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Copygone?

Does copyright have a future?

By David James

When Amazon.com announced that it would launch an attack on Apple’s iTunes in selling online music, it probably sounded a death knell for copyright protection. It is probably not to the detriment of the big record labels, which have been hoping for some competition to Apple to give them enhanced pricing power. But Amazon will sell MP3s without digital rights management, which prevents consumers from transferring music on different digital devices.

Microsoft's forthcoming iPod challenger Zune

EMI is the one major that will not find this problematic, having agreed to sell its catalogue without copyright protection to Apple. But Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music are all hanging on to the remnants of protection.

This protection of copyright only persists at the top end, however. Thousands of smaller labels are signing up to Amazon.

This is not the only online challenge to the foundations of copyright. The website MySpace, owned by News Corporation, has hired the founder of Napster to challenge Apple. The strategy will be to sell songs recorded by about three million unsigned artists, all of whom will be able to determine what price they sell at. This, too, will be distributed in non-copyprotected form, although MySpace has indicated it would offer copyright protected MP3s from the majors.

Other attacks are coming from the device end. Microsoft will launch a portable music device against the iPod, called Zune. Samsung has announced a deal with MusicNet to provide its own download service, expected to total more than two million songs.

Universal Music has looked to control the digital platform rather than selling off its songs to a third party. In what is essentially a move into media, it has launched an advertising funded service called SpiralFrog, which will offer free music downloads.

The majors still dominate the global recorded music market, with about a 70% market share. Their businesses remain heavily dependent on physical music (CDs and vinyl) rather than digital downloads, or mobile phones. The industry creates about $US12 billion from physical music, about $US3 billion from mobile music, and about $US 1 billion from digital music. The manoeuvrings on the digital platforms are still only marginal in terms of actual revenue generated. The implications are often absorbed into other corporate dynamics. For example, Sony’s profit for the year to March fell by 68% because of losses in its game division and battery product recalls. In such a context digital music will not rank as a high priority. Equally, MySpace’s move will be very much part of a media giant’s portfolio of methods to capture customer’s attention, not about selling music – and certainly not about selling CDs or MP3s.

The business environment is in an intense state of flux. It is no longer a seller’s market. The conventional CD product, a suite of songs determined by the supplier, is fragmenting. One certainty is that consumers will increasingly select by songs, not albums. Worse, charging for individual songs is problematic because free file sharing is so common. Trying to retain copyright to collect royalties is also fragmenting. Attempts to stop copying to different devices are also weakening. A recent case in California ruled it legal to copy DVDs for personal use, further weakening the legitimacy of Digital Rights management (DRM) methods record companies use to prevent copying, which record companies are increasingly discovering are easily cracked and not worth the expense.

They may move to other methods, such as Audible Magic’s content protection technology, which Google is testing. This seeks to track the digital trail of those who misbehave. The approach is not to prevent copying, but to collect royalties for copyright when it occurs illegally. This at least concentrates on rule breakers rather than all consumers, but it runs the risk of being just as hard to make pay.

Every problem may be an opportunity, but it is hard to see exactly where the opportunities lie in this set of problems for record companies. It is perhaps unfair to observe that they have failed to re-position to deal with the challenge posed by the on-line world, but that is what has happened.
One obvious choice is rationalisation, perhaps even a global duopoly. If the BMG-Sony merger goes ahead there will be only four big players, which could easily fall to two. Then, whatever the majors do will be distinct; their competition will be with smaller, but less well capitalised, players.

But deriving revenues from copyright appears to be a losing game. Obvious abuses may be possible to police, but the gradual degradation of control will continue. At the risk of sounding like a management consultant,a new paradigm is required.

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Never mind the skill, feel the creativity!

...continued from front page

Sometimes the notion is advanced that the possession of technique causes a musician to play only "fast and flashy". This phenomenon is not caused by the possession of technique but by the absence of taste and sensitivity. The notion is often popularised by people who are to lazy to practice or who think it is beneath them, but still want to be viewed as musicians.

Skill or craft is independent of style. Musicians should not learn the technique of a single style but the technique of their instrument. This technique can then be applied to any style. The idea that teachers in the better music institutions do not understand contemporary music styles is simply wrong. The staid music academy which doesn't relate to contemporary sounds is virtually extinct.

If you want to make your career in music then you had better get all the skills you can since it is a mighty tough way to make a living. If you have the ability to play every style of music then you might have a chance and if it’s the way you feed yourself then personal musical preferences won't be high on the priority list. Remember the transient nature of music fashion eventually makes everything uncool .

In conclusion, if you want a career in music you need to study…hard! and practice…hard!

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