Expecting Time (5 May 2003) to accurately report on the issues of music sharing/file swapping/digital piracy is probably unrealistic. After all, Warner Bros. is a major music label as well as movie studio, and these reporters value their paycheck as much as the next person. But here’s my take on the issue of music on the Internet, broadcast radio and the Digital Lifestyle.

First let me say that I’ve never used Napster, Kazaa, LimeWire, or other P2P software. It wasn’t really from a lack of interest, more from a lack of trust that more than just my music would become available on the Internet. I have though, on occassion, made MP3s of friend’s CDs, something that was at one point considered fair use. But MP3 mania really didn’t hit until I was gifted an iPod last year. I love everything about the iPod, so much that I wrote an article last April detailing how to use the pre-windows-mac-only iPod with Windows. I have since ripped most of my CD collection and I am so tempted to buy a TiVo to make use of it’s new media server features.

As I see it, the file sharing problem is part of a larger problem of homogenization. People are sick and tired of most broadcast media and have been presented with a chance to download for free music they may not normally buy. And personally I don’t care if the labels are getting screwed because they’ve been screwing the consumer since the introduction of LPs. And the label-endorsed online efforts, Pressplay, Rhapsody, Music.net continue the tradition. Monthly fees? Get real. Apple has the right idea at $.99/song and 2M purchased songs in its first two weeks is a ringing endorsement. As for the P2P systems, there does need to a system to compensate artists and performers directly. Kazaa and others could start putting a percentage of advertising funds into an artist fund of some type. Something Napster should have done from the start and may have garnered them better press.

From MP3s to Radio

I am pretty integrated into the Digital Lifestyle and that lifestyle is centered around the Internet. With my broadband connection it is possible to get what I want, when I want it. What media companies (and this includes cable monopolies, record labels and the movie industry) need to realize is this: what I want, when I want it IS the new reality. The Time article mentions monies the labels get from chain stores like Wherehouse and others. Kiss it goodbye. I predict there will be about 75% less record/music stores in 10 years. Music distribution will move online, so to all the middlemen in this industry, your days are numbered. Yet the labels will still be there, because there is another problem the Internet has not solved – broadcast media consolidation.

Odds are companies like Clear Channel own at least 5 FM/AM stations in your area. If you’ve wondered why you may have lost some of your favorite stations to Top 10 (its not even Top 40 anymore) since 1995, its because of FCC changes allowing more consolidation in the broadcast media arena. And if you think commercial broadcast media is too vanilla now, there are new changes afoot to add even more artificial vanilla flavoring. Bill Moyers did a recent interview that sums it up nicely, as did William Safire, not exactly a raging liberal. Personally, I find myself listening to NPR more and more. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, Clear Channel has bought what were two decent FM stations. When I listen to them now I hear exactly the same playlist I heard six months ago.

Naturally, the pro-consolidation crowd is preaching that the market will deliver a better product. And this means that fewer owners will be able to meet the broad needs of all communities. Yet, this same crowd, when it comes to the Federal Government, believes that as much power as possible should be in the hands of local government. I don’t knowwhy they can’t see that in the matter of media ownership, more local control (many, many owners) is a much better way to insure that the needs of varieted and disparate communities are being served.

Internet radio is not the answer either. While there are many Internet radio stations, they are in essence national stations. They are not tailored to the local community. While I can certainly find a better mix of music on Internet radio than I will on my local Clear Channel station, I won’t be hearing about the next local pumpkin festival, beer festival, or other civic event that was a part of local radio when I was growing up.

The FCC votes on media consolidation in June. If you want a voice then contact your Congressman.