[Ecommerce] Economist: Calling the tune

[Jeff Williams]

Thiru and all,

I could not agree more with MS's position on this. RIAA
started this whole mess and have progressively made it
worse instead of better.  So now the buying public will
seek to find other online outlets for their music entertainment
dollar.  This will not put bucks in the pockets of the
entertainment industry.

Thiru Balasubramaniam wrote:

> *
> http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3D4492917
>
> ------------------------
>
> Online music*
>
> *Calling the tune*
> Oct 6th 2005
>  From The Economist print edition
>
> *Music firms are emboldened, but risk strangling the golden goose*
>
> *Get article background*
> <http://www.economist.com/background/displayBackground.cfm?story_id=3D449=
2917>
>
> THE music business has long wailed that internet piracy is destroying
> its business. Now, it is fighting back on two fronts=97first, by driving
> illegal operators out of business; then by driving as hard a bargain as
> possible with those firms selling legal downloads. Indeed talks between
> Microsoft and the major music firms have just broken down because the
> software company thinks the music business is demanding unreasonable
> levels of royalties.
>
> Things are going better for the major record labels on other fronts.
> Last week the founder of a popular =93peer-to-peer=94 (P2P) file-sharing
> program, Sam Yagan, told a Senate committee that his company will soon
> stop operating in its current form. He explained that eDonkey=97which
> accounts for around half of all P2P traffic=97can no longer afford to
> fight the music industry in the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling in
> June against two other P2P firms, Grokster and StreamCast, which
> declared that such applications are illegal if they induce users to
> violate copyright.
>
> As expected, the music industry is now using its legal victory to hound
> commercial P2P operators out of business. Last month the music
> industry's trade body sent them threatening letters. WinMx, another P2P
> network, appears to have shut down, while eDonkey says it plans to start
> making its users pay for music. Grokster is reportedly on the verge of
> selling itself to a company called Mashboxx, which has a similar
> strategy to go legitimate. In Australia last month, a court ruled
> against Kazaa, another popular file-sharing service, and ordered it to
> use filters to stop the trading of copyrighted content.
>
> Nobody, however, including executives at the major labels, believes that
> file-sharing is defeated. When the industry forced Napster, the first
> big file-sharing network, to shut down in 2001=97it has since relaunched
> as a fee-based service=97a host of free alternatives sprang up
> immediately, and that is what will now happen again. Because of the
> Supreme Court's ruling, says Mr Yagan, the new P2P services will simply
> move offshore and underground, and will offer more anonymity. In fact,
> the Supreme Court's decision is likely to encourage a move towards free,
> =93open-source=94 P2P applications. Since they do not make money from
> advertising or bundling software, they are less vulnerable to the
> accusation that they are illegally inducing piracy for their own benefit.
>
> In the first half of this year, digital-music sales from mobile-phone
> =93ringtunes=94 and legal download services such as Apple's iTunes more t=
han
> tripled compared with last year, and now represent 6% of total music
> revenues, according to industry estimates released this week. That rapid
> growth has restored confidence to the music industry, as have its
> victories in court.
>
> So much confidence, indeed, that some of the major labels are urging
> Apple's iTunes service=97the epitome of success in online music sales so
> far=97to shift to variable (ie, higher) prices from the consistent $0.99
> per track it currently charges in America. That would be a mistake.
> Despite its rapid growth, the legal market for music on the internet is
> still in its infancy. Apple's boss, Steve Jobs, believes that higher
> prices would stifle legal sales and encourage P2P-based piracy.
> Microsoft might even deserve better treatment, too. Since the major
> labels' legal stick will never be completely effective against P2P, it
> is vital that they also offer an attractive carrot.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ecommerce mailing list
> Ecommerce@lists.essential.org
> http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/ecommerce

Regards,
--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
"Obediance of the law is the greatest freedom" -
   Abraham Lincoln

"If the probability be called P; the injury, L; and the burden, B;
liability depends upon whether B is less than L multiplied by
P: i.e., whether B is less than PL."
United States v. Carroll Towing  (159 F.2d 169 [2d Cir. 1947]
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
Updated 1/26/04
CSO/DIR. Internet Network Eng. SR. Eng. Network data security
IDNS. div. of Information Network Eng.  INEG. INC.
ABA member in good standing member ID 01257402
E-Mail jwkckid1@ix.netcom.com
 Registered Email addr with the USPS
Contact Number: 214-244-4827