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Re: [ARSCLIST] Sony, BMG and the health of the music biz
see end...
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
The whole problem with these non-standard copyright limits is that the
major music companies use the U.S. standard with their vaults. So, sure
you might be able to buy some two-bit semi-pirate version of something
elsewhere in the world but it's a POS made off a dub of a commercial
release and it's not even worth owning due to the crap sound quality. For
instance, compare the old Bix/Tram/Big Tea stuff on the Mosaic set, which
is properly remastered from the best sources available, to the junk
floating around cheap outside the US (most of it obtainable via Amazon).
The other versions aren't worth owning if you care about sound quality.
My argument, posed any time I can get the ear of a music-company exec, is
that in this age of "long-tail" economics, the vaults and digital
downloads are the ultimate annuity business model. There should be NOTHING
out of print, anywhere in the world -- anything that's not viable as a
manufactured CD should be sold online. And, if the music companies would
get a clue, they'd realize they are getting ripped off by iTunes and
should sell directly to the public, and learn this business model because
it is their future. I think, with quality downloads priced cheaply
combined with smart buys of Google search "landings" and the like, the
major companies would marginalize the semi-pirate crap around the world
and thus protect their brands by having good sound associated with their
copyright-owned material. Plus, this would provide a steady annuity stream
of revenue. Sure, the Wall Street sharks want quarterly fireworks, but
that's what the latest POS from Britney is for. Meanwhile, they'd have
this fallback base of steady annuity income from the downloads of their
massive back-catalogs. Furthermore, in some non-U.S. markets, the very
fact that a legitimate, real-deal from-the-master version of something is
readily available can be used to shut down the pirates and even renew
copyrights in some countries. Some in the music companies are starting to
see this light but turning the mentality of these companies is like
turning around an aircraft carrier. If the music companies keep losing
value and market cap, someone like Apple, Microsoft or Google will snap
one of them up and open up the vaults for cheap downloads. It's the
inevitable future, clear to anyone except the people running the music
giants.
Well, in my case...me being "'bout half deef," as my grandma would have
said...the sound
quality (also, keep in mind I'm USED to "78's"...!) is pretty well
indiscernable to me...?!
The other point is that the reissued material I buy on CD is generally old
blues, jazz or
country recordings, which in a "best-case scenario" are often taken from old
existing
78's...often in "less than E+" condition...! (and, of course "MONO!").
BTW, here in Canada (and in the UK, and so far, Europe...?!)...these CD's
are
"semi-pirate" only in the sense that they take advantage of copyright terms
that
are noticeably less than that of the US of A (aka "Forever, plus at least 25
more
years!"). However, they DO make available to me recordings which I (a)
DON'T own...(b) don't EVER EXPECT to own...and, (c) probably don't
know ANYONE who owns...!
Yes, it's "lo-fi"...but its "fi" was pretty low to begin with (especially
for acoustic
originals...!)...and MY poor, battered "ear-bones" are rather "lo-fi"
themselves...?!
I guess this is one reason I should be happy I'm NOT a collector of
classical
recordings...?!
Steven C. Barr