AfterDawn: Tech news

U2's manager: time to end ISPs' free ride

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 30 Jan 2008 11:11 User comments (40)

U2's manager: time to end ISPs' free ride U2 manager Paul McGuinness recently made a big impression at the MIDEM music industry convention in Cannes by calling out everyone from ISPs to customers. Sounding much like he was reading talking points for international recording industry trade organization IFPI, he said ISPs "have for too long had a free ride on music."
Despite chiding the industry for not "catering to people who want to hear music through big speakers rather than ear buds" and a "lack of foresight and poor planning" he says that ISPs are the real problem because he feels they only have broadband internet customers because of illegal music downloads. He said "It is time for ISPs to be real partners. The safe harbours of the 1990s are no longer appropriate, and if ISPs do not cooperate voluntarily there will need to be legislation to require them to cooperate."

Perhaps this is where the real disconnect between the music business and the rest of the world happens. As one Verizon executive pointed out recently, if ISPs become responsible for copyright enforcement what else should they be expected to be responsible for? And what of privacy - at what point is an internet-bound communication considered private?



It's easy to lay the responsibility at ISPs' feet, but much harder to identify any benefit for them beyond the gratitude of the music and movie industries. If anythying it conceivably opens them up to liabilities they don't have now for essentially reading customers' confidential communications.

He also mentioned Radiohead's recent release of their album as a digital download with payment on a voluntary basis, noting that this didn't stop it from appearing on P2P networks. According to McGuinness this "showed that if not constrained, the customer will steal music."

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40 user comments

130.1.2008 23:24

Uh huh..and how do you legislate that which you cannot see? If need be, people will go underground and trade files via PGP is necessary and run their own servers.

It is comments like his that make me think some ex-snipers are going to be gearing up for the old range again. Sad..

231.1.2008 00:27

Yeah, he going to get every ISP. Sure.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Jan 2008 @ 12:28

331.1.2008 00:34

Even if you had your own server you need the cable too plug into the internet through someone right or what.

431.1.2008 00:35

Originally posted by windsong:
Uh huh..and how do you legislate that which you cannot see? If need be, people will go underground and trade files via PGP is necessary and run their own servers.

It is comments like his that make me think some ex-snipers are going to be gearing up for the old range again. Sad..
whats PGP

531.1.2008 01:37
mebjolz
Inactive

typical, the wealthy manager of one of the biggest, crappest and most commercial bands on the planet is concerned about his income...

631.1.2008 04:26
oappi
Inactive

@wolf123

i think he means Pretty good privacy... en/de cryption without the key decyption can take 10 years to crack with normal desktop computer. So if ppl dont use the same key mpaa,ifpi etc would have to buy really expensive Hardware to get few ppl a year.

They should get over it. it isn´t like there was no filesharing before napster... it was just as easy to get stuff from friend of a friend. Or travel to "cheaper" country and buy bootlegs.

731.1.2008 04:59
SamNz
Inactive

funny all i read was "blah blah blah we're money hungry pricks"

831.1.2008 05:04

So I am right if you don't have a company you are getting service from then you can't get the internet right.

931.1.2008 07:13

Originally posted by mebjolz:
typical, the wealthy manager of one of the biggest, crappest and most commercial bands on the planet is concerned about his income...
100% agree
ISP are Internet Service Providers and they give u that, they are not Legal WEb's Surfing Service

ps: piracy will never , ever stop :)

1031.1.2008 10:30

yeah ..i just wonder when these asshats will get with the times. It aint the 60's no more. You cant go around charging 20bucks plus tax for crap cd's over and over and over and over again.

This IS the digital age. Get your damn business models adjusted to reflect it and stop pusing it on the consumers. If you don't stop ... you will continue to alienate your ever-shrinking consumer base to the point where it wont matter how you offer your music/videos ... no one will care to buy them.

1131.1.2008 12:03
hm577
Inactive

U2 are boneheads and BONO is a bonehead with his showing up like Brad Pitt in other countries pretending like he truly cares about what's going on outside his little "celebrity world". Celebs have are the worst people and really the dumbest too. No brains, no cause to their 'proactivism' and no merit to their complaining. They're shallow and so are those like their managers.

What was said above makes no sense. The "big speakers rather than earbuds" comment is ridiculous. I can blurt out remarks for no reason too.....................GOPHER HOLE! WHITEBREAD, POTHOLE!!

