[Info-vax] OT: About Digital and divisions

[seasoned_geek]

On Nov 19, 12:42 pm, John Wallace <johnwalla... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I suspect that as well as an industry standard DRM, the iTunes
> business model also offered the record industry a big enough cut to
> keep them interested. The details used to be on Tom Robinson's web
> site when he offered free download of his back catalogue. He is now on
> iTunes and the details of who gets what have gone, but this is what
> they used to be:
>
>     iTunes downloads cost 79p per track. Writer/publisher get 6p,
> Performer 6-8p, Visa/Mastercard 7p, Apple 12p, and Record Company
> almost 50p. Sod that. Help yourself to my songs & share them with your
> friends (continues)
>

What he really offered them was a chance to make money without
actually producing anything.

If you haven't heard, the major record labels have announced they are
no longer going to press CDs.  The "record it once and load it on a
server for eternal sales" business model is taking over.  It is taking
books off the shelves at book stores as well as music.  Borders didn't
put up servers in time.  Barnes & Noble managed to catch the wave.
They are now even selling downloadable audio books.

Audio books used to be massively expensive to create.  If you think
$45 for a hardcover is getting raped you should have been one of those
poor sots who had to shell out over $100 for the same title in
audiobook format.  Even when they switched from vinyl to cassette tape
to CD, per unit production was high with all of the silkscreens,
cases, inserts, media, and safety packaging.  Not anymore.  Now we
only have to pay the voice actors and production staff to make the MP3
file set and the initial loading fees for each of the retail sites.
After that, the book can generate money forever.  I may actually not
put out a print version of my next novel.  I sure as hell don't want
to put out a crummy toner printed POD version.  Both ebook and audio
allow the title to sell eternally without any additional costs.

iTunes was "successful" because it was the golden goose you only had
to feed once.

Yes, piracy still happens.  It happens more now than it ever did.  In
the USA, prison sentences are higher and there is a LOT more
enforcement.  Not too far from where I live is another podunk town
with a population of around 800 people.  The feds busted a junior
college girl in that town for piracy.  Besides a massive dollar fine,
the paper said she got 7-10.  With "good behavior" she'll be out in
7.  Truth be told, that is the SECOND bust they made in that area.
The dude who got caught within the same year was stupid enough to have
his smoldering ash pipe sitting on the table when the feds came in so
they got to search a lot more and he got a lot more time.

When it comes to honest people, most of them will shell out a dollar
to legally own a song they want as long as they can play it on any
device they want.  Less than 10% of that same group will shell out
$15+ for a CD when they only want one song.

Personally, I think iTunes really started with Tower Records.  That
chain was one of the first to let you listen to an entire album/cd
BEFORE you bought it.  This slaughtered album sales because people
found out before they bought an album it was one song with a lot of
filler cuts.  Since the industry and most people had abandoned 45's,
there wasn't a legal method for customers to buy "just the song they
wanted".