SV: [microsound] Re: fileswapping is killing the record industry

[Janne Mårtensgård <Janne.Martensgard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Raging Consciousness Desk wrote:
> Looks to me that Alicia Keys, U2,
> Brittany and Madonna are not hurting for cash - and the 
> underground is not suffering one whit from
> lack of sales. Look for a nearly 100% sell-out rate on FAX, 
> Muslimgauze, 12K etc...
> Of course this is IMHO.

The reason FAX, 12K etc are selling out all stock is that they print only as
many albums as they anticipate being able to sell. That means extremely
limited runs. The argument that mp3:s are not hurting small labels since
they do sell all albums they press is therefore incorrect.
However, the smaller labels, especially those concentrating on "fringe"
music, are probably hurt less than the majors. This list is not at all
representative of the public at large - yes, mp3:s make us buy more albums
because we discover new music through it, yes, we mind audio quality and
yes, the music we are looking for is quite often out of print/hard to find.

To the average Britney listener this means *nothing*.
A 128kbps file is adequate enough - it will only be pumped out through
substandard stereo equipment anyway. The music the Britney listener
downloads is music we're all exposed to daily through mainstream radio and
television. The albums are readily available anywhere, so there's no need
for any album fetishization. What's more, most of the average Britney
listeners out there are teenagers, with extremely limited amounts of cash.
There's no way in hell they are going to cease copying BabyOneMoreTime.mp3
out of respect for the artist.

//j