As for that punch-in-the-face-worthy comment "Broadband because of illegal music d/l'ing." Now I really wanna beat that guy down. Yeah..........right..............if music wasn't downloadable and didn't exist then I would rather go back to dialup to have a single webpage take 2 mins. to load. I don't want to watch interactive video either. I don't want to shop online quickly or download my porn quickly either.

Just for him saying that.............I'm gonna download ALL U2 albums and burn some discs and distribute all over my office and upload the Hell out of their music. Paybacks are a bi*tch McGuinness.......you Irish frakking fruit cake!!

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Jan 2008 @ 12:04

1231.1.2008 12:06
emugamer
Inactive

He talks about Radiohead's promotion as if he knows anything about it. Radiohead released their album for free through their website. Yes, it did show up on warez and other forms of P2P, but does that matter? It was free - pay what you want. People who dl'd it off P2P either didn't want to pay or ended up visiting thier site and giving them something. Yet this shmuck still calls it stealing. Last I read, Radiohead did pretty well with this experimental formula.

People will just share the way they always did. Through friends. Not only would I rely on my close personal friends, but I've made many friends over the years via forums. People network. What's stopping me from ripping a CD, zipping it with a name like (wedding photos.rar) and sending it so someone I know over a private Hamachi network? All I need to do is send out a few PM's, or even make a phone call. Will someone more network savy please correct me if I'm wrong. Sharing will always continue. Try to stop P2P and they are only closing their eyes to what will always continue.

Here's an idea. Buy music used off Amazon from an individual. Then let all of your friends know that you have it.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Jan 2008 @ 12:14

1331.1.2008 12:46
hm577
Inactive

Originally posted by emugamer:
He talks about Radiohead's promotion as if he knows anything about it. Radiohead released their album for free through their website. Yes, it did show up on warez and other forms of P2P, but does that matter? It was free - pay what you want. People who dl'd it off P2P either didn't want to pay or ended up visiting thier site and giving them something. Yet this shmuck still calls it stealing. Last I read, Radiohead did pretty well with this experimental formula.

People will just share the way they always did. Through friends. Not only would I rely on my close personal friends, but I've made many friends over the years via forums. People network. What's stopping me from ripping a CD, zipping it with a name like (wedding photos.rar) and sending it so someone I know over a private Hamachi network? All I need to do is send out a few PM's, or even make a phone call. Will someone more network savy please correct me if I'm wrong. Sharing will always continue. Try to stop P2P and they are only closing their eyes to what will always continue.

Here's an idea. Buy music used off Amazon from an individual. Then let all of your friends know that you have it.

You're my kinda peeps Emugamer.......we should hook up, hamachi ourselves right up and share the shizzy out of what we have. :)

1431.1.2008 14:59

U2 sucks!

1531.1.2008 15:52
cousinkix
Inactive

Whats in a name. The U2 is an obsolete USAF spy plane from the 60s. Its as old as the RIAA's business model in the 21st Century Now they use that relic to lacate cannabis crops in the California coastal mountain ranges...

1631.1.2008 17:38

I'm not worried. Let them do whatever they want to ISPs. I'm confident that p2p technology will keep up with legislation. Private networks, darknets, strong encryption, obfuscation. New, safer methods will emerge, which may push bittorrent out of the picture. And if they somehow do make file sharing impossible (by traffic metering or whatever) then we go back to the good old ways of snail-mailing CDs and DVDs to each other, rubbing wax onto the stamps and re-using them... :)

One thing to remember: when there is a will, there is a way. No exceptions.

1731.1.2008 18:39
atomicxl
Inactive

Its funny and sad to see people calling this man greedy because he thinks musicians should be payed for their hard work. These people are not greedy. CDs sell @ best buy for $9.99. I just bought 4 CDs on amazon and the most expensive one was $10.99 and it was $2 more than everything else. You can download a song for 99 cents.

Come on, who's really being greedy here? How do you define greed? The guy who works hard and wants to be paid for his work is greedy, but the guy who can get music for chump change yet steals it is honorable and giving? Are you serious? If your boss told you you weren't getting a paycheck anymore, would you be greedy for quitting or demanding your check? Pointing the finger and saying that you should be allowed to enjoy their work, but never have to compensate them is ridiculous. People who call them greedy can't honestly feel that way. I think its just alot call them greedy than admit that you're a thief, or it makes you feel justified.

If $1 for a song download and 7-8 for a CD download isn't a fair price, what is? You want a song for a quarter? Do you really value music that little? It wild that people spend close to $300 for a MP3 yet they think music has no value.

