music piracy : 'it's just like the americans and the war in iraq'.

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supposedly :

http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,997472,00.html

― piscesboy, Monday, 14 July 2003 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

how come nobody's willing to say "Look, the records our company puts out are shit. I'm sorry."

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 14:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Because they do put out some good ones as well. Just not enough.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 14 July 2003 14:22 (twenty-two years ago)

The record companies have been so badly crippled by internet piracy that they can barely afford to invest money to combat the problem.

I really should have stopped reading after this overblown subheadline.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 14 July 2003 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

levels of unauthorised consumption of music are one-third those of authorised consumption.

jesus christ--yeah, such things are so easily measured by such objective parties as the BPI...

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 14 July 2003 14:44 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm gonna start the world's first honest music p.r. company.

Press Release:

Get ready for Mucus by Moonlight's third or possibly fourth best album!
Lead singer Harold Queequog is nowhere the zenith of his vocal abilities, and really didn't give a crap. "Look, we just want to lose a bunch of money so that I can get the IRS off my back and make them stop garnishing my wages at Dickee Dee Ice Cream Delivery Systems," he says, visibly ambivalent about his band's first album since their last one.

Returning guitarist Rolf Goobersnot has this to say about his reunion with Queequog, "I feel sorry for the guy. I really do."

With songs that you'll forget before you even hear them, and a video that cost more than the band's actual combined income of the last five years, we'd say the buzz surrounding this release is deafening, but that silence that you hear is actually just that: silence.

So buy this record, or don't. In fact, screw you altogether.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 14:45 (twenty-two years ago)

hey horace, have you ever seen this flick?

the film is about what you propose--only starring a pre-liver-failure Dudley Moore!

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 14 July 2003 14:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Coil - Horse Rotorvator II: "This Album will Fuck You Up for Life"
Britney Aguilera - Oops I did it in my pants: "You must go to the bathroom. If you don't go to the bathroom, you will get cancer and die. This album is like not going to the bathroom, getting cancer and then dying."

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 14 July 2003 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Christina Spears - Mi Reflejo: "Shacker Booty - How does it sound? Who knows, but at least the BUTT is cute"

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 14 July 2003 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

my local record dealer said that the income of the majors has now fallen to a catastrophic, devastating, humiliating 1995 level. anyone know if this is true? that would sorta set the major label whining into perspective ...

― Jay K (Jay K), Monday, 14 July 2003 15:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I think I've seen some of Crazy People. I think there have been a few "Truth in Advertising" themed movies, including How To Get Ahead in Adv. and possibly something with pre-Batman Michael Keaton.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 15:14 (twenty-two years ago)

catastrophic, devastating, humiliating 1995 level.

Yes and no. I mean, bear in mind that 1995 was a transition year too. Nirvana clones weren't selling well and boy bands hadn't come around in force yet. The majors bitch because they don't have insta-success and actually have to build the careers of artists again.

― Xii (Xii), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:12 (twenty-two years ago)

From EMI's 2003 annual report:

Recorded music
year | turnover | operating profit (in million pounds)

2003 | 1774 | 151
2002 | 2029 | 83
2001 | 2282 | 228
2000 | 2032 | 195

Looking at those figures, the 1995 level story could well be true. Which would basically mean that in real terms, profits are down 40% since 1995.

― Siegbran (eofor), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:16 (twenty-two years ago)

boo hoo

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

The majors bitch because they don't have insta-success and actually have to build the careers of artists again.
Aaaaaaawwwwww....Would they like some fancy cheese to go with that whine?
Wealthy megalocorporations having a pity party, and we're all invited!

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:22 (twenty-two years ago)

"For the Medium to survive, the Industry must die."

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:22 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't really care for the majors either (they provided less than 1% of my record collection, so fuck 'em), but you gotta admit that's a pretty good reason for them to be scared.

― Siegbran (eofor), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:23 (twenty-two years ago)

karma in action.

― lolita corpus (lolitacorpus), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:29 (twenty-two years ago)

what they should do is replace humans with androids.
sure, at first the cost seems like a lot, but over time I think you'll find it's a very workable business model.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:35 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.androidworld.com/ursula.jpg

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:39 (twenty-two years ago)

'Coil - Horse Rotorvator II: "This Album will Fuck You Up for Life'
i can't wait

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:47 (twenty-two years ago)

oh, the Droid may sing well, but can it wiggle & jiggle?

gives new meaning to the term, "shaking its can", that's for sure.

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 14 July 2003 16:52 (twenty-two years ago)

If Disney can do it with bears, pirates and presidents, why can't we do it with the Rolling Stones?

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 17:00 (twenty-two years ago)

and why does that Droid look like Hedwig?

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Monday, 14 July 2003 17:30 (twenty-two years ago)

hey, don't lay your outdated hang-ups about cybertronics and gender identity on me!

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 17:33 (twenty-two years ago)

If Disney can do it with bears, pirates and presidents, why can't we do it with the Rolling Stones?

Who says they haven't?

