Ground zero in the coming Hollings bill war

Ernie Miller knows more about this than you do.

If you are at all interested in digital rights management--and you should be, despite your protestations that you are just a "music guy" or "don't have a dog in the fight"--then you should be following Miller as he digests every good twist and turn.

Wired News: Copyright Bill to Kill Tech?

A disaster in the making.

It would be easy to interpret this bill as merely another salvo in the war between privacy and the federal government.

And of course, that's highly true: our ability to interact freely is the core of our country, and simply because a technology creates the opportunity for crime is no reason to prohibit it.

However, forces behind this bill are industry based. Most legislation originates from interest groups, not idealistic legislators looking to improve our quality of life. So while the bill has draconian overtones, it's worth noting the origin of this legislation. Wired, of all magazines, should have reported this angle.

The real piracy

Why oh why doesn't the RIAA make this their mission?

Cory Doctorow: Microsoft Research DRM talk

Pretty interesting, given the rush to figure out DRM.

DRM and software security is at the foundation of Microsoft (and pretty much the rest of the tech industry.)

To drink in the impact of this argument, swith the word "DRM" with "patent" and see how much sense this link makes.

True, a paradigm shift may be needed or inevitable. But the dollars at stake are simply overwhelming and make the impetus to develop DRM essential.

Hope I Die Before I Get Old

Billy Corgan complains to MSNBC

Pete Townshend has essentially been saying the same thing as Corgan here. While the cult of celebrity is more pronounced in pop music than it was 20 or 30 years ago, it's not much more dire.

After all, when Motown was at its peak of influence, the manufacturing of pop was not only a priority, it was considered artistic. That the process is exposed via "American Idol" or "Making a Pop Star" isn't any worse--it's actually better. These shows are merely revealing that behind 15 minutes of fame is an elaborate production, something Broadway and Hollywood has known for decades.

Doesn't value the icon? Jeez Billy, I'd say it does. And if anything, technology is on the verge of granting musicianship to anyone with a computer and a $50 application called iLife. It's easy to remain cynical, especially for a guy like Corgan who is no longer musically relevant, but in the end the possibilities have never been better and the revolution never closer.

Merger is official between BMG and Sony Music

The march towards a declining industry continues.

Actually, this is great news.

Unproductive, risky bands will get dropped...which means a chance at a smaller, more caring label where they might have a bit of a career (and less expensive video.)

Acts that appeal to the masses that survive the cuts will be McDonald-sized and pimped for a lucrative 15 minutes of fame.

Lots of decent, idealistic people will lose their jobs at these two labels. Sad.

These same people, if they truly love the music industry, will find a better place to work. Those that are only in it for free shit and proximity to fame will move on to something more suburban.

More importantly, another towering giant will be established. A giant conglomerate so big and unweilding that it cannot possibly cover all the necessary bases.

Which means more opportunity for everyone else to innovate beneath the shadow and ultimately, begin another revolution.

Mossberg assesses the download services

The Mossberg Report -- Personal Technology from The Wall Street Journal

Renting Music, Part II

WSJ.com *subscription required

More on this topic, and why the paradigm shift will be a mountain to move.

Also, The Big Picture, a blog after my own heart, weighs in this matter.

DMCA: a money loser

And not only for these reasons.

This will help you understand why the music biz does what it does

Click through these slides, kiddo.

Many of you are under the impression that the music industry is unique, that the artistic component or the celebrity quotient somehow transcends normal business interaction.

You're dead wrong.

The music industry's past 20 years have been utterly predictable and followed the classic model described by every MBA program.

This guy's book on strategy has long been the gold standard. This guy's comments are also revealing.

This is no longer a boutique little adventure for a bunch of bohemian, hedonists who have yet to figure out how grow up. The industry is a global enterprise, and even without the spector of shareholders as a boogieman, demands modern, risk averse corporate behavior. If you don't like it what it offers, go downward to the hundreds of indie labels where innovation is actually possible.

Dear RIAA: Does this make you worried?

It should.

What is your new business model going to be?

Due Diligence

Everyone knows that the music industry probably missed the boat with file sharing. But truthfully, an industry in its mature phase cannot be relied upon to adapt nearly quickly enough.

Over at Due Diligence, Hollywood is implored to avoid the same mistakes.

Only problem is that the MPAA is even more entrenched and, because of the amount of money involved, is even more risk averse. Which is an obvious problem.

But the post casts a bright eye to a fundamental problem of legal downloading (i.e. iTunes, etc.): there is still a vast amount of music unavailable legally. And it spurs more illegal downloading while providing collateral injury to legal spots.

In other words, if I go to iTunes looking for a song and can't find it, maybe I fire up SoulSeek to look for it. While on SoulSeek, maybe I see a few other things I want, and rather than go back to iTunes, I just download those extra tracks illegally.

I am certain this happens frequently.

There really is no excuse to not have the entirety of a label's catalog digitized and available for download.

More signs of an mature industry

The Financial Times reports yet more layoffs for Sony.

Many youngsters to the music industry are myopic in their view of current events; they tend to attribute a lack of integrity to the layoffs and homerun mentality of A&R at the major labels. And while it's nice to see the music business as somehow inherently rebellious, artistic, and immune to the realities of fiduciary responsibility, the days of wild-assed mavericks left the major labels at least a dozen years ago. The sign of the apocalypse wasn't the shareholder invasion or conglomeration of the 90s among media companies, it was in the boisterous growth phase of the business during the 70s and 80s.

Current major label behavior is not only predictable, but one of last resorts. Simply put, there is no way for large scale operations like a major label to be profitable without devoting considerable resources to a select group of acts. The corporation must be prudent and mitigate risk, which results in signing people like Lindsey Lohan. Dreaming that the label would prefer taking more risk on an unknown, or worse, something with narrow appeal, is to ignore the past 20 years of history at the majors. But it's a stereotypical mantra that's worked for at least that long, so it gets trotted out by those far out of the loop.

These firings are sad, but ironically they are a sign of better things to come. The industry will likely see marked evolutionary changes over the coming decade, and in the end they will probably allow a more user-friendly experience.

Blender gives SPIN a shove towards the drain

New York Post Online Edition: business: "Blender, the American music magazine from the empire of British publishing maverick Felix Dennis, has continued to shake up its larger rivals.

Now the upstart says it will surpass rival Spin in circulation early next year, when Blender boosts its rate base 20 percent to 630,000, effective in January 2005.

Spin is at 550,000 and stable. Spin Publisher Jake Hill said of his rival's increase, 'It's not unexpected, but I think bigger is not necessarily better. We're not falling victim to the arms of circulation.'

A Blender spokesman counters, 'Like most music fans, we don't really care what Spin thinks.'"

Yes, SPIN has been circling the drain for sometime anyhow. Sia Michel, editorial goddess, was brougt in a couple of years ago and has let the writing/editorial scope slip noticeably. Some people have defended her work on grounds that the business side of the book is driving the ship--sorry, but that's not nearly enough of a satisfying answer given the state of things over there.

But Blender has excelled where SPIN once did, and the signs are there that Blender is not only eating up potential SPIN readers, but eating away at SPIN's core.

WSJ.com - Apple's iPod May Meet Its MatchIn New Microsoft System

The House of the Wiseacre: WSJ.com - Apple's iPod May Meet Its MatchIn New Microsoft System

Is your record gold yet

Recording Industry Association of America