And about privacy, this isn't privacy. If an ISP said they would block illegal activity on their system, I bet their customer base would drop. There is a connection between them enabling illegal activity and them generating income. Basically they PROFIT off of it so they do nothing to stop it. LOL, they actually cover the tracks. In ANY OTHER SITUATION, that makes you an accomplice. For any crime you can imagine, if you help someone or enable them do to it and then you actually cover their tracks, you are an accomplice.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Jan 2008 @ 6:51

1831.1.2008 19:31

@^^You sound Irish, is that you Paul McGuinness?
It's a crime against humanity!!!!!
And what about the mediadefender leak? Songs being uploaded to p2p and BT networks by the copyright holders for their own stats? He he he and a few years ago there was a U2 album (shit forget the name)with downgraded quality that was leaked 2 weeks before the official release? Oh yes my friend the irony eh!!!
So is it, it's ok to share sometimes, but not all the time? Yeah the freedom of choice is, pick anything you want between 1 and 5. See there's your freedom silly billy. You thought we were trying to control everything, no not us.
Just think what the future holds, with the attitude of, I am here now, this is mine and you cant share it, but you can have a peek for a small fee. Oh yeah sounds like when the US whiteman first started out.
The Indians got it right, "white man speak with forked tongue".

1931.1.2008 21:27

wow U2 is worried about money. Face the facts has beens. You were our parents musicians. Not ours. Lay down the pride and walk away with you heads held high. Hat to say it, bit your getting beat by people like 50 cent, Tpain, an other wonders. These guys come a dime a dozen. You may be able to compete with the likes of Aerosmith, Guns N'fn Roses, and Pearl Jam, but not these new up and comers.
Face the facts you money hungry, over-powering, show-flopping putz. It's over. Was an EXCELLENT run. But step aside.
Just my thoughts
LD

2031.1.2008 22:51

My, my, my...what have we here? On the one hand, there are those who think the RIAA/MPAA and those associated with it are simply greedy. On the other, those who think just pay for it, it's a fair price. I remember when we recorded music from the radio, copied pictures and books, magazines and documents on the office copier. We shared cassetts and recorded them from friend and family alike. Now it's called stealing and ISP's are considered an accomplice to a crime. WOW!!! What a leap!!!

If ISP's and the general public are considered thieves for doing what's been done since I can remember, then why not Sony, Toshiba, GE, and any other company who makes a product you can record with or on. How about pc manufactures for making them internet capable or making burners. We who share music, do buy music. We who share movies, do buy movies. We are the majority! We prize the ability to share the music/movie we encounter and want that for others. We buy them because we want the whole thing in studio digital quality.

I don't hear Olan Mills or other photography studio companies up in arms over the sharing of pictures or publishing companies of books or magazines. Yes, there's is a high volume of sharing there. People always want something for nothing, if they can get it because it saves us money for something else, but know that if we want quality we must pay, so we do. So don't give us the psycho babble bull about the RIAA and the artists/MPAA and the actors not being greedy but deserve to be payed. They are getting payed.

You may have noticed that DRM's are disappearing. Hmmm...you can't tell the consumer what he/she can/can't do with the product. Movies are still making record box office and dvd sales. Music is still churning out multi-platinum artists. Oh but they're not getting payed for their work. You Must Be Joking....NO...You Should Be Joking!!! Star Trek had a replicator and we're headed in that direction. The company that makes it will be an accomplice to a crime, according to some in this forum. Those who have money want more money. Those who don't have much money are trying to hold on to as much of it as possible! Get a clue, get on board or get left out! Can you hear the thunder of majority. We have the power and can/will strike with the unrestrained power of lightning!!! Do not force us to use this power. You will lose!!

****Note to U2, RIAA, MPAA and anyone who opposes us, the consumer****

2131.1.2008 23:36
varnull
Inactive

Very true.. I'm just downloading every U2 album and single flac right now.. and guess what.. I'm either going to give them away, or sell them at the cost of the covers and disks.. payback time.. By the reasoning used by record company execs I have as much right to profit from U2 as they do... it's just unfortunate that I'm going to inflict aural torture on some more poor sods....
Given the choice of having bono's autograph or shooting him.. guess which one I would chose.. remember Mark Chapman?

Isn't this the millionaire hippocrite who wanted us to give our money to help poor governments in africa so they could buy guns?.. he didn't put any of his millions up I notice..

