RapVerse.com Community - View Single Post

the law is that u can't distribute a copyrighted material without paying royalties to the owner of the copyright. so whether your providing it on your computer for people to take or handin out brunt cd's on a street corner for free they are both copyright infringment.

conerning Kazaa, it doesn't matter what's in their contract because they are neither the one uploading the music nor downloading the music. to say that kazaa is responcible is like saying the entire internet is responcible. kazaa is just a medium. if you rent a boat and go to columbia for drugs u can't complain after being arrested that the boat rental agancy didn't say it was illegal to transfer drugs usin their product.

This is why the law suits against kazaa have failed, while those against individuals are now succeeding.

HOWEVER.... i agree that the price of music is too high because the industry ain't takin advantage of digital distribution. Still, no matter how the music is distributed bands/record companies make money by:

1) selling cd's
2) performing at concerts
3) earning royalties from broadcasts (mtv/radio)

The money earned from these revenues is spent on:

1) Recording Studios, Sound Engineers, Studio Musicians, etc
2) Lawyers, Agents, Beauticians, PR people, etc.
3) Videos
4) CD Artwork Design, Packaging, Physical distribution of the CD to the store.

The money they might save by getting rid of #4 (packaging, production, distribution) does not make up for the loss of the revenues they and the record companies get from selling cd's. So either:

A) The record companies take a hit to their profit margins and bands end up charging more for concerts and broadcast royalties.
--> In this situation the reduced profits the record company makes would mean they would sign fewer bands and wouldn't risk putting as much money into alternative or unproven styles.

or

B) A new price for recorded music that is digitally distributed must be determined by the marketplace. Should it be $1 like Itunes, should it be $.50, should it be $.01 per songs?

What would you be willing to pay for a song in order for them to still be able to produce videos and record the albums using the highest quality studios, musicians, and producers?