Bon Jovi Tries New Approach To Fight Piracy 516
Dudio writes "80s-era rock band Bon Jovi is taking a novel approach to fighting piracy of their upcoming album, Bounce. Retail CDs will be distributed with a unique serial number with which the purchaser can register in order to receive such exclusives as prioritized concert ticket purchases and unreleased music. Finally, somebody in the entertainment industry is attempting to adapt to the changing market rather than rushing to protect an outdated business model." All Bon Jovi jokes aside, it is nice to see a fresh approach.
Good Job! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Good Job! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Good Job! (Score:5, Interesting)
The Nature of Demand
It seems to me one of the key problems facing the music industry in the
digital age is the "commodity" approach to marketing music. Who was the
genius that first determined that the real product is a piece of plastic?
When I buy a CD, it's not because I simply want to be able to play the music
at my leisure. At the core of every music purchase is a connection between
the artist and the consumer. For some, it's an association of ideals. For
others, it may be image, lust, identity, craft or a myriad of other
possibilities. This is the real nature of demand in this business and it's
being completely ignored under the current model.
Pissing Off the Consumer
This whole idea came to me as I was driving to work one day listening to
"Celebrity Skin." I'm on my third copy now and it irks my hide a little each
time I buy a CD that I have previously owned. Especially considering the
fact that I know so little money is going to the artist.
Why can't I just buy personal rights to the piece of work and pay a media
fee for whatever form of media I choose as a playback device? If I lose the
CD, why can't I just pay a reasonable media fee to replace it? Why can't I
be a patron of the artist rather than a consumer of plastic? The value of a
CD is in the beauty of the work, not in its physical manifestation.
In a Perfect World
I'd pay $25 bucks for a CD. It would come with a serial number. I'd go to a
Web site managed by the artist or their representatives and register. Once
registered, I'd be able to download the CD in MP3 format. Maybe I'd get
access to a couple of bonus tracks as well. Maybe I'd like a second copy of
the CD or a tape for my car. I'd be able to buy a second copy for 5-7 bucks.
Call it a media fee.
A Different Approach
Now here's the real power of this model. Now that I've registered, the
artist can send me an email telling me about what's going on in their
creative life every now and then. Maybe I'd be able to get an early copy of
the next album in MP3 format for pre-ordering. Maybe the artist could send
me a link to some live tracks from concerts or some things they have been
playing around with in the studio between major releases. Maybe they could
point me to a couple of older albums I might be interested in. Maybe once I
have purchased the rights to three albums I would achieve "distinguished
patron" status that allows me special access to other material. That's
value. Now I feel like I have a relationship with the artist. Now I feel
like a patron who helps support the artist so they can spend their time
working on their art. Now the artist has a direct way to build a
relationship with me the fan. Foster that relationship and the artist is
meeting the real demand of a music consumer.
Maybe when the artist comes to town, they can put on a special show at a
small venue for "distinguished patrons." I think a show like this would be
good for the artist and the patron. The artist would know they are
performing for a select group that appreciates their craft and has shown it
by supporting them. The patron gets to see his or her favorite artist up
close and personal. The patron would be willing to pay a higher price as
well. The next day, maybe a special commerative t-shirt would be available
at the web site when the patron logs in.
Also, think about how valuable the database would be.
Watch the Money Roll In
So under this scenario, I'd probably spend at least a couple hundred bucks
with an artist. Under the current model, I might have shelled out $100 for a
CD and a couple of concert tickets. Why allow labels to take so much money
for "managing" the artist, when what they really should be doing is managing
the relationship with between the artist and the patron? The marketing
potential under this model is a no brainer. Some might abuse it, some might
manage it well. At the end of the day, it's the relationship that counts.
Piss off your registered fan base with a load of spam and chances are the
fan won't cough up any more dough. Provide a real value to registering and
watch the money roll in. The better an artist manages the relationship, the
more money they make. Make the management earn their keep for a change.