I like the way these asshats were portrayed by Paul Whitehouse and Harry Enfield last year.. thick micks (no offence to any irish people.. it's just a sad national stereotype).. and it fits them so well..

Now I wonder when Geldof (another rich bas**rd) will stick his oar in..

Hey.. I own 1 u2 record on vinyl.. I remember finding it on a skip.. under a blood red sky.. half decent actually.. unlike the rest of the crap..

At lease we won't have to put up with real IMPORTANT music figures like Elvis, Cash, Lennon, Hendrix and Morrison whining on about how much they are losing.. though I'm waiting for that one next.. I can see the headlines now "lennon protests that music piracy is costing him dear".. LMFAO!!!

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 31 Jan 2008 @ 11:44

221.2.2008 02:20

As much as I like U2 or Matalica...lets face it the elitist moron dose not know what he is talking about and is to lazy to change anything.

File sharing is as easy as copying a note or picture via printer or by hand and sharing is part of human nature, they have a dieing industry built around high priced low quality items in a world were sharing files is like sharing germs, so either you get with the time o fall by the waste side.

231.2.2008 04:57
Jalathole
Inactive

if the greedy record labels stopped charging 30 bucks a cd and start selling them for about 15 bucks that would persuade me to go out and buy more cd's.

241.2.2008 10:50

Originally posted by atomicxl:
And about privacy, this isn't privacy. If an ISP said they would block illegal activity on their system, I bet their customer base would drop. There is a connection between them enabling illegal activity and them generating income. Basically they PROFIT off of it so they do nothing to stop it. LOL, they actually cover the tracks. In ANY OTHER SITUATION, that makes you an accomplice. For any crime you can imagine, if you help someone or enable them do to it and then you actually cover their tracks, you are an accomplice.

Yes, but where do you draw the line? Does that mean that my ISP will have the right to read all my e-mails? And who exactly decides that a file is illegal? For example, if I send an encrypted file to a friend of mine, will they block it for the simple reason that it is encrypted and they don't know the content? It's not as clear cut as one might think.

Another example: a friend of mine records a TV broadcast and sends it to me, which is perfectly legal as you're allowed to record TV broadcasts and use them in a 'family setting' (meaning close relatives and friends, from a legal point of view). Mass-distributing it however is illegal. So how will my ISP determine that it's just a transaction between me and my friend and not massdistribution?

That's all very unclear to me and that's what bothers me about statements such as "let's have ISP's check all traffic and block (potentially) illegal activities"

251.2.2008 11:09

Originally posted by atomicxl:
Its funny and sad to see people calling this man greedy because he thinks musicians should be payed for their hard work. These people are not greedy. CDs sell @ best buy for $9.99. I just bought 4 CDs on amazon and the most expensive one was $10.99 and it was $2 more than everything else. You can download a song for 99 cents.

Come on, who's really being greedy here? How do you define greed? The guy who works hard and wants to be paid for his work is greedy, but the guy who can get music for chump change yet steals it is honorable and giving? Are you serious? If your boss told you you weren't getting a paycheck anymore, would you be greedy for quitting or demanding your check? Pointing the finger and saying that you should be allowed to enjoy their work, but never have to compensate them is ridiculous. People who call them greedy can't honestly feel that way. I think its just alot call them greedy than admit that you're a thief, or it makes you feel justified.

If $1 for a song download and 7-8 for a CD download isn't a fair price, what is? You want a song for a quarter? Do you really value music that little? It wild that people spend close to $300 for a MP3 yet they think music has no value.

And about privacy, this isn't privacy. If an ISP said they would block illegal activity on their system, I bet their customer base would drop. There is a connection between them enabling illegal activity and them generating income. Basically they PROFIT off of it so they do nothing to stop it. LOL, they actually cover the tracks. In ANY OTHER SITUATION, that makes you an accomplice. For any crime you can imagine, if you help someone or enable them do to it and then you actually cover their tracks, you are an accomplice.

Then get ready for "corporate responsibility" were business fines and snitchs on the consume over every lil thing because its mandated down from on high.

ISPs are and were never meant to log and data track and police consumers, they like the phone company provide a service, its not their place to police it if they use it for illicit means, its up to the media owners and the law to legally hunt down and catch thos that are breaking the law.

261.2.2008 13:24

Originally posted by hm577:
U2 are boneheads and BONO is a bonehead with his showing up like Brad Pitt in other countries pretending like he truly cares about what's going on outside his little "celebrity world". Celebs have are the worst people and really the dumbest too. No brains, no cause to their 'proactivism' and no merit to their complaining. They're shallow and so are those like their managers.

