Nettwerk Music Group Urges Industry to Loosen Control

[Jared Moya]

Speaking at the Digital Music Forum in Manhattan on Wednesday, McBride criticized the ongoing string of lawsuits from the RIAA against individual file-sharers, which started in September, 2003.

 

"There is a better way to make the model work, and suing is not it," McBride said. The statements are part of a newly-launched campaign by McBride, who bristled against the trade organization in a January open letter. That created an unexpected and major rift within the industry, driven by the credibility and influence of McBride.

 

"I had to go from silent opposition to global opposition," McBride said Wednesday. The manager noted that many file-sharers are also fans, and urged the industry to loosen its grip on both piracy enforcement and pricing.

 

"Right now, we are telling consumers how much to pay for music, when they should be telling us," the top manager said. With that philosophy in mind, McBride recommended that labels allow consumers to guide a lower price point on paid downloads, which would create a strong disincentive for P2P file-sharing. Meanwhile, McBride also criticized the use of DRM protection technologies, and highlighted the disparity between its use online and off. Specifically, McBride noted that CDs do not contain DRM protections, while online formats do. "One side of the coin does and the other side doesn’t," he said, "but it’s the same coin".

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[mountain_rage]

This guy has balls and knows what he is talking about. The music industrie is full of old executives that are out of touch with what needs to be done. This guy is dooing a good job of shaking things up.

[teh_n00ber]

At last someone logical! They're damn right that suing won't work.

[TOrn_sOuL]

Wow, finally after all this time someone up high gets the idea....

This guy is awesome, i wish the rest of the industry would follow.

[Afn]

I think the studios would crumble if the CD was replaced by 99 cent album sales. $12 and $16 dollar cd's can keep the corporation going. Drop off most profit off the sale of media, and I doubt the big 5 will survive.

If CD sales decline to unprofitablity, you know they will raise movie ticket and dvd prices to compensate. Most new product is not worth watching. Why do I want to waste my time watching lame movies or listening to crappy music?

[Muffin_Man]

This isn't the first time Network has worked on behalf of consumers. Not long ago they opposed the RIAA after they sued a customer for sharing a Netwerk song.

http://somevelvetblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/netwerk-music-group-takes-on-riaa.html

[mountain_rage]

The industrie can survive with cheap songs just not the same way the survive now. The idustrie can survive without music writters, editors, video producers, actors, backup dancers, executives, investors etc.... They are all middle men only needed if the artist themselves have no talent.