FARK.com: (7160278) Would your friend turn you in for illegally downloading music just to get a bounty? Recording companies are betting yes

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		Would your friend turn you in for illegally downloading music just to get a bounty? Recording companies are betting yes (torrentfreak.com)		13
		More: Obvious, major labels, civil cases, Ifpi

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2591 clicks; posted to Business » on 13 Jun 2012 at 10:37 AM | Favorite | share:

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Nhojwolfe		2012-06-14 12:12:58 AM

1 votes:

Fuggin Bizzy: Nhojwolfe: I agree to a point , Pay the people who make the music, Not someone who is making money off the back off someone who actually has talent.

Record labels provide musicians a means of distribution and marketing. In exchange, they (generally) demand the musician sign away the rights to their music. And yes, the terms are sharkish and yes record labels are notorious bastards...but they do add some value that musicians would find difficult to duplicate on their own.

Plus, I've heard this point made so many times to justify never paying for music at all that I'm always skeptical. If you're going to live shows and buying merchandise, then good on you. (As far as I know, musicians get a larger percentage of those revenues than record sales.) If you never pay anything because f*ck the man, then f*ck off.

I go to many concerts and have a few cd wallets full of cds I have bought straight from the bands themselves. I just think the music industry needs a new face. The reason you pay 15 bucks for a cd is to make some fat cat promoter rich. The band its self gets like 2 cents off the cd. I would like to see bands in the music industry make it off merit and talent. I mean we have "pop stars" that have made it big off some glorified karaoke contest.

dickfreckle		2012-06-13 07:29:29 PM

1 votes:

Nhojwolfe: There is no need for record companys anymore.
There are too many ways to get music out and the idea of a talentless drone telling us who we should listen to days are nearly over.

I will enjoy watching the record companys disapear one by one.

Yup. I look at my music collection these days in comparison to what I listened to growing up. Back then, you listened to the radio, watched videos on MTV, or took advice from your friends. That was it - that was how you discovered tunes. Even Rolling Stone only covered so many albums per month, and of course you couldn't sample them before dumping $15 on a disc that might suck.

These days, websites automatically suggest 10 other albums that may interest you, based on the one you just downloaded. Of course it's not always accurate (tastes being subjective) but my collection is probably 65% artists I never, ever would have been exposed to in the days of record companies dictating culture. And I think that's farking great. It also bodes well for artists - these days you can actually make a decent living playing shows to people who would have otherwise never heard of you had the old hierarchy of distribution still been in place. You can survive on your own promotion.

In short, the big companies serve very little purpose now, outside of over-saturating us with Kanye (et al) promotion. The world is full of great music that more people can hear, and now is a damn good time to be alive!

Satanic_Hamster		2012-06-13 03:50:06 PM

1 votes:

thurstonxhowell: That's not what the article says at all. The closest it comes to saying that is here:

In addition to using Google to search forums, blogs and cyberlockers for infringements, Peter and his colleagues also engage in the most controversial anti-piracy work - tracking down file-sharers on P2P networks such as BitTorrent in order to extract cash settlements from them.

Hiring strangers to track you down is a completely different thing from offering bounties to your friends to turn you in.

And the stupid thing is the targets; going after the downloaders. If you were serious about stopping pirates, you'd go after the uploaders and the torrent hosts.

Ham Sandvich		2012-06-13 03:47:53 PM

1 votes:

Aamelrons:
I think you underestimate the amount of research required to find gigs in cities you've never been to, or the amount of effort to reward for viral marketing in most cases.

I won't deny that I was talking out my of ass at the end there.

As much as it boggles my mind, Radio still generates numbers. When the groups I work with promote and plan an event, you can have 3000+ (that actually live in the city) say they are going to attend an event, and end up with 500-800.

While same caliber event with same general line up, not a lot of online marketing but play advertisements on the radio a week before? 2000+ plus. The problem is, unless you are part of an organization that can buy chunks of radio airtime at a cheap discount from clear channel, the prices are really expensive in comparison to everything else.

But, still we agree. The only things left are tours and advertising. Like someone else said, hire a PR-type firm to push marketing, set up tours and skip the label entirely.

Honestly, if I had any money I would start a business right now on that model. There's a whole lot of market share waiting to be taken from the big boys.

ha-ha-guy		2012-06-13 12:27:08 PM

1 votes:

Ham Sandvich: The only thing I can think of is advertising and smoothing over tours. A bit of viral marketing can be done cheap and if the stuff is good, it'll catch anyway. A tour van/bus plus hotels and merchandise can be pricey. Setting up a tour really just takes time and lots of phone calls/emails. That can be done by one competent, organised person.

