Is Live Music Replacing the Record?

In an upcoming research paper, I hope to pick away at the following question(s):

How widespread is music piracy, and how aware are guilty participants about the severity of their actions? Do they even know what constitutes as piracy?

How successful can subscription file sharing services be? And how much would people be willing to pay?

Lastly, and most importantly to my predictions, where does live music fit into all of this? Have live shows made enough revenue to make up for lost CD purchases to piracy?

Let me know what you all think! And keep a look out for my online survey to help me conduct my research. Thanks!

Annotated Citation

I am currently in the midst of some very shallow research on file sharing and Internet piracy. As I am considering writing a full-out research paper on the topic, I took a dive into my school’s electronic library database (don’t worry—it’s legal!) and sunk my teeth into a scholarly article on the issue and some recently proposed solutions. Were I to use the article for my paper, I would need to cite the source and annotate the citation with a brief summary and review. So with that in mind, here are my thoughts on the article… let me know what you think!

“The Record Business Blues” from the American Bar Association Journal’s June 2010 issue outlines the effects of Internet piracy on the music industry and a general outline of proposed solutions. The author explains how the recording industry is currently trying to pick their battles on piracy and is working to drum up a more broadly effective, rational solution to the issue rather than suing guilty individuals one-by-one. As outlined in the article, one popular approach proposes that the recording industry work in partnership with Internet service providers (ISP’s) to crack down on piracy and punish the guilty by a three-strike graduated response policy. Others argue that a monthly licensing fee for a legal file sharing service would more effectively put revenue back in the industry, so long as profits are distributed fairly. Author Steven Seidenberg believes that if properly managed, the Internet as a platform holds great potential for music distribution and the entertainment industry (although, he does not specify his own solution to the issue). Because the information is very up-to-date and comes from a reliable source, I think this article would be a very helpful reference for a research paper on the economic effects of piracy on entertainment. That said, I would probably need to buttress this article with further research on each mentioned proposal and find more detailed assessments of each tactics’ logistics. 

Works Cited:

1. S. Seidenberg, “The Record Business Blues,” ABA Journal 96, no. 6 (June 2010): 55.  

Pirates of the Millenium (FREE HD FULL-LENGTH VERSION GOOD QUALITY)

       So, who says the entertainment industry is indeed threatened by our current tech landscape and economy? In the Great Depression movie sales skyrocketed; people sought out an escape from their economic woes. Wouldn’t it make sense for history to repeat itself? Well, the issue isn’t that people aren’t consuming entertainment. In fact, entertainment is everywhere. The problem is that people aren’t paying for what they consume. Sites that host pirated versions of films are increasingly popular, and more and more their traffic is replacing would-be paying theatre goers. All too often I ask a friend if they want to go see a movie and they will have already seen it on Megavideo.

        There’s no doubt that sites like these are illegal. So is personal use of them. And you’d think with the creepy data-mining and visitation aggregating they can do these days they’d be able to track down the guilty and prosecute, right? So WTF is going on? Well, earlier this summer the Feds cracked down on 9 popular piracy sites, which certainly made a big dent in things (not big enough, but it’s a start). Between those 9 sites, they reportedly drew in 6.7 million visitors a month. But unfortunately, not ALL guilty sites have been busted, and users of the ones that were have likely already gone elsewhere to get their fix.

Some technological Utopists argue that exposure is all that matters. After all, in a perfect world, isn’t the important thing that people appreciate your art? The thing about Hollywood, however, is that their art isn’t cheap (and that’s an understatement). Films require talent, actors, directors, producers, writers, etc., and at no petty price to ANYone.

        In a study conducted in 2006, piracy set U.S. entertainment industries back at least $20.5 billion per year and cost about 140,000 American jobs. Just image what the numbers are today. It’s hard to understand the consequences now, but piracy is really, really detrimental to entertainment. If it were 1995 and you were trying to watch Toy Story, would you waltz on into a Best Buy and snatch a copy off the shelf without paying? Probably not. But in 2010, millions of Woody fans caught the 3d installment of Pixar’s classic franchise on piracy sites. How is it any different?

       I must admit that I totally do it myself. Mostly with TV shows, but I’ve caught a few flicks online for sure. Not to sound like a busted pot-smoking 16-year-old, but it’s hard not to when “everybody’s doing it”. Are they really gonna put all bajillion of us in jail? No. Should they? Probably not. But if they don’t find a way to universally and effectively punish piracy, it’s only going to get worse.

        I don’t think anyone’s trying to push us back in time. Many entertainment conglomerates embrace new media, letting archived TV episodes live on their homepage for free viewing or submitting content rights to free (and LEGAL) services like Hulu. That said, there has to be a better solution to piracy. Some people really rely on their revenue from box office or DVD sales to run production, and you can’t assume that your $10 or so won’t make a difference. Because collectively, it makes a HUGE difference. I’m not saying I’m prepared to propose a solution, but I can sure tell that we need one—and quick.

