Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Why People Download Music, Movies etc...
"People didn't stop buying albums because they were philosophically opposed to how the rock business operated, and they didn't stop buying albums because the Internet is changing the relationship between capitalism and art. People stopped buying albums because they wanted the fucking money. It's complicated, but it's not."
Thursday, 13 December 2007
iPods and iDiots
Other people seem to be using their blog as an avenue to promote their music, or at the very least provide a forum for people (i.e. no one) to talk about music which they enjoy or like listening to.
Our London rail network has a free newspaper called the Metro, and in it their is a section called On My iPod, in which celebrities (usually vapour-heads with something to promote) recount what is on their iPod, but they are only to choose 5 songs. Which is odd, because I always though iPods could carry more than just 5 songs! Plus are you really sure EVERY famous celebrity has an iPod and ACTUALLY uses it. I mean it takes a certain amount of PC acumen to actually load music onto one.
Still, out of completeness I am not going to be telling you what is on my iPod, but more importantly what I listened to on the way into work.
1) Porcupine Tree - Deadwing - progressive pop rock from the UK masters
2) Steve Roach - Core - a one man aural equivalent of a universe - highly desire-ably listening pleasure.
XXX
When I encounter grown sane people who actually have a problem surfing the internet in so much as they don't understand what a URL or an Address bar is, I get worried especially when they start asking me questions about starting up an Internet Business.
Originally posted 23/01/2006
Our London rail network has a free newspaper called the Metro, and in it their is a section called On My iPod, in which celebrities (usually vapour-heads with something to promote) recount what is on their iPod, but they are only to choose 5 songs. Which is odd, because I always though iPods could carry more than just 5 songs! Plus are you really sure EVERY famous celebrity has an iPod and ACTUALLY uses it. I mean it takes a certain amount of PC acumen to actually load music onto one.
Still, out of completeness I am not going to be telling you what is on my iPod, but more importantly what I listened to on the way into work.
1) Porcupine Tree - Deadwing - progressive pop rock from the UK masters
2) Steve Roach - Core - a one man aural equivalent of a universe - highly desire-ably listening pleasure.
XXX
When I encounter grown sane people who actually have a problem surfing the internet in so much as they don't understand what a URL or an Address bar is, I get worried especially when they start asking me questions about starting up an Internet Business.
Originally posted 23/01/2006
Wednesday, 31 October 2007
Microsoft Could have been Heroes
Re-reading that article on music downloading and DRM, Microsoft could have been deemed heroes of the industry had they not insisted that DRM becomes part of their operating system.
DRM = Digital Rights Management, the electronic system of tagging digital data (graphics, music, movies) so they only work on the original purchaser's equipment.
Had MS rebuked the RIAA and all the other musical cronies, they could not only have still made Vista the operating system of choice, but won over a lot of people as they would have sided with the users not the recording industry.
evilref
DRM = Digital Rights Management, the electronic system of tagging digital data (graphics, music, movies) so they only work on the original purchaser's equipment.
Had MS rebuked the RIAA and all the other musical cronies, they could not only have still made Vista the operating system of choice, but won over a lot of people as they would have sided with the users not the recording industry.
evilref
Oct. 31st, 2007 05:07 pm (UTC)
Vista is going to be the operating system of choice. Have you tried buying a new computer without it? Have you tried to use the latest version of the business software your customers and suppliers use without the latest hardware?
Don't forget that alongside the battle to protect the copyright of recorded works, there is a similar battle to protect the copyright of software. Micro$oft probably think that if users are prevented from using illegal copies of their products, their profits will vastly increase.
They may even be right, and since the users they want to target are the business users, stronger laws are probably enough to brow-beat those business users into paying up.
Once Micro$oft were behind things like DMCA, their side was chosen.
Don't forget that alongside the battle to protect the copyright of recorded works, there is a similar battle to protect the copyright of software. Micro$oft probably think that if users are prevented from using illegal copies of their products, their profits will vastly increase.
They may even be right, and since the users they want to target are the business users, stronger laws are probably enough to brow-beat those business users into paying up.
Once Micro$oft were behind things like DMCA, their side was chosen.
Friday, 4 May 2007
Does a Free Business Model Work?
I read an interesting article yesterday (it was yesterday when I wrote this, it might weeks later now that you are reading this, depends on when I posted this) in which it stated giving your work away for free is good for business.
Yes, you read that right, giving your work away for free is good for business.
The article was in direct relation to the DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is a method by which companies digitally watermarking their intellectual property directly to the buyer. So in this way a MP3 music track or photograph or movie that you legally obtain is then digitally encoded with your email address or data about you, so that should you copy the digital file, not only will they be able to track the person who copied the music illegally, but also prevent another person from playing that same piece of music or film on another computer.
