The fear that drives the RIAA
Jeff Jarvis charts the ongoing decline of the newspaper business - it's been a bad week for the news business. In reading through the cuts and changes, I realized that I was reading a proxy for the fears of the RIAA (and eventually, the MPAA).
The news business is changing, due to a number of related events:
- The non-stop, 24x7 news cycle that the cable news outlets can cover
- The availability of 24x7 news online - delivered in ways that fit nearly any ideological or taste niche
Daily newspapers can't keep up with that unless they go digital - and that business is mostly ad supported (as opposed to ad and subscription supported). The music business sees that same thing coming at them - a digital juggernaught of ad-supported, no copy protection data files. The margins there are a lot lower, and (literally) thousands of the current middle men have no place in that future.
The newspapers can't fight the future with DRM and the DMCA; they have to adapt, no matter how painful and gut wrenching that adaptation is. The music business, thus far, has taken the "preserve our business model at all costs" route instead. When their fall comes, it will be all the more catastrophic for them, because they'll have been living in denial for too long.
Comments
It wil be a good day when the RIAA is dead
[] October 22, 2006 14:09:08.054
A few years back, my wife got me the Foo Fighters In Your Honor album as a Christmas present. Unfortunately, the CDs had copy protection that prevented me from listening them on my computer and from ripping mp3s. The 'warning' on the CD was in small type and barely legible. It essentially said the CD was copy protected and may not work. Wow, that is a wonderful way to market your product. Fortunately, I was able to find a very easy workaround and ripped the CDs.
But the whole thing made me mad. Why was I being treated like a criminal? What happened to fair use? What happened to making a backup? I have kids and CDs/DVDs have a habit of getting nice scratches. When a business makes it difficult for you to enjoy a product, then it is only a matter of time before that business goes under. I cannot wait for the day that the RIAA and the MPAA disband due to the lack of members. It will be a very happy day for this music and movie lover.