The ever astute Paul Resnikoff offers his viewpoint on the brewing battle between publishers and digital music provider MusicNet. This is a perspective worthy of consideration. Back in the early 90s when I was in the wholesale end of the music business, it seemed like the CD price wars at retail and the razor-thin margins we were all working on were only making one business wealthy–the trucking companies. Fast forward to the present, and one can’t help but wonder if the only people we’re making rich are the lawyers…
Resnikoff’s Parting Shot: Fighting For Scraps — Digital Music News: “Now, publishers and online music stores are bickering over royalties, and how many pennies should be paid for the usage of on-demand digital songs. They’re throwing lawsuits, crying foul, and lobbying copyright judges for favorable percentages.
But percentages of what? Freely-obtained music – from protocols like P2P and BitTorrent – account for more than 95 percent of all digitally-acquired music – at least. And iTunes controls the paid market that remains, leaving everyone else – including MediaNet-powered properties – in the fringes.
Is that worth a protracted royalty fight, one that drains resources into legal fees, endless proceedings, and business protection strategies? Especially at the expense of expansion initiatives, alternative licensing concepts, and the creation of broader, progressive publishing licenses for digital formats? “
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