This Kills the Napter Problem
Piracy will never go away. Instead of trying to limit access to an artist's
work, why not take a different approach... provide real value for paying for
the work. Why would I spend hours trolling Napster for bad MP3's encoded at
different bit rates and labeled with no common format when I can just buy
the CD and have access to clean copies encoded at a high bit rate for my
desktop machine and maybe another set encoded at a low bit rate for my car
or portable player? Napster's cool, but face it, it's still a
pain-in-the-ass. Today's average MP3 collection is a sloppy mess. Why would
I pirate when buying the work and registering offers me real value? Sure
some people will pirate. Face it folks, it's going to happen no matter what.
The loss from piracy would be more than covered by the additional revenue.
This would also go a long way to killing the demand for used CD's.
Eviscerate The Damn Middlemen
I'm offended that the record companies skim off such a disproportionate
amount of income from the process compared to the value they inject into the
transaction. They get away with it because they control the distribution
channel. That control is dying and all the industry seems to want to do is
come up with another way to protect it. Wake up! Fans are pissed off.
Artists are pissed off. Everyone is sick and tired of paying twenty bucks
for a CD and knowing that the artist only ends up with a buck or two. That's
why everyone is sucking songs off of Napster. We're all tired of feeding
your machine. Let go and start fresh. Didn't most people in the business get
into management or promotion or whatever because they loved music? Wouldn't
it be nice to get back to that rather than working in a system that is
basically a leech feeding upon both artist and consumer?
Someday Soon
An new act is going to make it big direct. No label. No management. No
distribution deal. Self-financed. Self-promoted. Self-Published. Another
possibility is a major act going direct successfully. The day is coming soon
and when it happens, a lot of people in this business are going to face a
rude wake-up call. Why not make a deal now while you still have a chance?
Re:Good Job! (Score:5, Insightful)
If it fails, they made shitty music which wasn't marketed well.
If it succeeds, its due to better music and perhaps the added incentive of the aforementioned offer.
Marketing world -
If it fails, its due to blatant piracy
If it succeeds, it didn't succeed enough. Piracy was still rampant.
Re:Good Job! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Don't you guys get it? (Score:2)
Bon Jovi doesn't appreciate the fact that people would steal his music, so he's pandering to those who would consider it. This is why I think that even if the business model changed, pirated music would be every bit as much a problem as it is today. The RIAA is used as a scapegoat to justify theft, even if it's against the wishes of an artist that so many 'fans' claim to support.
Re:One more time.... (Score:3)
What will they blame it on when this doesn't sell? (Score:3, Funny)
Or will they go down in a blaze of glory?
Amen to that (Score:2)
The guy downloading it for free probably wouldn't buy it in the first place, much less go to a concert.
Some people do illegal things just because they can.
Side note: That flag in my back pocket thing Sambora did was in bad taste.
Re:Amen to that (Score:2)
Re:Amen to that (Score:5, Interesting)
Of course. But I think a better point is that someone in the industry is realising that the real money maker will NOT be CDs in the coming years. They are starting to cultivate the market for concerts instead. This priority ticket purchasing with CDs would probably cause people who would never have considered going to concerts to buy concert tickets.
And live concerts, I do believe, will be the real money makers in the future as opposed to CD sales.
THANK YOU Bon Jovi et al for rewarding purchases of the CD with real perks, as opposed to assuming the purchase is a copyright infringement waiting to happen.
Re:Amen to that (Score:2)
Tim
Re:Amen to that (Score:3, Insightful)
What you're paying for is the probably 50+ YEARS total practice, training, shitty unpaid gigs, rehearsal, and the honing of the individual artists' skills, all of which together have created a band which you want to go and see. The three hours is the time your butt is in the seat, not the "working".
Re:Amen to that (Score:2)
I have downloaded music, then gone and bought the CD.
I have also downloaded music, then dleted it because I didn't enjoy it.
ON an unrelated note, can somebody please tell me who I need to contact so that
Combatting piracy? I don't think so... (Score:4, Interesting)
Sounds like a great idea... Do something where people want to buy your CD more than trying to make it impossible for them to copy it.
I hope it works for him.
Re:Combatting piracy? I don't think so... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Combatting piracy? I don't think so... (Score:2, Insightful)
So the people who bought the CD could trade those as well?
Re:Combatting piracy? I don't think so... (Score:2, Informative)
It was nicely done, but they tried to make the player too hip/unusable for my tastes.
