February 20, 2001
Kamloops Daily News


The recording industry is dreaming if they think that a
recent court ruling in the United States against Napster
means the end of free internet music.  If Napster dies,
other incarnations will appear. The demand for programs that
transfer near-CD quality music from one computer to another
over the internet is here to stay.

The music industry is talking tough: "It's time for Napster
to stand down and build their business the old-fashioned
way", said the CEO of the Recording Industry Association of
America.  But the gig is far from up for the free transfer
of music.   

Other internet services like Scour and Gnutella will pop up
like dandelions in the internet virtual lawn.  They're tough
and hard to get rid of.   "We'll find a way to get around
it," said one young programmer, "People who want music will
always be one step ahead of people trying to stop them"

The recording industry has built it's business the
old-fashioned way -- by exploiting musicians.  The battles
between the recording industry and musicians are epic.   For
the industry, the important thing is to make money, lots of
money, and give as little as possible to ungrateful
musicians.  For everyone but crass musicians, the issue is
artistic integrity -- control of the process and final
product.

If music sales are down, and there is no convincing evidence
that there is any connection to Napster, the recording
industry only has itself to blame.  They are not producing a
product that people want to buy. The music industry has
stifled new music, not encouraged it.  As a result of the
need of the industry to crank out hit after hit, musicians
are required to do the same thing over and over. 

The music industry is responsible for today's moribund rock
and roll.  They have a relatively small stable of musicians
who are willing to sell their souls for the lure of big
money.  For example, we have the uninspiring spectacle of
the geriatric Rolling Stones doing the same old thing.

The irony of the music industry is that their complaints
involve the very things that commerce is supposed to cherish
-- the unfettered right to move information, goods and
services globally.  Industry likes the free, unregulated
flow of ideas, information, and goods without the
interference of government.  Except when affects their
bottom line.  

Napster didn't begin as a business.  It was started by
teenager Shawn Fanning as way of sharing music with others
over the internet using a compressed music file called
MPEG-1 layer 3.  The name itself has been compressed to MP3.  
All Shaun wanted to do is share music with others. And did
he ever -- last month, 3 billion songs were swapped for
free. 

Nature abhors a vacuum but capitalism hates to see something
given away when you can make a buck from it.  You can't make
money off the free exchange of goods.

The free exchange of music over the internet is a disaster
for an industry that lives off the talents of musicians. 
And, regrettably, if the free distribution of music might
mean that many musicians will not get their relative
pittance.   But musician have something that media giants
don't   -- the talent to play music that people want to
hear.

It's not the disaster for musicians that it is for the
recording industry.  Musicians can still make money by
directly playing to its audience through concerts and gigs. 
The recent internet technology will shift power back into
the hands of musicians.

And it might just allow for emerging musicians to gain an
audience through the internet.   I see it working this way. 
A band gives their new music away on the internet as a
preview to a concert.  Fans  become familiar with downloaded
recordings and want to see the real thing.  When the
musicians appear live, they are playing new and fresh, but
familiar music.

Instead of  going on tour to promote their latest CD, bands
will release music in advance to promote their concert.  The
days are numbered for musicians who hole up in a studio as a
sole means of livelihood.  I'm ready for new, talented
musicians to regain control of popular music.

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