You may have heard about the ludicrous legal victory recently handed to the Recording Industry Association of America in their ongoing witch hunt pursuit of justice against illegal file sharing.
The industry claims that file sharing is killing its business. Maybe so. But I think there’s another factor at work. To illustrate my point, I’ve created a helpful chart showing the increased crap level of the output of the recording industry from the years 1991 to 2007. It is also available as a PDF.
Comments
8 responses to “Some helpful advice for the RIAA”
Hahaha! Awesome graph!! Very funny, and sadly, very true too!!
Regarding the case, I was very much surprised by the outcome. That kind of money will be hard if not impossible for her to raise. In any case, it will just cause people to shift away from Kazaa (which is what she used) and towards legal file-sharing alternatives such as GigaTribe. GigaTribe is legal since you only share with people you know.
While I’m quick to rant semi-coherently on the evils of the RIAA, over at Wired, the Luddite did a much better job of getting his point across (although he didn’t create a nifty chart to accompany his article).
Hmmm..I must say Scott your resasoning doesn’t sound very scientific. But, I realize it’s intended to be funny, and it is. However, if you are right it still raises the question of whether or not it is okay to steal crap. If it IS than by golly gee whiz I’ll never pay for fertilizer for my garden again! :-)
I read the Luddite article and must say I don’t think he made a credible case for his point of view. I did however get a chuckle when he called the people whom he disagrees with “greedy” while defending a person who stole a product produded by others. If taking (or for that matter wanting) something for free that others have produced is not greed I don’t know what is.
Gene
Well, as I mentioned I don’t support illegal file sharing. The point I’m trying to make is that I think the real reason CD sales are down is because of the crap music the labels are unloading on us, not because everyone and his brother is copying the music illegally.
The fact of the matter is that most artists make less than a dollar a unit on CD sales. The cost of production is not much more. So there’s a huge profit in selling CDs for upwards of $20 each, and the vast majority of that profit is split between the retailer and (even moreso) the label itself. In other words, the people getting rich (or not) off of CD sales are not the artists, but the record executives (and their witch hunting lawyers).
Recommended listening: “Have a Cigar” by Pink Floyd.
Am I advocating illegal file sharing? Again, absolutely not. What I am advocating is a new business model, and I think Radiohead is on the right track. What this lawsuit shows is how ridiculously far the record labels will go to protect their outmoded, money-grubbing enterprise. That anyone should be made to pay over $200,000 for sharing a couple dozen songs is obscene. Does that make what she did right? No. But the punishment most definitely does not fit the crime.
On a tangent, this all just makes me wonder, why are used record stores allowed to exist? The record companies don’t get a cut of those sales, and most of them have a hefty markup from the trade-in values.
I’m glad you don’t support illegal file sharing, which is nothing short of stealing. But as for your analysis of the economics of sagging CD sales I must respectfully exress my doubts. Why would a company, whose main incentive is profit, pedal crap that does not sell well? If that is what they’re doing I doubt they will be in business much longer. On the other hand, it makes perfect economic sense that if people are allowed to take a product for free few people will choose to pay for it. There may be exceptions to that rule but I hardly see a trend developing.
As for a detailed breakdown of the overhead cost of producting CDs, I don’t claim to have that knowledge. But I imagine it’s a bit more complicated that what you describe. With most goods and services there are numerous economic forces that come together to “produce” a product. Milton Friedman’s “common pencil” model comes to mind.
I have no particular liking for business people. But I don’t find their self-interest any worse than other players in this saga. “Artists” – even the relative few that can lay legitimate claim to that title – are just as self interested as the suits. And those who would steal the products or others, well, that’s about as self-interested as you can get. Say what you will about the “suits.” But at least they make their money through agreements that are entered into freely by all parties involved. If the “artists” truly believe that the suits are unfair and money grubbing and all that, I suggeset they stop doing business with them. That so many still do suggests that those companies are providing something of value.
Gene
I guess I just don’t share your faith in the inherent goodness of the free market.
The free market is not good or bad. It is simply a system in which people are allowed to associate freely. “Faith”, on the other hand, is what is required to believe that people will act contrary to human nature – paying for music that they don’t have to, for example.
In any case, don’t conclude from any of this that I don’t respect your views. I assure you I do. My views represent more of the “realist” point of view, yours the “idealist.” And I don’t say that negatively. Would you want to live in a world totaly devoid of either? And one thing I’ll be we CAN agree on is that we are fortunate to live in a time and place where we can have such discussions.
Gene
One other thing – and I suppose I should post this elsewhere – I agree with you that Fox News Channel is not fair and balanced. But I apply the same criticism to NPR and The New York Times.
I do occasionally watch “Special Report” because at the end of each show they have a round table discussion with prominent commentators from all along the political spectrum. When I see someone like Fred Barnes and Mara Liasson sitting next to each other having a civilized discussion I think maybe there is hope for the world yet.
G