It's Direct Marketing just for a "live chat"! (Score:3, Interesting)
This isn't JUST to combat piracy, but they are collecting more detailed marketing information, such that in the future it will be easier for sales to hit their target without "wasting" money on promo's that don't work; be they airplay at the wrong time, or video exposure on VH1...
SO let me get thsi straight: I pay money, I sign up online, they get a WHOLE lot of personal data (I wonder if they ask for household income?), and I get a newsletter and maybe the chance to talk to the band and maybe a first crack at buying over-priced concert tickets at an arena where the pre-selected seats are all nose-bleeders?
SIGN ME UP!
Re:It's Direct Marketing just for a "live chat"! (Score:3, Insightful)
Enforcement through perks is always better than enforcement through military tactics. Rather, I should say it works more efficiently without as much controversy.
It may not be perfect, but its a step in the right direction. If nothing else, it does cut down on the backlash. And lord knows, you get the RIAA and anyone else in a screaming match, you might as well be back in third grade. Nothing productive truly comes from backlash, aside from the obvious statement that people are pissed off. We already know that. So steps like this need to be made in order to find the most widely selected solution.
This sure beats extra-cost fan clubs. (Score:4, Insightful)
At the beginning of the decade, they were asking some amount for lifetime membership in their fanclub. I don't remember the amount, but it was between $15 and $35. Got you a bunch of stickers, a newsletter, etc.
By the end of the decade, they were asking around $35 a year for a glossy magazine-style newsletter, preferential ticket sales, and backstage potential. (They were also selling 1/10th the albums.)
Doing it this way makes a lot of sense to me. Instead of charging extra to join the fanclub, put those unique codes on everything, and let folks punch in codes for everything they buy. Bought the CD? Yeah, we can hook you up with good seats at a good price. Bought the last five CD's, plus posters, videos and t-shirts? Front row center, baby!
Reward the folks who are dedicated to you, and all that stuff.
Re:Combatting piracy? I don't think so... (Score:2)
If someone really enjoys Bon Jovi or and they also enjoy but they are short on budget, then it may come down to getting the one with the extras. Or maybe they'll decide that they'd rather get both and forego a few Happy Meals.
If a CD provides more than just music, then there's more incentive to buy the CD than just Kazaa it.
Bon Jovi??? (Score:3, Funny)
Never heard of him.
Re:Bon Jovi??? (Score:2)
Re:Bon Jovi??? (Score:2)
Unreleased Music?!? (Score:5, Insightful)
Um, yeah. Unreleased until it's released to the paying customers, who then pass it off to the non-paying "customers." The prioritized ticket thing, on the other hand, actually makes sense.
Re:Unreleased Music?!? (Score:3, Funny)
I'd be all excited about an unreleased single from Pink Floyd...but, Bon Jovi?
What, are they going to remix "Living on a Prayer"?
And now, the previously unreleased version of "Living on a Prayer", with Busta Rhymes singing backup.
Please.
Re:Unreleased Music?!? (Score:2, Funny)
I thought the deaf lucky enough just by not having to hear JBJ.
Re:Unreleased Music?!? (Score:2)
Nice idea but i doubt it'll work (Score:2)
It's a step in the right direction, but doesn't seem like a very big one.
Why not just make the cd cost $5 instead!?
huh? (Score:5, Funny)
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog: Bon Jovi you are filming a new vampire movie, yes?
Bon Jovi: Yes I am...
Triumph: At last a role that requires you to suck...
hah (Score:2)
Re:hah (Score:2)
Tim
Back to the 70s (Score:5, Interesting)
Dark Side of the Moon was a top 40 record for five years running.
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
I still get TCH flashbacks from hearing any song off that album. :-)
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
Wow, you must have inhaled
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
(chong):I think we're parked man.
Not just a movie, words to live by! Who needs to see through the windscreen?
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
TCH...is that anything like LDS [imdb.com]?
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
Yea, LDS, whatever. No fsking sense of ha ha have you, young grasshopper?
