Here's an old one... it's funny, this is all pre-IPOD days. Things have changed a bit now.
Posted on :
07-24-03 |
Anyone over 25 years of age knows what a mixed-tape is. A quick look at dictionary.com will not reveal a definition, but non-the-less, the term has made it into the collective conscience of the world. For those of you that grew up in the time of CD’s, a mixed-tape is when a friend or lover, takes a few hours out of their day to put together a collection of songs they think you will find meaningful and fun, something to signify the bond between two people. Everyone loves getting a mixed-tape, the exception being when your ex-girlfriend makes one for you with songs like “You’re so Vain” at the end of senior year in high school. But despite the negative connotation of that particular tape, I still remember it fondly, and laugh at the memory of why she came to put that song on there for me. The mixed-tape is a snap shot of a time in our lives shared with another person.
Now the recording industries want to take that all away. They condoned it for so many years, that the term itself, “mixed-tape” is now a part of the common vocabulary. I would bet many of the same recording executives that are scrambling to solve a loss in profit margins have made a tape for someone they loved at some point in their lives. According to their definition, the simple copying of music to give to someone else for free should be illegal, and they did try for many years to squash the sales of blank tapes, just like television companies tried to hold back the beloved remote control technology, so consumers would be more easily forced to watch commercials. I don’t see anyone out there suing Tivo.
As technology changes, these companies need to change as well. In the fast paced world of computer chip design, we see newer and faster chips being developed at a constant rate. No one is still selling Pentium 1 chips anymore. In this constantly evolving world, the recording industry has not elected to change with the times. They still want to be able to sell that same CD they have been making for more than 20 years. They are hanging onto old technology, instead of investing in something new. That is why they have failed. This same resistance to change would have put Intel out of business.
The facts are that the recording industry couldn’t give a damn about how much the artists are making. They are only concerned with the fact that their antiquated CD technology is no longer viable in the world of high-speed Internet connections. They also seem to believe that every song someone downloads is a song the consumer would have paid for, to the tune that they should now pay them $150,000.00 per song found on their computers. Most people are just trying out new stuff, just like going to the store, and listening before you buy, or simply listening to the radio.
I have a collection of songs on my computer. The majority, I have paid for. My favorite band tours extensively, and they have every new live show available for download within two days of each show. This speed of availability is unheard of. They are truly pioneers of the digital age. Instead of waiting 6 months to hear the one disk that was released from a summer tour, fans can hear a show 48 hours later for only 10 bucks. If you couldn’t get a ticket, or travel to another city to see a show, you can still be part of the tour. The other songs on my computer, I would have never bought in the store anyways. I was trying them out for size. Now the difference is, is if I run across a good MP3 from a band I’ve never heard of, and I see they are coming through my town, I will go buy a ticket, and watch them perform live. It’s free advertising for up and coming bands.
The argument I am hearing from the recording industry, is that artists are being hurt. I would suggest, that this newfound ability to hear music in such an open format is helping thousands of new artists gain popularity. Artists that are typically looked over by industry thugs that are just looking to jam the next Britney Spears down our throats. The people have spoken, and we have said that we are sick of your crappy music, and we aren’t going to pay for it if you want to continually force form fed drivel down our ears. Instead of some guy at Capitol records making the decisions for us, we can now choose very easily for ourselves, what we like, and what we want to hear.
The new age of entertainment is here. This age will usher in the convenience that the Internet has to provide. Artists will have to adapt as well, and they will need to begin creating an exciting product that consumers want to pay to see live. They will have to learn how to entertain us in new ways. Providing us with downloads of live shows within 48 hours is a great first step. Next will be being able to pay-per-view a live show over the net. No more “sold out” blues for fans. Anyone with a computer can log in and see the show. And those pesky CDs will disappear forever one day, just like tapes and albums and eight tracks have disappeared. It’s a whole new ballgame. We want immediate access. If you don’t provide it, we will provide it for ourselves. It’s as simple as that.
And in a country where every year, the amount of non-violent offenders in jails is increasing, the answer is not to throw us in jail for listening to a song. The answer is to give us what we want, and spend our tax dollars putting dangerous criminals in jail. Quite simply, this is another war that can’t be won. Every time you legislate, every time you encrypt a song, every time to try to thwart the populace, someone will crack it, hack it, and spread to everyone the new way to defeat you. It’s a few men, against millions, and the millions will win. You cannot take away all our money; you cannot put us all in jail. You are wasting your time. Take my advice, spend some money on R&D, and get this new electronic era on the road.
Before the blank tape, there were no mixed-tapes. Before the Internet, we could not share a song with a friend in New Zealand so easily, and before you lose your cushy recording industry job for being stubborn and lazy, you should hire some kids and figure out how to be symbiotic with your customers again. Or someone else will, and that’s just the facts.
I should probably make my girlfriend a mixed-tape right now, of course that is if I can figure out how to get this old tape player working. Maybe mixed-CD will become the newest buzzword with the youth. Maybe it already is, and I’m too old to know it. |