What was said above makes no sense. The "big speakers rather than earbuds" comment is ridiculous. I can blurt out remarks for no reason too.....................GOPHER HOLE! WHITEBREAD, POTHOLE!!

As for that punch-in-the-face-worthy comment "Broadband because of illegal music d/l'ing." Now I really wanna beat that guy down. Yeah..........right..............if music wasn't downloadable and didn't exist then I would rather go back to dialup to have a single webpage take 2 mins. to load. I don't want to watch interactive video either. I don't want to shop online quickly or download my porn quickly either.

Just for him saying that.............I'm gonna download ALL U2 albums and burn some discs and distribute all over my office and upload the Hell out of their music. Paybacks are a bi*tch McGuinness.......you Irish frakking fruit cake!!


YEA!!!! What he said.

271.2.2008 22:20

Good post atomicxl, nice to see someone honest and decent. Sometimes I work hard for my money, sometimes I dont. I still expect to get paid. If you dont like an artist work, dont buy it. If its not good enough to by, its not good enough to down load. I would say that those of you that dont agree with this, come work for me. I would not pay you for your time, but you would steal me blind.

281.2.2008 22:32
varnull
Inactive

Fine... where is your factory?? I can start with 100 of my mates at 8am tomorrow.

Interesting point raised about the responsibility of the ISP's as accomplice to a crime..

So lets say I rob a bank and escape by driving a Ford car on a public highway. The police give chase but because I am driving in an incredibly dangerous manner they back off and let me get away..

So do you take action against Ford for making the car.. the state authorities for providing the road and the police for putting public safety before money??

Now on to sharing music...

When I was at school we had a system.. every week we sat with the music paper and looked through the new releases. Everybody as part of our little club chose one record to buy.. then we gathered on Friday in the music room (music club was cool.. our music teacher liked a pub lunch on a Friday and went to sleep by 2pm) and taped them all onto one tape.. this we copied on various machines for everybody who was a member of our club and had bought 1 record..

That was 30 years ago.. the technology may have changed, but the sharing instinct is still strong.

291.2.2008 23:14

Arkansas, would you be willing to work for what ever We think you are worth. Mabe I would only like the work that One of you 100 friends did and only pay him. As you put it, you all can share his money. Its the same thing.

301.2.2008 23:44
david89
Inactive

i think hes full of crap i believe they can block us from downloading still have poor sales they can't own up that alot music today sucks not as good used be. far movies go there still making millions bucks crying for no reason and if isps cap us with low bandwith usage guess what we can stop paying them i know i will go back to dialup if they do it. the ISPs allso have responsible to consumers got news for him two way street seem like as a consumer we allway get carpped on and they use this type of stuff to lobby in new laws that are not fair to us.

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 02 Feb 2008 @ 12:16

311.2.2008 23:48

Originally posted by atomicxl:
Its funny and sad to see people calling this man greedy because he thinks musicians should be payed for their hard work. These people are not greedy. CDs sell @ best buy for $9.99. I just bought 4 CDs on amazon and the most expensive one was $10.99 and it was $2 more than everything else. You can download a song for 99 cents.

Come on, who's really being greedy here? How do you define greed? The guy who works hard and wants to be paid for his work is greedy, but the guy who can get music for chump change yet steals it is honorable and giving? Are you serious? If your boss told you you weren't getting a paycheck anymore, would you be greedy for quitting or demanding your check? Pointing the finger and saying that you should be allowed to enjoy their work, but never have to compensate them is ridiculous. People who call them greedy can't honestly feel that way. I think its just alot call them greedy than admit that you're a thief, or it makes you feel justified.

If $1 for a song download and 7-8 for a CD download isn't a fair price, what is? You want a song for a quarter? Do you really value music that little? It wild that people spend close to $300 for a MP3 yet they think music has no value.

And about privacy, this isn't privacy. If an ISP said they would block illegal activity on their system, I bet their customer base would drop. There is a connection between them enabling illegal activity and them generating income. Basically they PROFIT off of it so they do nothing to stop it. LOL, they actually cover the tracks. In ANY OTHER SITUATION, that makes you an accomplice. For any crime you can imagine, if you help someone or enable them do to it and then you actually cover their tracks, you are an accomplice.
For 1. Not all music is available for comercial download. I have a hard time finding anything i would want in the 1 a track sites. I even had to cancel my eMusic membership after 2 months. 150 tracks and i could find nothing else, and i had to stretch to get my last months worth.