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
Lyrics (of course more than 50% of the bands today don't write their own music or lyrics, so they couldn't add lyrics to their insert) and artwork and photos, etc... adorned almost every album from the early Beatles to the last Zeppelin album. Original artwork, reproduced works...
It would be nice to get more than 12 songs on a shiny disc for $18.99.
I suspect if bands began adding inserts, posters, registration numbers for concert tickets, anything really, people would be a little more motivated to "PURCHASE" albums, rather than downloading. However, there are still those people who (rightfully in my view) refuse to pay $18.99 for something that isn't worth more than $10. So, Napster-like services will remain extremely popular.
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
a) "Dark Side of the Moon" would be published today.
b) Pink Floyd would be signed by a major label today.
I'd like an original "Wish You Were Here" with the nifty black cellophane cover.
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
They weren't top 40 but it wasn't from piracy I am sure
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:2)
I can say that about _nothing_ today. What artist puts out masterfuly crafted albums of songs that explore the human condition? No, today music labels push music that fits a particular market and is bland enough within that market to keep everyone from thinking too much about who's feeding it to them.
Just do yourself a favor and stop listening.
Go back and buy some strange stuff from the 60s or 70s at a used music store. Find a seller on the net who can get you things from the music scenes in other countries (a friend of mine points out that 1960s south-american psych-pop is awesome stuff).
The world is your musical oyster, grab the horseradish and let it slide!
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:3, Insightful)
Every single one of Tool's albums (with the sole exception of Opiate - it's more of a "garage" album) is masterfully produced and explores some very deep topics - Jungian "breaking through" and connecting with the Freudian alter-ego in AEnima, and dealing with prison rape in Undertow. Much of what you've said applies directly to Tool's music - regardless of musical taste (it may be a little "heavy metal" for some) it's amazing work, all of it.
While they're becoming more and more of a commercial success, Tool is still one of the best bands around. And they're coming to Tallahassee Nov. 7! w00t! (Sorry, I degress...)
Brandon
Re:Back to the 70s (Score:3, Insightful)
- Include baby baby 10x in each song
- Take the good ol' I love you and I want you back theme, stir a bit, remix...
- Color your hair, put a lot of gel in there and shake well.
- Travel almost undress, thus revealing your new 100% remolded boobs (or totally fake skin tan)
- Move your back a lot
- Find a kewl nick-name
obligatory... - ??? - succeedddd!!!!
Now, why are people not buying albums anymore?!?
Plastikman (Score:2)
and Plastikman's "Sheet One" album came with a (dud) sheet of acid
Aside (Score:5, Funny)
Holograms next... (Score:2)
I wonder if we will start seeing something like the hologram certificates that came with windows install CDs, or maybe even the new holographic CDs themselves.
Eventually, one could just buy a site license for a particular artist's music, and receive upgrades for a nominal charge. Of course, if you buy a new CD player (or equivalent), you'll have to re-register.
All kidding aside, this sounds like an interesting idea (whether BJ is first with or not) and I hope similar creative ideas become popular over the more draconian RIAA plans we've been hearing about.
If only... (Score:2)
I bought this CD for-
[ ] the music
[ ] the principle
Re:If only... (Score:5, Funny)
[ ] the music
[ ] the principle
Just remember, even if you do buy the Bon Jovi CD on principle, your friends will still lose respect for you.
"I bought it for the principle!" just doesn't sound right.
In other news, Kenny G announced his new piracy-defeating measures by releasing another CD. His plans entail marketing only to the over-80 market, who still call computers televisions. In a recent interview, he seemed very excited to demonstrate that piracy only affects good musicians. When asked about Bon Jovi, Kenny G said they were planning a duet in which would be titled, "Kenny G and Bon Jovi: A tribute to the corpses who used to listen to us" and marketed under the pretense of expected zero piracy.
-1 OT Bon Jovi Joke (It had to be done) (Score:5, Funny)
The first one tells her friends, "My son is a priest. When he walks into room, everyone calls him 'Father.'"
The second Catholic woman chirps, "Well, my son is a bishop. Whenever he walks into a room, people say 'Your Grace'."
The third Catholic woman says smugly, "Well, not to put you down, but MY son is a Cardinal. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, 'Your Eminence'."
