SOPA (Stop On-Line Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) are currently up for debate in Congress. Voting is scheduled for less than a week from now today and could change the landscape of politics, life, and business forever. The methods suggested to enforce these acts are rather 'big brother' and almost seem like something you would see out of some sort of twisted science fiction story.
Your major supporters for this legislation include two companies that are losing the battle to 'piracy': The RIAA and MPAA. These are your two largest entertainment media outlets in America, if not the world. As I stated before the RIAA was fighting a battle it couldn't win because it was locked in to a mindset from the 1960's.
The recording industry needed to find a way to promote its product during these changing times. Something that would innovate, charge, and excite the industry. Rather than using its money to do so they've piggybacked on to these two bills and hope to recoup their losses that way.
I'm not going to go into explaining this and that of SOPA & PIPA. There are hundreds of websites already out there dedicated to that. My opinion more resides on the lines of the invasion of personal freedom, expression, and control that would allow this to occur.
Even as of today it has been noted on numerous blogs and news sites that this bill is losing sponsors. The public out cry is obviously strong enough for these individuals to see that supporting such legislation is not in their best interest or taste.
Simply put: Using control from the government will not stop piracy. The fact remains that the RIAA and MPAA need to do something to innovate the industry and recapture sales. Recording artists and labels try to entice users by throwing extra content on CDs (such as a music video, interview with the artists, etc) but none of that has any real value to the average consumer.
Simply put: Using control from the government will not stop piracy. The fact remains that the RIAA and MPAA need to do something to innovate the industry and recapture sales. Recording artists and labels try to entice users by throwing extra content on CDs (such as a music video, interview with the artists, etc) but none of that has any real value to the average consumer.
Why? Those items can all be accessed from various other sources, like YouTube. SOPA would destroy YouTube, because that would be copy right infringement. Motion picture studios have it right, I believe, in offering 'combo back' DVDs. This readily applies to Blu-Ray movies when they throw in the DVD & a Digital download of the movie to take with you on a mobile device. This adds real value back to the consumer in the form of additional goods they can utilize at their discretion.
Blu-Ray sales were up in 2011 by 35% over 2010. Part of this may be due to people adopting to the lower cost in technology that supports Blu-Ray, but most user reviews over HD Blu Ray content are giving positive review to the inclusion of that digital download and regular DVD that is included at no additional cost. This is providing real value back to the end user, and something that was a smart move by movie studios.
Back to the RIAA...such a fruitless battle they are fighting. At some point I begin to wonder if the total destruction of the music industry would be a good thing. Artists would be free to 'explore' music as they would like to, album prices would likely drop, and digital content sources will probably see their profits rise.
While this would be bad for all those in the recording industry who rely on that industry for their source of income you have to wonder how long you can keep a dying industry on life support. Much like oil will eventually become a forgotten resource, the physical medium of music may go the same way. The only way to survive is based on one simple rule: evolution.
The energy industry will innovate and come up with some form of energy source (eventually), and the jobs in oil will shift over to that new source. The question, however, is what will the recording industry do? They appear unwilling to actually shift their resources over and actually involve. As I mentioned earlier, they appear stuck in their ways from the 1960's. Yet somehow they cannot seem to understand those ways no longer work.
For starters more digital content would be great, for users. While were on the subject of digital content, offer it at a cheaper rate then iTunes. Drop another $.25-$.50 off of a song and offer it on a central web site (like iTunes). Just imagine, the RIAA, using its power to create one central website for all artists and labels that are a part of it. They could host a huge library of digital music and offer it at a cheaper price than iTunes to shift that money back to them.
Even then, with that kind of control (since that seems to be their aim), they can offer exclusive content (such as back catalogs or live performances) that other people can't get on iTunes. Throw in the rights to having singles released first and suddenly you're looking at a fairly healthy machine that is suddenly recapturing users attention.
Even then, with that kind of control (since that seems to be their aim), they can offer exclusive content (such as back catalogs or live performances) that other people can't get on iTunes. Throw in the rights to having singles released first and suddenly you're looking at a fairly healthy machine that is suddenly recapturing users attention.
Another innovation that needs to be done is to give people a free preview of the album. Say, they can pick five songs to download and listen to, unlimited, for a week before they 'expire' and can no longer be played. One of the biggest benefits to downloading an album is to sample it before you buy it. As it stands the thirty second clips iTunes posts as a preview are usually not enough to get some enticed by a song.
Let users have the option to mix and match their content so they can get a sample before they buy, kind of like when you hit up a grocery store on a Sunday morning and they are offering all sorts of free samples of food. Suddenly you're thinking of new ways to advertise and distribute your content.
Let users have the option to mix and match their content so they can get a sample before they buy, kind of like when you hit up a grocery store on a Sunday morning and they are offering all sorts of free samples of food. Suddenly you're thinking of new ways to advertise and distribute your content.
In that respect, people still want physical CDs (I know that I do). Let's talk quality, here, though. Things need to change in this regard. Music outlets, FYE for example, charge you a premium for purchasing albums with them. At least, for someone like me, who buys metal I know I pay on average of $14.99-16.99 per album. However, I can buy from an online distro for the price of $9.99 and only a dollar or two for shipping. The problem is I want my disc now.
So let's throw some real value back at retail consumers. How about lowering the price of discs, for starters? Or, even better, how about using a higher quality disc to try and make the discs more resistance to scratching? Throw in a download code for a free EP or Live album and suddenly physical discs are looking more attractive.
So let's throw some real value back at retail consumers. How about lowering the price of discs, for starters? Or, even better, how about using a higher quality disc to try and make the discs more resistance to scratching? Throw in a download code for a free EP or Live album and suddenly physical discs are looking more attractive.
Innovation, it is the key and the survival of the industry depends on it. You can try to control the end user all you want but all they will do is find ways around it. Congrats, you shut down one pirate web site but in the mean time five more have still opened. I wish I could find a list of the artists that oppose the RIAA that I could link to. Anyways...write your congress(wo)man and be vocal.
We are heading into the belly of the beast on this one. What will come out on the other side?
We are heading into the belly of the beast on this one. What will come out on the other side?