― j.lu (j.lu), Monday, 14 July 2003 17:53 (twenty-two years ago)

> The record companies have been so badly crippled by internet piracy
> that they can barely afford to invest money to combat the problem.

for the money-hungry it's not about the amount of the loss, it's about any loss at all; espec. if you can't do much about it. Anything above zero is not permittable for the Profit god. They have to overblow it to get a legislation that will reduce the loss from little to zero. Whatever it takes.

― karo, Monday, 14 July 2003 18:39 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd like to see more artists making their own stand as it is actually they who at least have the least to lose in this process, PROVIDING they embrace the technology and do more to make their product available and accessible to people willing to pay for it, cutting out the middleman as much as they feel they can.

i just went to warprecords.com and spent £40 on multiple formats of the same record which is first for me. warp records will use part of that money to fund Vincent Gallo's next album - hurray!

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 14 July 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

stevem is part of the problem

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 19:55 (twenty-two years ago)

you flatter me Horace

― stevem (blueski), Monday, 14 July 2003 19:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Vincent Gallo-enabler

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Monday, 14 July 2003 20:00 (twenty-two years ago)

If Disney can do it with bears, pirates and presidents, why can't we do it with the Rolling Stones?
What makes you think they haven't?

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 02:40 (twenty-two years ago)

aw crap, j.lu beat me to it.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Tuesday, 15 July 2003 02:41 (twenty-two years ago)

RE: R Williams: So that could have been a £231 million operating profit then. Someone remind me of how big Mariah Carey's payoff was. Does anyone know how much more money they lost in that colossal cock-up?

― Ben Dot, Tuesday, 15 July 2003 22:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Let me get this right - major record companies are in serious trouble....... (five minute pause while I roll about on the floor in gleeful hysterics)...... What do they want? Sympathy? Sympathy For the Devil indeed.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 12:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Yanks eh?

I'd maybe give Beyonce a go mind you.

― Spoonered (Spoonered), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 13:11 (twenty-two years ago)

er....is it just majors? do people think, "oh wait, this artist is on a label that has less that £1000000 turnover, i couldnt possibly share all their music around the net, and 'rip them off'"? or do they just say "free music! yaaaaay!"

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 13:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Well, whenever I log onto a Napsterclone, I find maybe a few hundred tracks from cds made my independant label bands...and thousands and thousands and thousands of tracks by major label acts.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 13:46 (twenty-two years ago)

which is pretty much in proportion with their respective revenues. my point is that, talking about this issue and laughing about the plight of majors ignores the fact that relatively independant labels will be suffering just as much in terms of relative potential revenue loss (wot a clumsy way of putting it), in all likeliness.

― ambrose (ambrose), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 14:53 (twenty-two years ago)

You touch on a plausible truth...up to a point.
It's been very well documented that revenues went *UP* went Napster started offering "free samples"; and obscuro acts benefitted the most from the "free publicity" offered by the free samples.
The kind of record company that really suffers from Napsterclones are the ones who put out very obvious hits-plus-filler albums.
Also: I suspect that all the 56k users still have problems getting what they want (complete songs with high bitrates) and at a certain point, it becomes more convenient to buy the record rather than try to download it.
But considering that the record industry is trying to do away with singles...mp3s are the closest to singles the music lover has left.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)

The poor cash-strapped major labels.
I can't feel too much pity when EMI, only one of the majors, boasted an operating PROFIT in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
These are hoary old arguments, but Christ, make a product worth buying, stop releasing dozens of Super Hits and Now 15 compilations and stop gouging the consumer with high prices.
Personally, I think the industry is more responsible for its own recent woes than file sharing.

― Bruce Urquhart (Bruce Urquhart), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 19:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Hear Hear. Jacked up prices make the music-starved masses run screaming to the open arms of the Napsterclones.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 22:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Um...a nasty change has just occured. Go to This New Thread and click on the links to find out what horror will now be visited upon us.

― Lord Custos Epsilon (Lord Custos Epsilon), Thursday, 17 July 2003 14:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Jacked up prices

It's understandable to criticise the majors for fucking up their business by allowing costs to spiral out of control and the failure to understand the opportunities that MP3/P2P had to offer, but you can hardly accuse them of overcharging. Just take a look at the figures I posted upthread: 151/1774 = 8,5% margin on average. Considering that EMI sells their CDs typically at $10 apiece (wholesale), you're looking at a whopping $0.85 average profit per disc. WE WUZ ROBBED!1!!1!

― Siegbran (eofor), Thursday, 17 July 2003 16:56 (twenty-two years ago)

two months pass...

the death knell ?

http://www.nme.com/news/106319.htm

― piscesboy, Wednesday, 1 October 2003 15:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Not an answer:
Robert Fripp talks about the music industry.

― dave225 (Dave225), Wednesday, 1 October 2003 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

In addition, 838 file swappers have signed up to the Clean Slate programme that allows them to escape censure if they promise not to share illegal files online again.

They can promise with one hand, though, wait a few months til the heat's off....then sneak and share a file one at a time. Napster, Kazaa and such proved that the possiblity of getting a new track for free is addicting to many people. New technologies are being created all the time to get through the loopholes. It only takes a patient coder time to discover what/where one is.

― Nichole Graham (Nichole Graham), Wednesday, 1 October 2003 19:33 (twenty-two years ago)

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