Reverb: The Official UTF Blog

Timmy Cappello once said to me that he thought CDs were dead. At the time, I had joined the “digital revolution” of music downloads on a part-time basis. This was before iTunes and around the time when Napster was king…until Metallica. I still purchased CDs of my favorite artists then but started downloading old school music from AudioGalaxy, my favorite P2P network. I saw digital music as an option to obtain older songs that you couldn’t find in the music stores. However, I never thought that the digital format would replace the CD. I was obviously wrong.

It wasn’t until after Napster came tumbling down that I truly understood why more and more people turned to illegal music downloads. The music industry was focused on the record business, not the music business. Some of you may wonder, what’s the difference? Well here it is.

Labels in the record business produce “artists” like Ashlee Simpson, Milli Vanilli, Cassie, and the grave yard of “never was” acts manufactured by Lou Pearlman. These acts are untalented puppets, rely on producers to clean up their vocals, and look good on MTV with their pre-packaged images. More than likely, they do not write any material on their albums much less play instruments. Depending on the artist, live performances range from lively and energetic to downright awful. Another main essential is lipsynching; many of these types of acts cannot sing live. They can, however, sell their music based on their image, looks, and producer-driven music. In the record business, even I can get a record deal. Just ask yourself why people like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears have deals with major labels.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have the music business. Artists that are in the music business are generally not on MTV – unless they’re lucky enough to be featured on MTV2. Some may crossover into the mainstream but generally stay true to themselves and the music. They are most likely not on a major label, often shun image makeovers, and can write and/or play their own music. In some cases, they prefer to remain independent by not signing with a label, selling their music on CDBaby or giving it away for free. These artists own the stage when they perform, and they care about the music, not the hype. Good examples of more well known artists in the music business are Prince, Erykah Badu, Dave Matthews Band, and Nine Inch Nails. Unless they are in the mainstream, you are more likely to hear artists in the music business through non-traditional (Internet, MySpace) avenues. While some of their music may be “radio friendly,” payola and iron-clad playlists often keep them off the airwaves.

The music industry today is largely in the record business. This is why most new artists don’t make it past a second album, and longevity is practically non-existent. Being vividly aware of that fact, I stopped buying CDs in 2004. I downloaded (legally) the songs I wanted from MusicMatch and loaded them onto my MP3 player. The days of CDs that you can play from start to finish are over and has been for some time. This is why 99% of the music in my personal catalog (since 2004) is digital. I was perfectly happy going digital and was seriously swaying towards the elimination of CD purchases forever. A recent incident enforced my decision to stay away from CDs.

I borrowed a CD from my brother that I wanted to rip and put on my PC. Normally, this is a relatively simple process that doesn’t require much thinking. You place the CD in your computer, load your ripping software, and click to start the copy process. Unfortunately, many newer CDs are loaded with software that prevents you from copying music on more than one PC. Because my brother had copied the music to his PC, it would not allow me to rip the songs to mine. I tried a couple of other tricks, all to no avail. In the end, I had to take my brother’s MP3 player, connect it to my PC, and copy the songs from his MP3 player to my hard drive. That experience was extremely frustrating for me to the point where I vowed never to buy another CD. And now, I may have to eat my own words.

I received a Microsoft Zune for Christmas. After 30-45 minutes of software installation, I synchronized the music from my PC to my Zune. When I checked the results, I noticed that none of the music I purchased from MusicMatch was on it. I did another sync function that produced the same results. This didn’t seem right considering the Digital Rights Management (DRM) solution used by MusicMatch is PlaysForSure, a Microsoft-developed technology. After reading the small print on the Zune web site, I realized that any music I have purchased with PlaysForSure will not work on my Zune; the same thing applies for the Apple iPod. While I don’t have a large catalog of MusicMatch purchases, it’s enough to make me an unhappy consumer. While I understand the concept of DRM, the fact that there are dozens (or more) companies creating their own DRM solution is not good for consumers. In essence, the millions of people buying music and other digital content from iTunes are slaves to iPods. When (if) Zune Marketplace takes off, Zune owners will become even more enslaved to Microsoft. Company-specific DRM solutions are attempting to handcuff you to their products forever. There is only one electronic device that you can play various forms of digital content with all forms of DRM protections and that’s your PC. Bearing all of this in mind, I am considering going back to CD purchases. DRM, in its multiple formats, is bad for the consumer. I am not against DRM if content owners worked with one software vendor; however, this won’t occur unless the government gets involved. With special interest groups lobbying Washington D.C. for protections, this will never happen.

The music labels want you to buy digital music several times over. If you switch from a Zune to an iPod, you’ll have to buy your digital music all over again from iTunes; the same applies if you switch from an iPod to a Zune. Think of the people with hundreds or thousands of songs purchased from these digital music stores. It’s very convenient for the labels who are losing money with .99 downloads and for the content providers. DRM in some cases may even force some consumers to start buying CDs again – the labels main cash cow. If you want my opinion, this is what the RIAA wants. Either way, it’s a win-win for labels, digital music stores, content owners, and digital content device makers. The losers (suckers) are the consumers. If you purchase CDs, you have the 4 or 5 good songs you like and are stuck with the 9 to 10 bad songs that should have never made it on the album. If you purchase digital content, you may be tied to one music device (iPod, Zune) for the rest of your life. Should you decide to jump ship, you will have to buy hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of songs all over again just to play on your shiny, new MP3 player. Not only is the quality of music devolving, but the technology being used is not for the advancement of music formats. It’s enough to make people seek out illegal downloads. While I have turned over a new leaf in that regard, I do understand why it’s a more attractive option given the madness of DRM and overpriced CDs.