Techdirt: CDs Have Another Thing To Fear: Vinyl?
OK, now this is getting ridiculous. Music is not a physical thing, its a concept conveyed by product, whatever form that is. Vinyl, CD, USB card, a redeemable code, a DVD, Bluray or a gramophone cylinder.
Ethan,
How do you reconcile this view with the RIAA, MPAA, or Apple’s stance in relation to DRM?
Am I buying the “ooncept” or the “product?”
If the “concept”, wouldn’t that allow me to transfer the “concept” to whatever “product” I choose (even beyond Apple’s 5 authorized computers? Shouldn’t I be allowed to “legally” rip a DVD to my laptop if I’ve purchased it?
As someone intimately connected to the music industry and musicians, how do you view this?
I reconcile it by servicing the artists I work to represent, not bodies that represent me. If that makes sense.
See what we did with Disturbed, Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Mudcrutch, etc.
But people like the embodiment of music, and this happens to be something that record companies can sell. CDs may be a more convenient embodiment of music, but vinyl has a lot going for it. The sleeve is bigger, so it can display more art. vinyl is special because it seems rare. And the record companies should like that they are harder to rip. But the purchaser of vinyl might not care about this, otherwise they would have purchased a CD or download, or they would get the music for free from p2p.
Music has been a physical thing for the last 50 years. Once the industry is open to newer forms of experience and abandoning the notion that non-monetized experience is not a lost sale, I think your vision of it being a concept above all else will resonate with the masses. But don’t get me wrong, I understand and respect your unique position in this space.