The Trinity

Hello, Blogosphere!

        Hello there, and welcome to my blog! If you're looking for celebrity gossip or movie trailers, you may want to continue on your journey now, because you won't find them here. The issues facing entertainment today are much deeper than Brad Pitt's ugly beard or whether Lindsay Lohan can carry out her next movie role with a SCRAM bracelet on her ankle, and our entertainment industry is a treasure we should protect. 
        Now, hear me out; some people look at entertainment as a luxury, right? Well damn, wouldn't that be swell? But, entertainment doesn't just mirror our society; in many ways, entertainment shapes society, and so much of world culture is created through entertainment media precedent, it's frightening. Children and young adults are the most vulnerable due to their natural impressionability, and if the entertainment they consume is bullshit, the consequences can be very serious. With our current new media entertainment, what will the next generation of Tweeting, Megavideo-watching, Limewire-abusing techies grow up to be? Questions like these are often very much unanswerable, but a little theoretical exploration never hurt anyone, and I sincerely believe that the direction of entertainment is a hugely important social issue with the ability to truly shape society--for better OR worse. Thus, with the hope of uncovering some of the major underlying issues with the current American entertainment industry, I have begun this blog.

          I, like many others, understand that the changing state of entertainment cannot be summed up easily, and that it’s future is very much up in the air. That said, the purpose of this blog will be to pick away at some of the layering effects of current technology, culture, and financial matters on the industry and its artistic direction. I'm hoping to explore all aspects of the field and provide some valuable insight for myself and readers as to how suffering areas of the industry may be fixed for the future.

          I have many questions that I hope to answer (or at least deeply consider) throughout the course of my blog. I have graced the surface of many of these questions in my university Communications classes, but I hope with this blog that I can get some fervent discourse between myself, audiences, fellow students, and other media content on a range of highly important and complex topics. The overarching question I hope to answer is this: with America in an economic recession and web 2.0 technology making peer-to-peer sharing easier than ever, how has the entertainment industry responded to these industry-threatening changes? Have piracy and the state of the American economy had negative consequences on the quality of entertainment content? Or are the major industry players rising to meet challenges and inspiring audiences when they most need it?

          Torrent-format films are now just a click away from the comfort of, well, anywhere with web access. And who would ever pay $13 to sit in a cold theater to see a movie when you can watch it at home for free—especially in such dire economic times? Have technologies like 3D movies or cost-per-click, web-based advertising done enough financial catch-up to negate the challenges that threaten the business of entertainment (i.e. piracy and peer-to-peer sharing)? And if not, then from where comes the motivation for artists and producers to create avant-garde, fresh entertainment? Without financial reward, I fear that brilliantly creative minds will begin taking their talent out of entertainment and transferring to more stably lucrative fields. What a shame it would be if Quentin Tarantino packed up his screenwriting career and left Hollywood for a more steady pay-check in freelance textbook writing? Hell, he'd eventually lose that job to a Kindle and an out-sourced company in India somehow. But, all scare-tactics aside, these are very real concerns of mine, and I hope to enlighten my readers as much as I possibly can. I'm no expert, but hey, I have the world at my fingertips (and in my Google search-bar).

         As I said, I have just barely graced the surface of these issues, so it is highly possible that these fears of mine may never transpire into legitimate turmoil. That said I'm rightfully worried about the survival of one of the greatest and most influential entertainment industries in the world, so I hope that here I will be able to chip away at some of the questions I have and invite others to contribute. After all, while new media has posed its challenges to entertainment, it is an amazing tool for collaboration and education. So please, feel free to share anything you may think is relevant or interesting! 

A Source of Reference...

Mark Cuban, writer of “Blog Maverick,” is an American business entrepreneur and the owner of many valuable entities (the Dallas Mavericks and the HDNet cable television channel to name a few--he's kind of a big deal). Blog Maverick is generally about business tips and current business affairs, but many of his posts are entertainment-centric. Having his own personal stake in the entertainment business—namely in television and sports—Mark Cuban clearly has strong opinions and insight into the economy of entertainment. He's on Technorati’s top 100 list for both business and finance, so clearly Blog Maverick is very well read (at Technorati rank 629 overall). Cuban’s posts are somewhat sporadic, but it’s rare that he go much more than a week without posting.