This is a business model which has been brought to the PC world courtesy of Microsoft and its Vista operating system. DRM is nothing new, and Microsoft can't claim to be the first. In fact DRM has been around for many years, its just that there hasn't been widespread adoption of the method to control illegal sales and piracy within operating systems, and no one in their right mind would upgrade their Windows XP so that their entire movie and music collection was rendered useless?
The music industry (and to a certain extent most other digital media organisations) has had to face a massive turnaround in the way it sells its products. This has been painful, slow and very bloody, and while I should be very sorry for them, I can't but they only have themselves to blame as they have caused most of the problems, as well as being very very hostile against even genuine customers. I'll never forgive them for poisoning Metallica with their lies.
How? By not recognising earlier that their safe income was about to be blown out of the water, and that the traditional methods of making money within the industry were about to change completely. Previously ignored/unheard of methods of revenue would be thrust in our faces without regard. Whoever was in charge of product development, business development or just business strategy ought to be shot, this was something that should have been forseen years ago.
We all bought into music CDs knowing it was the medium of the future. But, sadly many years later it isnt. But this time Ive bought into DVDs knowing they are NOT the future. Not even Blu-Ray or DVD-HD will last. Technology is changing at a blisteringly fast pace.
But going back to my original point above about giving product away for free is a good business model. How does someone create an income when they are giving their product away?
Lets examine another point before I reveal the secret. If a business model for making money exists but isnt perfect, and that person does their utmost to protect that business model, then they shouldnt be surprised when someone eventually comes along with a much better business model, thereby making the old one obselete. This is happening right now, and the companies involved are doing their level best to destroy these models. You need only look at internet radio, and sites like www.pandora.com, which is actually doing more for the music industry than the music industry.
DRM is a terrible method of controlling sales, it bites hard against the typical consumer, treating them as a pirate, and a thief before they even enter their credit card details online to purchase a track. I wont lie and say getting hold of illegal music is easy, but its much easier that getting music legally at times. You download a peer-to-peer file sharing program select the music you want and away you go.
An efficient model will come to replace the current way of selling music, and another model will follow that once that no longer becomes efficient. So how do you make money by giving your product away for free? If Microsoft gave away Vista for free, they would never make a penny on it. Yet they sell it for £ 200 roughly, and plough millions into advertising. I wonder how much they spend on advertising compared to actual sales. In this instance I'd imagine they are in for the longhaul, that they are expecting sales many years from now. They or indeed anyone would make money by creating a buzz, a demand for the product, for newer, revised updated product, and then new releases and associated software. If Microsoft gave Vista away for free, and then charged full price for the Microsoft Office package, thats how they create demand and interest.
This model will be attacked by larger companies, and any one who wants to challenge the status quo will be destroyed, taken over or absorbed and then destroyed. The only way a company is going to fight and win, is to be prepared to go the distance, not sell-out or change its track mid-point.
Today (well it is today for me), it was announced that Microsoft are looking to buy Yahoo for an amount of money considered to be the largest amount of money ever seen in an Corporate (IT) buyout, $50bn.
Yes, you read that right, giving your work away for free is good for business.
The article was in direct relation to the DRM (Digital Rights Management), which is a method by which companies digitally watermarking their intellectual property directly to the buyer. So in this way a MP3 music track or photograph or movie that you legally obtain is then digitally encoded with your email address or data about you, so that should you copy the digital file, not only will they be able to track the person who copied the music illegally, but also prevent another person from playing that same piece of music or film on another computer.
This is a business model which has been brought to the PC world courtesy of Microsoft and its Vista operating system. DRM is nothing new, and Microsoft can't claim to be the first. In fact DRM has been around for many years, its just that there hasn't been widespread adoption of the method to control illegal sales and piracy within operating systems, and no one in their right mind would upgrade their Windows XP so that their entire movie and music collection was rendered useless?
The music industry (and to a certain extent most other digital media organisations) has had to face a massive turnaround in the way it sells its products. This has been painful, slow and very bloody, and while I should be very sorry for them, I can't but they only have themselves to blame as they have caused most of the problems, as well as being very very hostile against even genuine customers. I'll never forgive them for poisoning Metallica with their lies.
How? By not recognising earlier that their safe income was about to be blown out of the water, and that the traditional methods of making money within the industry were about to change completely. Previously ignored/unheard of methods of revenue would be thrust in our faces without regard. Whoever was in charge of product development, business development or just business strategy ought to be shot, this was something that should have been forseen years ago.
