"Why Steve Jobs Is Not A Saint" is the title of a recent piece by Alexander Billet of Dissident Voice, on how iPod technology has changed the musical recording industry.
"[A] little less than a decade ago, the idea of an mp3 had record execs shaking in their Pradas. The minute Napster came to everyone’s attention, groups like the RIAA screamed bloody murder, claiming that downloading would take money from hardworking artists; a laughable notion coming from an industry that is only willing to pony up 15% of each album sale. What scared the stuffed suits the most was the idea that artists and fans might have a forum to share their work without the say-so of corporate greed."
It gets better.
Billet is on to something, and not just the conventional notion that Jobs is more of a marketing genius than he is a techno-wizard. Most recording artists are lucky to see a dollar for every compact disc that is sold. By dealing directly with the consumer from their own website, the playing field is radically altered. They might end up commanding a larger share. Many of them are, especially in the niche genres like bluegrass or Celtic, are not necessarily getting rich in this line of work. I know this, because I know some of those guys.
Chains like Tower Records were bound to go down the tubes as a result of this. But bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders will likely retain their foray into the recordings market for the foreseeable future, having succeeded in marketing to the specialty label audiences -- classical, folk, jazz, opera -- the kind of people who like to read the liner notes and the little booklets that come with the disc cases.
It is now up to guys like me, to figure out where they're going to store over a thousand recordings, whether as compact disc, audio tape, or good old-fashioned vinyl.
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