The music industry might want to consider creating a source platform which provides videos and music streams; and have this commercial music library owned not by a third party, but by a controlling consortium of musicians, recording corporations, and music execs. Perhaps even the RIAA can spearhead, initiate, control, and possibly even become a majority partner of such a venture. The glory days of the tape and vinyl records will never be reached, but profits can be made by such an endeavor. Even commercial publishing now offers ebooks, and though they're a lot more inexpensive than trade or mass paperbacks, at least there are some dollar signs attached to each download. What's more, advertisements accompanying these videos and streams can be monitored, controlled, and profits can be made by the music industry - not a third, or possibly fourth or fifth party. And the music industry can also tax not only the video and stream sales, but also, any ads attached. Surely, an industry that is producing remastered CD masterpieces of great classic albums can create much cleaner, crisper, higher quality work than what is being slapped up on YouTube by kids with marginal computer skills, most of whom are probably using cheap home PC systems - even laptops - and not sophisticated electronics specializing in producing music and sound. With experienced sound engineers, knowledgeable digital computer technicians and seasoned musicians teaming up to create such a nemesis to compete with the current video and stream providing "suspects", even the younger set would be tempted to spend a bit of money on better sound and richer music than much of the hissing, crackling and inferior sources currently being offered to download on MP3s by platforms like YouTube, along with a host of other lesser-than-also-rans.
Rock and Roll Will Never Die was a mantra of the Baby-Boom Generation. For the life of me, I'm at a loss as to who to attribute this adage to, but I hear these words ringing in all their gravely splendor at least once a day on one of the many local Classic Rock stations in my neck of the woods. Yes, Neil Young's touring still. He had five concert dates listed in the USA in April and he'll be performing in several European countries in July. And he hit over the winter with his "Honour the Treaties" tour, letting audiences know about environmental concerns involving oil sands extraction on his Canadian tour, particularly on First Nations' domains which are supposed to be protected by treaties between Indian tribes and the Canadian government.
I was at a concert in Florida about seven or eight years ago and Sebastian Bach, lead singer for Skid Row, took a break during the set and uttered a grievance to the audience at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Although I don't remember his exact quote, Mr. Bach complained about all the ways people download music these days. He expressed to the audience a lot of gifted talented musicians, who've sacrificed their lives' work to creating their music, are having it stolen in such a cavalier and reckless fashion. He said something to the effect that if a shoemaker was making shoes and having them stolen like much of today's music is being high-jacked via computers, there would be a lot more shoeless folks walking around.
According to The Recording Industry Association of America, "While downloading one song may not feel that serious of a crime, the accumulative impact of millions of songs downloaded illegally -- and without any compensation to all the people who helped to create that song and bring it to fans -- is devastating. One credible study by the Institute for Policy Innovation pegs the annual harm at $12.5 billion dollars in losses to the U.S. economy as well as more than 70,000 lost jobs and $2 billion in lost wages to American workers" (see: http://www.riaa.com/physicalpiracy.php?content_selector=piracy_details_online).
And what about the future of Rock & Roll? Classic Rock will, in time, inevitably evolve into "Antique Rock". How many times have you heard "Purple People Eater" on the airwaves lately? Somewhere there's another Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, or Jimi Hendrix working at a fast-food drive thru who's disillusioned with life. At one time, his or her talents for singing and playing a bass, six-string, or drum-set might have been a ticket out and up, but with the lowest frequency channel - the only one of its kind - in the local area playing Rock & Roll the younger set listens to, along with so many friends and acquaintances using burned-off discs in their CD players, this 17-year-old is instead thinking of selling sportswear or working as a telemarketer. Why be a musician?! What future is there in that?!
Even though a song may have been recorded decades
ago, all of those responsible for that song's success deserve to be compensated
for their art and intellectual property, as well as having the boldness to
assert their First Amendment rights in keeping freedom of speech and freedom of
expression alive and well on the airwaves. Back in the days of the vinyl LP or
45, the eight-track, or the cassette tape, there was piracy, but it was nowhere
as prevalent as it is today, with this computerized, gizmo-ized,
antiseptically-polluted society that we're now living in. It must be stopped and the music industry has to lead the charge, and be adamant and persistent about changing such rampant theft.
(Article changed on June 5, 2014 at 22:52)
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(Article changed on June 5, 2014 at 23:41)
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