For 2. even 9.99 for a CD is too much. The tech is ancient. I have to upmix and recode all my cd's just to make them playable. Alot what i download are DTS and super CDA's, mostly because they are hard to find comercialy. As i have said before, produce something i want to hear and i will gladly pay for it. Downloading illegaly one track by Therion < O Fortuna > by accedent has lead me to purchase very album they have made, and i watch for new releases and buy them opening week. Other bands have gotten me the same way. None of them are on the Main Stream download services. I found them all via P2P.
I realy would not be suprised to find out that the Quality of the Master files used to make CD's has been reduced to save cost. I know th Quality of the CD they are charging you 10-20 bucks for has. take a majority of your new cd's and hold em up to the light. That is a metal plate folks and you can SEE through it. and that is on the top of the disk, nothing between that plate and the outside world. they have been ripping us off for years, they just dont like it when we start getting our own back >(

323.2.2008 00:08

hey, maybe nobody buys your goddamn music because you suck.

333.2.2008 09:59

This greedy jackass figures only he has the right to be greedy. The ISPs ought to give up their profits to bolster his.

I just put U2 on my personel 'black list'.

343.2.2008 11:02

I hope McGuiness realizes that over 70% of data downloaded from the Internet is still pornography.

ISP's are not para-legals, their job is not to enforce Nazi-like surveillance on consumer traffic but to simply provide a service. You want to track down hackers/downloaders?

Fine, go start your own Cyber Justice League, don't b*tch to other people to do your job for you.

353.2.2008 14:32
frankacne
Inactive

If the idiot thinks that people only want Broadband for listening to U2 and other hasbeens then not only does he not live in the real world but also hasnt tried downloading or uploading anything large via AOL in recent months. I pay for 4 meg and all i am getting is around half a meg, plus disconnects every twenty minutes and all my email addresses lost. You can see the brown round his mouth if you look closely, he must have been licking something.

363.2.2008 16:35
RNR1995
Inactive

F U2! F Bono! go back to your own country with your B.S!
Don't they kill each other in Ireland because some are Catholics and some are protestants? Hypocrite FU2

374.2.2008 07:29

Amir89, I think the bulk of the intenet traffic is Torrents of videos. Maybe most of them are porn. The artical did not stipulate what was in the videos.

Many web pages have almost as much data as a 3 minute tune @ 128 BR. If you don't have broadband these days you can't surf the web.

atomicxl, I have bought my fair share of music and still do. I balked at buying a Paul Simon CD because it was $22 and only had one new tune on it. I have often bought the same tune more than once over the ages. I resent when those GREADY BASTARDS claim when I audio capture my vinyl recording steeling. ESPECIALLY when I have bought more than one copy because the first record got ruined. Back then LPs went for $3. Now that same recording will cost 10-20 bucks. That is greedy.

The TV industry fought to get to charge when a show was aired on the internet claiming it was for the artists. Then when the arists wanted a piece of the action they were told the sales model was too complex so they should get a dime. How is that not beiing pig greedy.

I call those greddy bastards greedy because that is EXACTLY what they are. Standard retail mark up is 100%. Then there is CD production and distribution. I doubt if the music industry sees $5 of the $20 CD. Yet they want a $1 a song. They want to make a killing out of the cheaper media instead of passing on some of their savings to the customer. They cry foul when the customers do not buy into the scheam. That is what I call greedy.

Independent music is sold at 4 per dollar. That is a more fair price. The industry still realizes about the same cash per tunes as the CD sales. They pass the saving to the customer. That is not greedy. eMusic is doing very well by 'giving the music away' at 4/dollar. These are high quality unprotected music.

atomicxl how can you defend such slime or are you just paid to defend them?

388.2.2008 01:16
davidrose
Inactive

Sorry play PUB's and work harder whatever BOO HOO same ole same ole 2008 new era music sucks and it's mostly REHASh just like movies and videogames overpriced and not much content so oh well

3922.2.2008 15:26

Basically he took the opportunity to make his feelings on the matter known and the fact is that atm we are at a place that neither side can do anything about this we will just have to wait and see what time will tell.

401.3.2008 18:56

Truth be told, as long as you're not reproducing it and selling it, it's not stealin. Period. It's the idiots here in the streets of Chicago who download music and movies and make HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS selling it out right/ Tottally uncool

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