making it available free on the web. From my
> perspective, this is no different that existing bootleg recording
> technology.
> 
> I hope that helps clear it up.
> 
> Adrian
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
> shamash(dot)org]On
> Behalf Of Judy Git
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 1999 1:02 PM
> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Subject: [HANASHIR:3403] RE: MP3
> 
> 
> 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?
> 
> 

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