The fourth Catholic woman sips her coffee in silence. The first three women give her this subtle Well . . . ?
Mrs. B. replies, "My son is Jon Bon Jovi. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, "Oh my God. .
Well, this is new, and possibly not bad (Score:2)
In this instance, someone pays for the real goodies (as in, stuff you can actually fold in your wallet!), and basically gets an official CD as a complement. Sounds like a good new business model for years to come.
Been Done. (Score:5, Informative)
If you're going to pay the $$$ for an album, you might as well get something bonus for it. An excellent album by the way. I never purchase an album that I don't like at least 4 songs from; and those are few and far between.
serialz (Score:4, Funny)
They won't need many serial numbers (Score:3, Funny)
Re:They won't need many serial numbers (Score:2, Funny)
give this guy some karma!
Moby Method (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, we ARE talking about Bon Jovi here.
I only see one problem with this... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I only see one problem with this... (Score:3)
I'll apologize if you also apologize for the fact that you still have to order Canadian Bacon in Canada instead of just bacon.
I hope he doesn't get (Score:2)
Sorry folks. I'll be here all week.
Re:I hope he doesn't get (Score:2, Funny)
Daft Punk (Score:2)
Really kool stuff...
I think it said "Daft Club" on it.
Resale (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Resale (Score:2)
stoopod spelling Nazi.
Re:Resale (Score:2)
I just see some potential abuse, is all.
so what? (Score:2)
Pirating CDs is good for the band, because you get to like the music and go to their concerts
when and if they visit your stomping grounds.
You go to concert, buy a shirt or two, and band
gets rich from you liking the music that way.
If you buy CDs, unless they are by Michael Jackson and alike, the rich part goes to RIAA
friends, and jack squat to artists.
Not exactly a novel approach.... (Score:2, Redundant)
It wasn't exactly advanced tickets, but it was something that you could only get with the purchase of the cd. And I wish more artist and record labels would move in this direction instead of worrying about something that is in reality helping their sales.
Free Stuff (Score:2)
Imagin that.
Value-Added (Score:5, Interesting)
Hopefully, this will do well and maybe the industry will begin looking at alternative ideas, those that benefit the customer, rather than punishing, to combat piracy.
Then again pigs may fly over my house...
Re:Value-Added (Score:2)
I don't get it. (Score:2)
Isn't like like registering a piece of software so you can recieve technical support and advanced information on new features and upgrades?
What on earth does this have to do with piracy?
Don't care for the music but like the guy (Score:4, Interesting)
Another reason to like him is he married his high school sweetheart and stayed married through the rise and fall and so far for his second trip up the success ladder.
Anyway this seems like the kind of thing a real musician would do for his fans. Certainly not the lawsuit slinging behavior some other hair metal rockstars have shown their fans.
hmmm (Score:2)
although after seeing jon bon jovi's interview on leno a while after he was on ally mcbeal - the guy is an absolute moron. self centered over the hill idiot.
so its safe to say that this is *not* jon bon jovi's idea - and I would like to give credit to the person who came up with this plan.
but seeing as how jon bon jovi is (as previously stated) a fool - I wonder what the hidden catches are.
Hey jon bon jovi - you're not a rock star (as you said way too many times in your leno interview) you're a has been that has been sold a novel idea on the release of your(?) new CD.
real musicians actually write all their own stuff - which is rare in the industry these days.
Hey! C4n 50m3ne m41L m3 thE K3yG3N? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hey! C4n 50m3ne m41L m3 thE K3yG3N? (Score:2)
It wouldn't be that hard to generate a valid #: Start with 0000000000000001, then 0000000000000011, then 0000000000000010, then 0000000000000111, then 0000000000000110, and so on. I bet you crack it within an hour. =)
ban jovi (Score:4, Interesting)
why not pass on bon jovi and go for the much cooler 5 piece banjo ensemble ban jovi?
can't find a website for these guys, but here's a place [carbonrecords.com]where you can buy their cd
no real affiliation to th band in question - just heard them play once at an underground music festival in taiwan (they are american)
Great, just great (Score:2)
Make up your minds already!
