Owlish Mutterings

Reality Disconnect

Penny Arcade is amusing, but sometimes they also have useful or at least interesting information.

Accoring to this Billboard article, Universal Music Group demanded a percentage of the sales of the Zune from Microsoft, in addition to fees per song, etc. They are the only major label to sign an agreement with Microsoft. Why? " "These devices are just repositories for stolen music, and they all know it," UMG chairman/CEO Doug Morris says. "So it's time to get paid for it." "

And the vote for most deluded buggy whip maker goes to...

I hereby swear that I will never buy another major label CD, or download their music from any service, legal or illegal, until they get a freakin clue. Now, since I've never illegally downloaded music, and since I buy at most 1-2 full price major CDs a year, it's not going to be a big deal.

I can usually find a DVD I'm interested in for ten bucks or less. I don't need movies that were just released. If I start looking for some specialized Anime or gay themed movies, I may pay more. Why, exactly, do record companies expect me to pay 10 bucks or more for an album that I might know has one song I like, and might take a gamble on 1-2 more.

I've got most of the CDs I own converted to MP3s on my computer now, and might at some point buy another MP3 player to listen to them on walks. But I'm getting tired of DRM interfering in large and small ways with my ability to do so.

There's got to be a way to sell music, that bypasses the payola of the radio stations, that bypasses the huge advertising budgets for TV and magazines that don't actually influence people. Someone who figures out how to do so will make quite a bit of money, and will drive various record labels, music stores, and "famous" music groups bankrupt. But it's not going to happen today.

Posted by Owlish at December 4, 2006 08:12 PM | TrackBack