Given the recent revelation that the RIAA could sue individuals who share music files via the internet has music fan furious.
The demise of Napster by the RIAA only spawned new peer to peer networks -in short made a mountain out of a mole-hill.So what direction might the music industry try?
DVD-Video discs, online dating sites and cell phones all prove that the younger generations are willing and able to spend $20 of their cash for entertainment products. This year's flaccid record sales show that they are less willing to buy a low-resolution, 16-bit stereo CD. Two formats are currently vying to replace the CD - namely SACD and DVD- Audio. Both can play 24 bit 96 kHz stereo music that sounds more realistic and dynamic compared to CDs but what Gen X likes best is the surround sound mixes. Through a dedicated SACD player or even a regular DVD-Video player many of these new discs (now priced at the same prices as a CD at $18) can play in not just two speakers but in six. |
For a generation raised on MTV, video gaming and the Internet, music in high-resolution surround makes a disc worth $20. Factor in added values like music videos, exclusive band photos and rare bonus tracks and you have an even more compelling offer to consumers.
The bargain is that the new discs are better at protecting the music from piracy, which should appease the music business, while the high-res surround sound and backwards compatibility with CD/DVD players will be a hit with consumers.
So the recording industry needs to reinvent ways to get people to download music legally, certainly copy protection, DRM, phony files on the net and suing individuals is not the way to catch flies.
Honey catches flies.
Source: Music Industry New Network