The new model is likely you just hire a PR firm to get you going for the first couple albums.

You as a band:

1. Cobble together a website from a CMS, not that hard.
2. Upload your first demo album onto YouTube and link to it
3. Get your work on iTunes/Amazon/Google Music

Basically you just need to hire a social media expert to pound sand and get you some exposure on some top music blogs or the like. Also maybe to get you first gigs at venues that support more indie themes. After you blow up enough to get your own Twitter/Tumblr/whatever account enough followers you don't need the PR firm anymore. You can run your own Kickstarters to fund tours or network directly with venues.

Be an interesting business idea for Kickstarter. Set up a page saying "Hey we want to pay a show in City X and need Y dollars to book the place." Then use Kickstarter to presell tickets basically. If you don't hit the goal, no one gets charged and you just don't play there. You'd just need a following and some guys to promote you locally.

Aamelrons		2012-06-13 12:16:16 PM

1 votes:

Ham Sandvich: Nhojwolfe: There is no need for record companys anymore.
There are too many ways to get music out and the idea of a talentless drone telling us who we should listen to days are nearly over.

I will enjoy watching the record companys disapear one by one.

Lets see.

No need for major labels to hook up artists with studios/producers anymore. With cheap, digital recording equipment almost anyone can put out a demo. It doesn't take much more than a few hundred bucks and a bit of know-how to make it sound good enough, almost professional.

No need for major labels to distribute anymore. iTunes, Amazon, etc let independents and small labels sell through their giant digital stores. Most people will opt to skip the middle man and get more money out of it.

The only thing I can think of is advertising and smoothing over tours. A bit of viral marketing can be done cheap and if the stuff is good, it'll catch anyway. A tour van/bus plus hotels and merchandise can be pricey. Setting up a tour really just takes time and lots of phone calls/emails. That can be done by one competent, organised person.

That's two major pillars of their business chopped off by technology and the other bits eroded.

I think you underestimate the amount of research required to find gigs in cities you've never been to, or the amount of effort to reward for viral marketing in most cases.

As much as it boggles my mind, Radio still generates numbers. When the groups I work with promote and plan an event, you can have 3000+ (that actually live in the city) say they are going to attend an event, and end up with 500-800.

While same caliber event with same general line up, not a lot of online marketing but play advertisements on the radio a week before? 2000+ plus. The problem is, unless you are part of an organization that can buy chunks of radio airtime at a cheap discount from clear channel, the prices are really expensive in comparison to everything else.

limeyfellow		2012-06-13 12:13:21 PM

1 votes:

So can we start turning in record bosses for the bounty for everything illegal they use?

Nhojwolfe		2012-06-13 11:41:38 AM

1 votes:

Fuggin Bizzy: Solution: pay for music you want to own. Use MySpace or your favorite band's website if you want to listen for free.

Just in case not everyone brought their copy of the script today, this is where the rest of you jump on me for being a RIAA shill.

/Nothing in life is free - even if the seller is an asshole.

I agree to a point , Pay the people who make the music, Not someone who is making money off the back off someone who actually has talent.

Nhojwolfe		2012-06-13 11:38:51 AM

1 votes:

There is no need for record companys anymore.
There are too many ways to get music out and the idea of a talentless drone telling us who we should listen to days are nearly over.

I will enjoy watching the record companys disapear one by one.

dr.zaeus		2012-06-13 11:23:58 AM

1 votes:

thurstonxhowell: That's not what the article says at all. The closest it comes to saying that is here:

In addition to using Google to search forums, blogs and cyberlockers for infringements, Peter and his colleagues also engage in the most controversial anti-piracy work - tracking down file-sharers on P2P networks such as BitTorrent in order to extract cash settlements from them.

Hiring strangers to track you down is a completely different thing from offering bounties to your friends to turn you in.

Not only that, but bounties and rewards for piracy have been around for a while.

odinsposse		2012-06-13 11:01:05 AM

1 votes:

You could just submit all the names in a college student registry and retire.

Free Radical		2012-06-13 10:41:22 AM

1 votes:

I just had a vision of Dog busting down my door while my friend sitting next to me says; "Dude, I'm sorry."

thurstonxhowell		2012-06-13 10:41:00 AM

1 votes:

That's not what the article says at all. The closest it comes to saying that is here:

In addition to using Google to search forums, blogs and cyberlockers for infringements, Peter and his colleagues also engage in the most controversial anti-piracy work - tracking down file-sharers on P2P networks such as BitTorrent in order to extract cash settlements from them.

Hiring strangers to track you down is a completely different thing from offering bounties to your friends to turn you in.

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