We all bought into music CDs knowing it was the medium of the future. But, sadly many years later it isnt. But this time Ive bought into DVDs knowing they are NOT the future. Not even Blu-Ray or DVD-HD will last. Technology is changing at a blisteringly fast pace.
But going back to my original point above about giving product away for free is a good business model. How does someone create an income when they are giving their product away?
Lets examine another point before I reveal the secret. If a business model for making money exists but isnt perfect, and that person does their utmost to protect that business model, then they shouldnt be surprised when someone eventually comes along with a much better business model, thereby making the old one obselete. This is happening right now, and the companies involved are doing their level best to destroy these models. You need only look at internet radio, and sites like www.pandora.com, which is actually doing more for the music industry than the music industry.
DRM is a terrible method of controlling sales, it bites hard against the typical consumer, treating them as a pirate, and a thief before they even enter their credit card details online to purchase a track. I wont lie and say getting hold of illegal music is easy, but its much easier that getting music legally at times. You download a peer-to-peer file sharing program select the music you want and away you go.
An efficient model will come to replace the current way of selling music, and another model will follow that once that no longer becomes efficient. So how do you make money by giving your product away for free? If Microsoft gave away Vista for free, they would never make a penny on it. Yet they sell it for £ 200 roughly, and plough millions into advertising. I wonder how much they spend on advertising compared to actual sales. In this instance I'd imagine they are in for the longhaul, that they are expecting sales many years from now. They or indeed anyone would make money by creating a buzz, a demand for the product, for newer, revised updated product, and then new releases and associated software. If Microsoft gave Vista away for free, and then charged full price for the Microsoft Office package, thats how they create demand and interest.
This model will be attacked by larger companies, and any one who wants to challenge the status quo will be destroyed, taken over or absorbed and then destroyed. The only way a company is going to fight and win, is to be prepared to go the distance, not sell-out or change its track mid-point.
Today (well it is today for me), it was announced that Microsoft are looking to buy Yahoo for an amount of money considered to be the largest amount of money ever seen in an Corporate (IT) buyout, $50bn.
Friday, 9 June 2006
Future Newswire
A newswire story from 2010.A routine train ticket inspection at London Bridge International Train Station heralded the beginning of a brand new type of inspection. Now ticket inspectors not only have the power to enforce fare-dodgers, but now have the powers to audit passenger's iPods.
Using a hand-held device the inspectors are able to perform an iAudit of the MP3's music collection, and a ticket is issued to the owner giving them 28 days to produce evidence that they have legally purchased or own the right to listen to the music.
The trial device compares the music in its database to the music on the iPod, and using state-of-the-art fuzzy logic it can even detect renamed files. At the moment the hand-held can only store 100 albums worth of music, but the Metropolitan Police (who are running the scheme) say they are in contact with the Recording Artists of America and the Rest of the World who are supporting the scheme to acquire more music with which to compare to. The more music they have access to, the more music files can be checked for validity. Those users who are unable to produce the revelcant documentation, are fined.
The trial scheme is planned for 3 months.
A follow-up newswire story from 2011
In the ultimate "Bite the hand that feed you" sensation of the year, we have this to report.
The Recording Artists of America and the Rest of the World are taking the Metropolitan Police to court over copywright violations. It claims the MP have illegal music on its Hand-Held device database.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said in response, that they had requested over the last 11 months for copies of all of the RAA & ROTW music so as to administer the scheme better. The RAA & ROTW has not replied and so the Metropolitan Police had no other choice but to begin downloading the music themselves.
Using a hand-held device the inspectors are able to perform an iAudit of the MP3's music collection, and a ticket is issued to the owner giving them 28 days to produce evidence that they have legally purchased or own the right to listen to the music.
The trial device compares the music in its database to the music on the iPod, and using state-of-the-art fuzzy logic it can even detect renamed files. At the moment the hand-held can only store 100 albums worth of music, but the Metropolitan Police (who are running the scheme) say they are in contact with the Recording Artists of America and the Rest of the World who are supporting the scheme to acquire more music with which to compare to. The more music they have access to, the more music files can be checked for validity. Those users who are unable to produce the revelcant documentation, are fined.
The trial scheme is planned for 3 months.
A follow-up newswire story from 2011
In the ultimate "Bite the hand that feed you" sensation of the year, we have this to report.
The Recording Artists of America and the Rest of the World are taking the Metropolitan Police to court over copywright violations. It claims the MP have illegal music on its Hand-Held device database.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said in response, that they had requested over the last 11 months for copies of all of the RAA & ROTW music so as to administer the scheme better. The RAA & ROTW has not replied and so the Metropolitan Police had no other choice but to begin downloading the music themselves.
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