Would you ever pay? How much is fair?

[howlermonkey]

Most P2P freaks agree that CD prices, CD quality (too many bad tracks and bad bands) and music industry greed are the problem, and that P2P is the solution. No argument here.

But I wonder - it seems like if almost nobody pays, eventually almost nobody records. Somebody has to pay the band and the recording studios, and if consumers stop paying altogether what will happen?

What if they let us pay for just our favorite tracks? How much would be fair? Is $0.00 the only fair price?

[goweropolis]

How much would I pay? How about we go back to the days of busking and work on a donation basis? That way consumers would pay what they think the music is worth.

I think a good example of internet music sharing is the rise in live concert prices. You can't control music once it's out there, but people still want to experience music in the flesh and will pay for it, because a recording of the show just won't do it. The same with CDs, they still sell because of all the artwork and the satisfaction of supporting an artist they like.

Just some thoughts, not very well formed, oh well...

Andy

[roger d]

In one way or another we pay for everything. It is not very popular to ever admitt that you paid anything for music here on ZP. I am a collector and as such getting missing pieces is more important to me than saving money. p2p is now a important tool in that pursuit and is taking my collection to new highs. My cd burner is even more important. Music is everywhere, but many artists that I follow are not easily found even on p2p. I will buy but never 19 bucks. I go with used, loaned, d/led, or special sales from BMG or cloumbia house. I all CD's were 10 bucks new, I would be even more temped to buy retail.

[mrgone4662]

$9

[Wolfie]

The thing I do not like about buying CDs is not much the price but the selection. Out of 10 tracks I might like 5, I would more willing to pay for 5 tracks I like then buy the whole CD. Also I agree general prices of new CDs are high and not worth buying if you only spend 25 cents to get blank CD to burn.

[BloodySabbath]

The only time I can see myself paying for music is when the paid-for programs offer me something I cant already get for free.

And I dont see the RIAA getting their act together well enough to come up with a system that satisfies this requirement anytime soon.

[PatientSaint]

Like said before the problem is not only price but quality.

I am NOT going to pay 19$ for a 2 good song CD

Fair price comes with Fair quality

[mrgone4662]

to hell with 'em, I'm not buying a damn thing from any of the major labels until they straighten up their act

[SilverIce]

"if consumers stop paying altogether what will happen?"

Ah, yes.

I too once pondered this question when I begun mercilessly obtaining various forms of media by the boatloads. In answering your question, it will never happen.

What you must come to realize is that in the 21st century, the media-friendly public is divided into two sectors: The one who buys the CDs, pays for the theatre tickets, and spends cash on the game, and the other one that either monetarily can't or simply doesn't want to. So, at its core, what this society really comes down to is choice. Some choose to pay for all those things either sometimes or always and support their assigned copyright holders, developers or artists, while others also choose not to do so, for various reasons.

As long as this society remains stable (as it is now) it will be a win-win situation for all preferences, whatever they may be.

[psychotronic420]

I have a lot of friends who are musicians, and I have no problem with the artist getting paid but under the current system thats not the case and it doesn't look like that will change any time soon the Riaa and Mpaa will never voluntarily allow it, if and when the artists have complete control over their work then I wiil go back to buying market price multimedia, I follow the school of thought expressed by Rogerd purchase used, discounted or just Download the CD's
I really don't want to pay for another Riaa executives new Jaguar.

[Rickio]

I think 6 to 9 bucks is good enough. After all it was said when cd's first hit the market, they are easier and cheaper to manufacture than LP'S and Cassettes.
I am a music fan that was attracted to the net and computer because of all the music and knowledge available here. I think of the cd prices come down they will actually make more money.

I heard David Bowie the other day on TV saying he doesn't buy CD's , he gets it free off the net! He also said there is no turning back so deal with it. Musicians who love music hae to tour to make money.

The Grateful Dead were the most profitable band in history when they were around and they were firm believers in making their music free for tapers and had plenty of free concerts all the time.

[ImperialFunk]

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

The artists don't get much money from cd sales. Most of the money goes into marketing, production, and legal/corp. salaries.

Bands make their own money from touring and playing live. I'll pay $15-$30 for a live show and never sweat it because I Love live music. I won't pay more than $10 for a cd. Since cds haven't been under $10 for a really long time, I almost never buy them. When I do, I feel raped even if I do love every song on the cd.

There was a time when cds and tapes were cut to promote a band's live show. Now it's the other way around. I hear all the time how so-and-so is touring to support the cd. That is proof that the emphasis is in the wrong place.

[BookSpyder]

I'm not an active file-sharing type, but I have received mp3s from friends that prompted several CD purchases.

Part of the problem with CD sales is that the prices have been so artificially inflated by overhead for so long that any decline in sales and profits is immediately attributed to "file-swapping pirates" instead of "bloated corporate overhead".

The newly laid-off, the soon-to-be-laid off, and the haven't-worked-in-a-year unemployed are not buying 20 dollar retail CDs. If they are, they deserve to be starving and freezing in the dark.

To no one's surprise, except perhaps the RIAA, sales are down while people are being laid off, tens of thousands at a time. Free downloads of music in a p2p enviroment is the 21st century equivalent of recording a friend's house to tape an album. To deal with home-taping, the RIAA arranged to surcharge most, if not all recording media for sale to the public. Whether or not you use it to record music or anything else, the RIAA gets paid. It's a badly kept secret that the RIAA has no revenue generated outside of the surcharge and whatever piece of the pie it gets from the recording industry at large.

Look at it this way: If the RIAA had its pulse on the marketplace
and technology in the way it believes it does, it would have been better prepared for the advent of file-swapping and fair-use rights in the digital era. Would anyone take the RIAA seriously as they would like to be taken based on the number of files and songs being swapped around? Would they haved earned their money? For the RIAA, it's all about "Operation:Barn Door".

The only way to get CD sales to bounce back is to realistically add value to them. Music-savvy consumers are demanding that copy protected CDs be labelled as such. This is actually the beginning of a good idea: If there is a reliable copy-protection scheme applied to new discs, the labels can drop the prices 50-60 percent on that version to reflect the fact that they cannot be "ripped". Sell a non-copy protected rippable disc at current prices (16.99 & up) and let the marketplace decide the dominant format or at least let the record company try to recoup the "losses" they expect to take on mp3 ripping upfront. Computer software is priced this way, so why shouldn't recorded music try the same thing?

Either way, the RIAA needs to do both of the following as soon as possible:

1. Stop treating the customer like a criminal.
2. Find another way to make their money that doesn't involve treating the music industry as a bloated milk-filled cow that they can drain at their leisure.

Peace,
BookSpyder
-Glad not to be a bloated, milk-filled cow.

[Crazy Horse]

Especially about The Grateful Dead. They dealt with the recording companys and hated it. They made up their own business model which included letting people tape their shows and share the music. They handled their own marketing and touring. Yes - very profitable indeed. No one complained but the recording industry.

[Aaron73153]

A movie takes about 90 minuites, there is considerable less amout in minuites of music, so that puts the price at <$7.25