The following comments were submitted to The Tripwire by Matthew Fuggi (WHCN) regarding Wednesday’s RIAA Downloading Crackdown story:
Why are record sales down? Overhyped crappy artists and overpriced CDs, not
internet file sharing. File sharing has actually probably had the opposite
effect on the music industry by exposing people to new artists that they
normally wouldn’t drop the 16 bucks to listen to. Without file sharing, the
record industry would probably be in an even worse slump than it actually
is.
But the record industry needs an easy scapegoat, and instead of
embracing this new distribution method and utilizing its potential to
promote a wide array of new artists, they’ve done the opposite. Where’s the
website where labels offer free high quality downloads to promote their
artists? Where can I get a new album downloaded for under $5 (no packaging,
no CD, and very little overhead – it’s almost pure profit!)? Labels are
cutting costs and cutting artists, while Clear Channel has a virtual monopoly
on radio to ensure that only bands who’ll play their venues and their free
concerts and have major record label backing to get played. We’ll see what
happens if the RIAA gets their way on peer to peer file sharing. I predict
it will make things even worse.
Source: The Tripwire
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