http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023…..7-1_3-0-20
This morning this article showed up in my RSS feeds. It's basically saying that music publishers and songwriters and the like are lobbying to get a law passed saying that online stores like iTunes and Amazon have to pay rights for downloads. They mention that every time a TV show airs, rights are paid, but that's not the case when that TV show is streamed or downloaded online. They also want the law to include royalties for the 30-second preview clips that are on all these sites.
I'm kind of torn about this. On one hand I agree with their argument that it kind of rips them off if they don't get paid for streaming TV shows. But on the other hand I don't think they should lobby to pass a law stating that royalties must be paid for this.
It seems to me like the music industry is always one of the last industries to get with the times. They seem to be so stubborn in their business model that instead of working on a new business model to make everyone happy in this digital age, they try to bring other people back down to where they are.
As people increasingly watch their TV shows online, via streaming or download, these music publishers and songwriters get paid less and less royalties. The music industry should try to come up with some other business model that will work.
A couple good points on the side of iTunes:
"They are picking on Apple because they say Apple is making a bundle of money," Potter said. "But these companies should be thrilled that Apple and the other services are selling music and generating millions, maybe tens of millions, in royalties."
Potter says he is very sorry for those people. But if their income is drying up–this was the second major point he wanted to make–their troubles are not the fault of iTunes, Amazon, or consumers.
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