Counting Crows are doing the same thing (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Counting Crows are doing the same thing (Score:2)
"Get something by purchasing our album, that you couldn't possibly get by downloading."
The music industry sees downloading as a "problem," when in fact they should see (treat) it as competition. If the industry stepped up and spent half of the money they spend "combating" Napster sites on adding value to albums (in the form of posters, liner notes, inserts, giveaways, etc...) they might see a distinct change in consumer attitudes toward downloading.
Re:Counting Crows are doing the same thing (Score:3, Interesting)
Prince sorta kinda does this. (Score:2)
you can pay a anual fee for access to teh site that has interview concert tickets, unreleased music. If this concept was implimented like BonJovi has I think it woudl work. The serial number gives you an exclusive access to the site ( it would finally justify the cost of CD's) then fans could get access to exclusive offerengs thus bring the artists and fan closer. Almost makes me wish I thought of it.
the Tragically Hip has done this before (Score:2, Redundant)
This could only work for bigger acts? Ask /. ! (Score:2)
Pehaps this could be submitted as an 'ask slashdot' (and promptly rejected), but what could a smaller band do to promote CD's in the face of file sharing? An old band I was in made little refrigerator magnets (by hand with markers!) for anyone who came to a show. What is something that is cheap and scalable, includeable in a cd, yet adds value (assuming the music doesn't suck :) to a CD purchase?
What you you want to see?
Building one hell of a mailing list (Score:2)
Piracy is a foregone conclusion BUT this offers (Score:3, Interesting)
While this is a change in the business model and an encouraging trend, what can be done to give the artist their due (and screw what the RIAA and the other fascists want,) on the most widely downloaded mode which is on a song-by-song basis?
The album as a unit is an inadequate concept. Does anybody remember buying 45s for a buck? Even then the B sides were mostly trash. (Okay some was fun trash but NOBODY in their right mind would pay for "My Name Is Jack" or some Sam The Sham & The Pharoes B-Sides.)
People get captured by a just part of a song. (I blame television for reducing the attention span of the average American to the life expectancy of a fly in a bowl of lava, but that's just me.)
Billy Idol owes his entire career to the way he said the words "White Wedding". People who loved Bruce Springstein's "Born In The USA" never listened to more of the song than the title.
There are no more "theme" albums. That crap went out with "Tommy."
We have GOT to come up with some way for bands, not the fuckin' xxAAs either, THE BANDS, to make dough a song at a time or else we're going to be listening to car horns at a traffic light or whatever homogenized pap the tone-deaf accountants at the big five are pushing that week.
Maybe a new music format (MPX) capable of including "PayPal" payment info so the band get some dough with every 'Net download.
Something for God's sake
A little different from fighting piracy IMHO (Score:5, Interesting)
While I'm sure tactics like this are advertised as anti-piracy measures, I'm excited about this as a sales technique. The online community(slashdot especially) has been talking for quite some time about the relative value of copyright when it comes to music recordings. A very common response has been one which suggests that in order to assure sales, a retailer/merchant/distributor/manufacturer needs to give a prospective buyer a good reason to purchase.
The traditional extension to that idea I've come across here is that in most transactions the consumer is paying for a service rendered. For example, a new car was built by a factory and an ordinary consumer cannot make his own. Same goes for computer parts, TVs, and many types of clothes. The consumer has discovered, through the advent of consumer digital media devices(esp computers), that the act of taking an existing digital audio recording and duplicating it is trivial and practically mundane. The artist(who only has to record the album once) does a lot more work than the record company copying it, particularly within the boundries of the insane amount of elbow grease that goes into writing/recording/touring.
You may think Bon Jovi is the lamest crap on earth, but in my opinion this strategy not only sounds like an effective solution but a vote of confidence for consumers. For once a recording institution is admitting that it needs to work to keep it's customers loyal instead of the other way around.
Bon Jovi is going (Score:2)
When ask why, his Parrot said "SQUAWK!"
Tough decision (Score:2)
CD file sharing and piracy (Score:5, Insightful)
Music has been broadcast over the airwaves for years and years and then some more years. For most of those years, there has existed the technology to copy those songs onto cassette tapes and other mediums and listen to those songs at a later time; and numerous times.