     
           A couple of Mark’s posts that I found especially interesting were one back in May about Netflix’s role in the entertainment business and another from March called “Don’t Waste the Internet on TV-Protect the Future of the Internet” . If you look into those articles or browse Blog Maverick, you’ll quickly get a sense of Cuban’s blogging voice and stance on American business. Like myself and many others, Cuban seems to hold a divided position on new media. While he is optimistic about its possibilities for greatness, he is also wary of the potential danger it could pose if not well managed. In “…Protect the Future of the Internet,” Cuban warns readers of the finite source of bandwidth and advises that we save some of said bandwidth for future endeavors that will be far more beneficial than any entertainment platform or social networking application; as he puts it, “deal with it today or struggle with it in the future.” Things like healthcare databases or simulation technology- things we now have a hard time even imagining- are very real possibilities in the future of the web that will require lots of bandwidth. Cuban’s fear is that if we use it all up now on things like “re-runs of Gilligan’s Island,” we will run into a traffic jam of sorts and not be able to backtrack.

          In relation to my own blog, Cuban’s is more broadly focused on general business and finance. That said, entertainment and new-media are major aspects of the overall American business market, so many of his posts will be helpful and informative for my own blog on the economic and artistic direction of entertainment. A lot of Blog Maverick’s popularity may be due to its content and breadth, but Cuban's personal popularity as a public figure can't hurt the cause either. Being an influential part of television, entertainment, AND business, his posts are all very professional and informed. Cuban is also extremely timely in his writing, often breaking the freshest news in entertainment business, so I will most certainly keep up with Blog Maverick as a reference for my own blog.

        While I may not be able to converse directly with Blog Maverick or Mark Cuban, I am glad I found his blog for reference. His audience is much wider than mine will be, and the breadth of his knowledge is astounding. I think this blog will serve as a great tool for me on the business side of my research, especially when it comes to changing technology and the finances of web-based media.

 

Voice Bytes

Shelly Palmer is a blogger of digital media and its most current effects on consumer society and business. His website is called “MEDIABYTES” and his blog breaks technological news and discusses the effects of technology updates on the general pubic. He posts quite frequently, and while he seems quite passionate about his subject matter, his voice and tone are fairly blunt. This is not to say that his posts aren’t extremely interesting, but his tone is very informative and simple. One might think that this writing style would get boring, especially when discussing dorky things like web databases and copyright infringement, but his writing style and voice actually make for very effective blogging.

            Shelly does one thing really well, and that is write in a style that simultaneously describes difficult concepts in layman’s terms AND speaks in detail for more comprehensive, educated audiences. He will alternate between complex ideas and much simpler explanations of what those ideas mean in a general sense. He will outline a very intricate concept with academic jargon, and then bluntly summarize it in a simple sentence like it’s no big deal. For example:

The NAB reached out to the RIAA and both organizations went to Congress and proposed the inclusion of, let’s say it again: Government mandated FM chips in mobile phones. It’s brilliant! And, it has created a really good fake fight.

Palmer does this almost mechanically, and I find it a really well balanced way to keep his readers alert and providing sound evidence for his opinions while satisfying audiences who may be visiting his blog with some previous knowledge on the subject matter.

         By using informal punctuation and alternating between complex and extremely simple sentences, Shelly manages to make complex subject matter seem more approachable and less formal. He also uses humor and personal opinion, but in a way that doesn’t contrast his serious and academic subject matter too extremely. In reading many of his blog posts, it almost appears as if the more Palmer wants to drive home a point, the fewer words he uses. It sounds strange, but it truly is effective. Examples of this include sentences like, “We’re not all doomed. Wow, that was close,” and “Now imagine this on a global scale. Game over.”

        Most of Palmer’s post titles are fairly straightforward, much like his actual posts are. They usually summarize the post well, but leave just enough room for intrigue that you want to read the post. They don’t tell you everything, but they aren’t so ambiguous that you don’t care at all. Two of the posts that I found most relevant to my own interests are titled “Government Mandated FM Chips In Mobile Phones: A Fake Fight,” and “Why Can’t I Pay You?” If you were to read the articles, you would likely agree that these titles are appropriate and simple.

         In comparison to many of the other bloggers I have read on the topic of technology, Palmer’s post are refreshingly organized and to the point. His voice is one that is informative and fairly plain, but really refreshing at times. He’s like the movie character that seems really tough and quiet, but gives you the chills when he does something sweet or shows emotion. His personal opinions and humor are scattered, but when they show through in his writing, they really tell you something about both himself, and his topic(s) of interest. 

Does the Media Byte?

Shelly Palmer is a blogger of digital media and its most current effects on consumer society and business. His website is called “MEDIABYTES” and his blog breaks technological news and discusses the effects of technology updates on the general pubic. He posts quite frequently, and while he seems quite passionate about his subject matter, his voice and tone are fairly blunt. This is not to say that his posts aren’t extremely interesting, but his tone is very informative and simple. One might think that this writing style would get boring, especially when discussing dorky things like web databases and copyright infringement, but his writing style and voice actually make for very effective blogging.

