These days you can’t go five minutes without hearing about the RIAA’s latest attempts to thwart the piracy of their creative efforts – from CDs that barely play in even the most rudimentary of devices anymore to websites that allow legitimate users to narc out their pirating friends, co-workers, and classmates to multi-million dollar ads of every shape and size, and as efforts become more complex and costly day-by-day, I sincerely hope that I’m not hurting anybody’s feelings when I the following, “It’s just not working, guys…”
Apple and Napster recently had it out, accusing each other of having inferior methods of copy-protection in place – after it was pointed out that a widely-known hack for iTunes already exists, Apple retorted by stating that music files downloaded from Napster could be replicated just as easily by using a program that records output straight from the computer’s sound card itself…which although certainly wouldn’t create anything near CD-quality, it did bring to light the inevitable point that us technophiles have been trying to explain ever since the first time Napster made the headlines – there’s no sure-fire way to prevent music piracy.
And although I’m not personally condoning such illegal acts, I’ve got to tell you that as a fellow consumer of the products of the music industry, I can kind of see where they’re coming from with this one. Just a quick glance at the various mediums on which music has been available over the past 20 or 30 years is all that it takes to understand that CDs have always been, by far, the most expensive of them all…which I think is particularly interesting when you consider the fact that most people reading this very column now have the ability to make their own CDs using the PC right there on their desktop. Technology has advanced to the point where we can burn full-length audio discs in a matter of minutes, and DVDs for just a bit longer wait, and yet a trip down the New Releases section of the local music store still boasts prices ranging anywhere from $15 – $18 a piece…
As we watch technology change around us to introduce digital media via MP3s and so forth as the latest medium for audio files, it really should come as no surprise that consumers no longer find it acceptable to be burdened with a 1000%+ mark-up to listen to their favorite musicians perform! When all I’m lacking here at home to physically create an audio CD is the band itself, it simply doesn’t make sense for me to have to pay $1 for raw materials and another $14 for creative licenses. I think that a large portion of music fanatics have truly felt ripped off ever since the CD lost its fad-potential, and the immense quantity of music piracy that we see today is really the byproduct of these actions. So what, you say, do I suggest to these companies who are allegedly losing millions each year to digital piracy?
Well, for starters, start giving us something worth the money that we spend again for your products. Ten years ago, it truly was impressive to see an hour’s worth of crisp and clear, digital music compressed onto a single, shiny disc the size of your hand, but here in a new millennium where teenagers are cruising the mall with digital music players the size of a wallet, your standard, everyday audio CD simply isn’t going to cut it anymore and since it really doesn’t seem like you’re willing to cut down the sticker price to make these things more affordable, it’s time to throw a little something extra on there for us. What exactly that is, I’m really not sure – I’m not a marketing executive – but I can tell you that it’s going to have to be a step up from the CD Extras that we’ve seen in the past. Band photos and live concert footage are really only exciting to the fans that are going to buy every single disc anyways – for the mainstream listeners who pick-up a CD after hearing a new song on the radio, you’re really going to have to go the extra mile…
…and honestly, I think this is where you can play-up the next generation of music formats – the downloadable music file. If I bring home the latest Dave Matthews Band disc and decide that it sucks after one listen-through, you might find that I’d be a little less disappointed if I were able to then login to RCA’s website and sample other artists from their collection, possibly whom I could even exchange this disc for at a store kiosk somewhere. Or if I just so happen to be a die-hard Aerosmith fan, make my purchase of their new CD a double eagle by also enabling me to go online and download entire CD-quality bootlegs of the concerts promoting that album – sure, it’s not nearly as profitable as pulling a Pearl Jam and offering to sell me a dozen of their latest concerts for twenty bucks a piece, but if you know that, being a fan, I’m going to get my hands on them one way or another, why not make it a winning deal for the both of us? I get much better copies of these shows than anyone could possibly manage with a microphone in the crowd, while you get not only the cash from my purchasing the new album, but also some consumer loyalty because if I’m pleased, it’ll surely give me a reason to come back for more instead of stealing the new release from my newsgroup or chat room of choice.
I know that it certainly doesn’t sound like the best solution to record companies that are used to making scads upon scads of money off of record sales, but I’m here to tell you that you’re in a losing battle right now and I honestly don’t think that spending millions and millions of dollars suing and otherwise butting heads with your fleeting customers is the answer. By venturing forth into these new, digital territories, you may very well lessen your profit-margin, but if it means making $5 or $10 less per album as opposed to not only losing that amount from a stolen copy, but also additional court costs attempting to regain that $15, I’d say that innovation is certainly worth another look. Although I couldn’t tell you the technical details, I do think that Napster is looking in the right direction with its subscription-based, all-you-can-eat sales model and hopefully others will take the hint and fall into step because the bottom line is this: people are going to continue to steal your products until you offer them something worthwhile at a price that they can afford.
Of course, this article really only skims the surface of piracy in this day and age, so next week I think we’ll take a look at movie piracy and my advice for the MPAA. Just a hint – those who felt where I was coming from above probably already know where I’ll be going with this…
 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
