Comments on: “Wired” Blogger Not Afraid To Look Stupid

By: DudeAsInCool

DudeAsInCool — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:29:13 +0000

@Mike Barthel: In the mid-sixties to the early seventies - before the major's music began to suck.

By: janine

janine — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:26:49 +0000

@DudeAsInCool: Yeah, the tiny Mom & Pop record companies of that era, CBS, Warner Brothers, RCA Victor, Capitol-EMI, PolyGram and MCA, were all about the little guy.

What you're mistaking for halcyon goodness in that period is actually the decadent ability to set cash on fire if they felt like it.

People have money, and we just can't keep them from throwing it at us," quipped NAMM president Jack Wainger of American Music Stores, Detroit, in 1967, succinctly capturing the tenor of the music industry in the 1960s.

Besides, you can't compare the two eras; file sharing as we know it was not possible. To share a one hour album with 20 of your friends would take nearly a day. We can look at their reaction to cassettes. In the late 1970s the record companies did everything they could to curb home taping until congress gave the labels a portion of every blank tape sale.

So, not surprisingly, you're ignoring the facts.

By: Mike Barthel

Mike Barthel — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:14:33 +0000

@DudeAsInCool: "The reason that the music industry is failing is it's lost it's soul. It used to be a cottage industry that cared about music and its fans."

When was this magical golden age?

By: DudeAsInCool

DudeAsInCool — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 04:27:17 +0000

@Mike Barthel: You make it sound as if I was supporting the record industry, when in fact, I stated that I was in favor of breaking it up. I was simply responding to the general board topic of how they could redeem themselves (but never will). Read closer.

By: Mike Barthel

Mike Barthel — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:49:21 +0000

@kityglitr: Cory's stance on publishing is at least slightly reasonable, since he actually has some experience with it. But his stance on music is entirely different. Check out BB's posts just about music, and that attitude comes through loud and clear.

By: Mike Barthel

Mike Barthel — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 03:48:18 +0000

@DudeAsInCool: what music industry are you talking about? The one that was founded by the mob? The one that ripped off black artists for decades? The one that expensed hookers and blow? The major-label system has never been worth defending. The music they produced is.

By: Halfwit

Halfwit — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:51:46 +0000

@so1omon: King of Pants is right... unreasonably angry, but right.

I can go on about rationale, but I don't think that I REALLY need to explain to you that the guys with Limewire accounts and 1 TB external hard drives are doing it because of the RIAA's unfair legal practices. They're doing it because they don't want to pay for music or movies. A couple of leaders who (I assume) are sincere in their beliefs of the "new model" do not make up for the fact that the vast majority of people just want free stuff.

I kinda supported these ideals, until I heard someone state (and be supported) that he wouldn't pay for music until he was able to get an album, in lossless audio, for $.50. At that point, I realized that, however the market shifts, nothing's going to be good enough.

I bought a mediocre muffin and a coffee for $4 this morning. I think Dunkin Donuts ripped me off, but that doesn't give me the right to take their donuts. If you wanna boycott the RIAA (which I'm not opposed to), then you do without. Trying to have it both ways is hypocrisy.

@How do I say this ... THROWDINI!: I actually stopped reading BoingBoing because I couldn't take any more of Cory Doctorow's willful ignorance of the realities of piracy (calling it "file sharing" is nothing but marketing)

By: AL

AL — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:25:32 +0000

b-b-but… i’m a freegan!

By: kityglitr

kityglitr — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:59:29 +0000

Oh my… I think you people are seriously confused about Cory Doctorow and his stance on “free” culture. He isn’t saying you shouldn’t be able to charge what you want for your goods or service, or art… He’s saying that there is more than one competent business model. There are MANY avenues to accomplishing your goal. Hell, I just bought his latest book for something like $15 in a regular old book store.

By: DudeAsInCool

DudeAsInCool — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:39:50 +0000

@Mike Barthel: The reason that the music industry is failing is it's lost it's soul. It used to be a cottage industry that cared about music and its fans. Today it's more concerned with the bottom line. The tack of suing everone and trying to hang on to an old business model that no longer works, is only setting them backwards. Ironically, music is more is more popular than ever - old, new, in between, the kids listen to, and want everything. If the industry wants to save itself, it needs to become technologically savvy and consumer friendly. Give the fans more of what they want; the movie industry's dvd model worked because they gave you more than just the movie. The industry needs to offer more music for less. It needs to rewrite the copyright rules. It needs to work with consumers who want to create new media from the old. It needs to support new artists and learn how to make money from less, instead of creating faux groups and trying to create blockbusters. ASCAP and BMI need to work with the small mom and pop clubs and restaurants instead of pricing them out of the market before they begin. The concert business needs to make tickets available at affordable prices, and help support the next generation of artists. The entire industry needs to recognize the artists as the creators and reward them properly, as opposed to living off their efforts. Frankly, I'm not opposed to seeing the conglomerates broken up, along with the radio industry - is it any wonder that no one listens to commercial radio anymore when all you get is pre-programmed homogenized crap and djs with no heart or soul. Blaming people who want to listen to music that's freely available on the web, just like people used to do with radio, is not going to fix the industry. In short, the industry needs to embrace the artists and consumers, instead of working for their own best interests.