            Shelly does one thing really well, and that is write in a style that simultaneously describes difficult concepts in layman’s terms AND speaks in detail for more comprehensive, educated audiences. He will alternate between complex ideas and much simpler explanations of what those ideas mean in a general sense. He will outline a very intricate concept with academic jargon, and then bluntly summarize it in a simple sentence like it’s no big deal. For example:

The NAB reached out to the RIAA and both organizations went to Congress and proposed the inclusion of, let’s say it again: Government mandated FM chips in mobile phones. It’s brilliant! And, it has created a really good fake fight.

Palmer does this almost mechanically, and I find it a really well balanced way to keep his readers alert and providing sound evidence for his opinions while satisfying audiences who may be visiting his blog with some previous knowledge on the subject matter.

         By using informal punctuation and alternating between complex and extremely simple sentences, Shelly manages to make complex subject matter seem more approachable and less formal. He also uses humor and personal opinion, but in a way that doesn’t contrast his serious and academic subject matter too extremely. In reading many of his blog posts, it almost appears as if the more Palmer wants to drive home a point, the fewer words he uses. It sounds strange, but it truly is effective. Examples of this include sentences like, “We’re not all doomed. Wow, that was close,” and “Now imagine this on a global scale. Game over.”

        Most of Palmer’s post titles are fairly straightforward, much like his actual posts are. They usually summarize the post well, but leave just enough room for intrigue that you want to read the post. They don’t tell you everything, but they aren’t so ambiguous that you don’t care at all. Two of the posts that I found most relevant to my own interests are titled “Government Mandated FM Chips In Mobile Phones: A Fake Fight,” and “Why Can’t I Pay You?” If you were to read the articles, you would likely agree that these titles are appropriate and simple.

         In comparison to many of the other bloggers I have read on the topic of technology, Palmer’s post are refreshingly organized and to the point. His voice is one that is informative and fairly plain, but really refreshing at times. He’s like the movie character that seems really tough and quiet, but gives you the chills when he does something sweet or shows emotion. His personal opinions and humor are scattered, but when they show through in his writing, they really tell you something about both himself, and his topic(s) of interest. 

A Source of Reference...

      Mark Cuban, writer of “Blog Maverick,” is an American business entrepreneur and the owner of many valuable entities (the Dallas Mavericks and the HDNet cable television channel to name a few--he's kind of a big deal). Blog Maverick is generally about business tips and current business affairs, but many of his posts are entertainment-centric. Having his own personal stake in the entertainment business—namely in television and sports—Mark Cuban clearly has strong opinions and insight into the economy of entertainment. He's on Technorati’s top 100 list for both business and finance, so clearly Blog Maverick is very well read (at Technorati rank 629 overall). Cuban’s posts are somewhat sporadic, but it’s rare that he go much more than a week without posting.

     

Hello, Blogosphere!

Hello there, and welcome to my blog! If you're looking for celebrity gossip or movie trailers, you may want to continue on your journey now, because you won't find them here. The issues facing entertainment today are much deeper than Brad Pitt's ugly beard or whether Lindsay Lohan can carry out her next movie role with a SCRAM bracelet on her ankle, and our entertainment industry is a treasure we should protect. Now, hear me out; some people look at entertainment as a luxury, right? Well damn, wouldn't that be swell? But, entertainment doesn't just mirror our society; in many ways, entertainment shapes society, and so much of  world culture is created through entertainment media precedent, it's frightening. Children and young adults are the most vulnerable due to their natural impressionability, and if the entertainment they consume is bullshit, the consequences can be very serious. With our current new media entertainment, what will the next generation of Tweeting, Megavideo-watching, Limewire-abusing techies grow up to be? Questions like these are often very much unanswerable, but a little theoretical exploration never hurt anyone, and I sincerely believe that the direction of entertainment is a hugely important social issue with the ability to truly shape society--for better OR worse. Thus, with the hope of uncovering some of the major underlying issues with the current American entertainment industry, I have begun this blog. 
I, like many others, understand that the changing state of entertainment cannot be summed up easily, and that it’s future is very much up in the air. That said, the purpose of this blog will be to pick away at some of the layering effects of current technology, culture, and financial matters on the industry and its artistic direction. I'm hoping to explore all aspects of the field and provide some valuable insight for myself and readers as to how suffering areas of the industry may be fixed for the future.

I have many questions that I hope to answer (or at least deeply consider) throughout the course of my blog. I have graced the surface of many of these questions in my university Communications classes, but I hope with this blog that I can get some fervent discourse between myself, audiences, fellow students, and other media content on a range of highly important and complex topics. The overarching question I hope to answer is this: with America in an economic recession and web 2.0 technology making peer-to-peer sharing easier than ever, how has the entertainment industry responded to these industry-threatening changes? Have piracy and the state of the American economy had negative consequences on the quality of entertainment content? Or are the major industry players rising to meet challenges and inspiring audiences when they most need it?