Growing up, I always recorded my favorite songs off the radio; and I believe, just like recording a TV show, it was perfectly fine for me to do so. In fact, wasn't it Sony, one of the companies that is now whining about music sharing, that sold me the ability to record radio broadcasts? Why, I believe it was!
Since the radio reaches nearly every corner of our country and nearly everone owns the technology to record that music, I don't see a difference between that and sharing an mp3 file with your friends, other than you get to cut out the retarded DJ who always talks over the song like some dimwit fart.
A couple more interesting things to note, in Japan, they have stores that will rent you CDs, for a couple hundred yen, in much the same way American's rent VHS and DVD movies. Those same stores also sell very specialized cassette tapes so you can record the CD instead of having to pay around $30.00 for it. Since the stores are not owned by the record companies, I don't see a difference between this and sharing mp3s with your friends (other than you've cut out the middle man).
Also, you most public libraries will loan you music CDs for free.
On the otherhand, software has NEVER been broadcast over public airwaves or freely distributed in your public library. Nor are there stores that will rent you software and then the media to use to copy it. Nor has the means to copy software ever been commercially provided with the copying of software being its primary marketed function.
I think that the record industry is too damn stupid to provide their customers with a product in the form their customers demand and I think they are using an apples to oranges comparison of software piracy to sharing music to force the governments to pass laws that maintain the status quo of their current, obviously undesirable, business plans.
And all of that is why I hate hearing music sharing compared to software piracy.
Re:CD file sharing and piracy (Score:3, Informative)
You'd record the part with the awful sounds on your cassette recorder, and then you could load it onto your Spectrum or C64 or MSX. Loads of fun!
A much more effective anti-piracy feature is (Score:2, Funny)
Serial Number = Watermark? (Score:3, Interesting)
Well that probably isn't the plan here, but who knows what the future will hole.
Whoa... (Score:3, Funny)
Toad the Wet Sprocket Did this 5 Years ago (Score:4, Interesting)
The result: my brother and sister and I bought four copies for the three of us and a friend we would take to the concert. Ticket prices were usually well above the $12.99 promo price for the CD. Even though I had access to a burner and blank CDs cheaply, it simply didn't make sense NOT to buy the CDs with the ticket incentive. The multimedia was nice, too.
d00d! i needz bon jovi serialz! (Score:3, Funny)
-gerbik
Somebody is finally in tune... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's not just about fighting piracy. (Score:3, Interesting)
Working in a promotional company has exposed me to a fair bit of how marketing and sales operate, and "new and innovative" is what every client always wants, no matter how much or how little they're willing to pay for the resulting premiums (ie. toys) or services.
Most of you would be physically sick if you saw some of the promotions that are being planned in the name of kids (and their parents) maintaining the market share of certain fast food and cereal companies. Sony Ericsson phones and POX were advertised in unique and innocuous ways that increased their "cool" factor.
These promotions are ways to add perceived value to a product, which are a big part of increasing sales. We all complain about the price of CDs, whether we choose to buy them or not. Don't you think it's about time we started to at least feel like we got more value out of them?
People who solely download music are being conceited if they think approaches like this have been generated in direct retaliation to piracy. It may be one of many reasons to carry out a promotion like this, but gathering valuable market research data and generating sales full stop are far more lucrative reasons to do it.
(Regarding market research: a large company will probably keep your under lock and key for themselves so they know how to target future promotions. A company that provides free services is far more likely to sell information about you to others without asking you.)
All that said, the first value-added CD I ever bought was a Pitch Shifter album. Not only did it have two small multimedia clips on it, the last two tracks of the album were made up of royalty-free samples they'd created of the album itself. They were full stereo, neatly separated, there to be ripped and used however the buyer pleased. The only "condition" of their use was that you sent the band what you'd done with it later. I think I bought it in about 1995...
Re:Congrats (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:How does this fight piracy? (Score:2)
Curing the problem, not the symptoms. (Score:5, Insightful)
Sympton: People pirate the music instead.
Solution: Add value to the CD that makes people more willing to buy it.
The RIAA in the past has been trying to cure the symptoms, without attacking the core problem. This is a MAJOR step in the right direction.