iTunes: One billion songs sold

[onehandle]

Apple has noted on its home page that iTunes Music Store customers have legally downloaded one billion songs. The Apple home page recently hosted a counter that ticked upward towards the billion mark.

“Music lovers like you in 21 countries around the globe have purchased one billion songs from the iTunes Music Store. And for helping us reach this massive milestone in digital music history, we’d like to thank you,” said Apple’s Web site.

http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/02/23/billion/index.php

[meegbear]

1. Hey Steve, how about gving out some free iPods to celebrate?

[stepnw1f]

3. no kidding

[onehandle]

4. He did to the winner...

Ostrovsky purchased the song as part of Coldplay’s X&Y album. And as the buyer of the billionth song downloaded from the iTunes Music Store since its inception less than three years ago, he’s being rewarded with a 20-inch Intel-based iMac, 10 fifth-generation iPods (five in black and five in white) to share with friends and relatives, and a $10,000 gift card good for any item on the iTunes Music Store.

http://playlistmag.com/news/2006/02/23/ostrovsky/index.php

[NYdemocrat089]

92. For a while they were giving away free iPod Nanos every 100,000 song.

The billionth song got a bunch of Apple stuff.

[stepnw1f]

2. Apple is Doing Really Well

I am actually happy to see them do so well.

[onehandle]

7. Several years ago Michael Dell said that Apple should disband...

...and give all their money back to their stockholders. Since then Dell has been doing a poor job of copying everything that Apple does.

Michael Dell is a Bush sucking tool.

[stepnw1f]

10. Michael Dell is Dumb

Next computer I get is hopefully the Quad. That thing is a beast to behold. Currently saving my pennies. Apple just knows how to build computers... and OSX is SOLID!

[arealliberal]

108. Dell is dumb...? If only I were that dumb.

Actually, both of these guys are pretty bright. One got started in his family's garage and the other got started in his dorm room.

Jobs has been up and down, but never out. And Dell has been up...up...up.

[kurth]

13. Dell is an anti-American asshole

The outsourcing king of the computer world.

[wicket]

38. Did you see this?

http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1471

Shortly after Mr. Jobs returned to Apple in 1997 as part of the company's acquisition of NeXT, Dell's founder and chairman, Michael Dell, was asked at a technology conference what might be done to fix Apple, then deeply troubled financially.

"What would I do?" Mr. Dell said to an audience of several thousand information technology managers. "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

On Friday, apparently savoring the moment, Mr. Jobs sent a brief e-mail message to Apple employees, which read: "Team, it turned out that Michael Dell wasn't perfect at predicting the future. Based on today's stock market close, Apple is worth more than Dell. Stocks go up and down, and things may be different tomorrow, but I thought it was worth a moment of reflection today. Steve."

:rofl: :rofl:

[wakeme2008]

5. That explains the 40 minute download of a LOST show of

only 220 Meg :(

[UCLA02]

21. I had the same experience on my 1st TV iTunes download: Conviction

OT, I know, but it is a decent show. As I'm just finishing law school and already work in a DA's office, I'm hoping it stays around a bit, but I'm not too hopeful.

[transeo]

45. Wow! I've never had that problem

Could be your ISP. I download Lost and Desperate Housewives regularly and it only takes a few minutes each time.

[AlCzervik]

48. i downloaded an episode of "Lost" and it only took 5 minutes.

[BamaLefty]

6. 1 billion dumbass moves!

LOL-- I can't even imagine purchasing songs off there. :rofl: :evilgrin:

[LeftHander]

18. So you still use 1.25Mb 5.125" floppies then too.....

Digital music sales growth is set to outpace CD Sales in a few years.

the rate of sales growth is exponetial. CD sales are dropping steadily.

[UCLA02]

19. Why is that? Please explain.

Why drop an antagonistic bomb like that and not explain yourself?

Is it "dumbass" to only buy the song(s) you want from a given record/artist, rather than shell out 15 bucks for a CD that has 10 other shit songs that are quite unlistenable?

Or is it "dumbass" to actually pay for legal downloads, rather pirating them off illegal download sites?

Or is it "dumbass" to make sure that the artists/licencees/record companies get paid as they're entitled to? (And the argument that "they're rich enough, how much more money do they need?" does not apply here, so please don't waste our time, it's not the point.)

I'm open to an explanation supporting your quip that those who purchase iTunes are dumbasses. What is YOUR alternative?


edit: I spell like a Freeper when typing quickly.

[BamaLefty]

37. LOL chillax

Limewire is the way to go. I'm so evil... :P

[benburch]

25. Why? It works well, the music is high quality...

Or do you object to artists eating?

[LifeDuringWartime]

58. IMO as a musician

the quality should be higher, or there should be an option for higher-quality.

[UCLA02]

69. I would agree. The files are way too small to be lossless.

It's a bit frustrating when the stuff is "iTunes exclusive" and you cant get a pure lossless version to burn to CD. A 5 minute song should be about 40Mb or so, give or take.

The example that frustrates me most is, as an avid (rabid) U2 collector, the music they put out to coincide w/the U2 iPod contains some really good shit that is unavailable anywhere else. So you are stuck burning a complete CD of lossy material. There is no way to buy the "pure" version of some of it.

But overall, iTunes is a well-executed concept, hence the 1B sold.

Edit: the frustrating thing is that iTunes contemplates that people might want lossless audio, as you have that option when extracting/ripping your CDs into iTunes. I agree w/you that if you are buying them they should also provide a lossless option.

[LeftHander]

95. Mp3 okay....but High Quality is coming...

There are a few music sites that enable downloading of high quality full 16bit/44.1 Khz audio files. Even that however is not that high of quality. The holy grail of quality right now is for audiophiles to thier hands on 24 bit/48 or 96 Khz master files.

Our band has plans to eventualy sell high resolution files direct from our website. We hope to that in place sometime this year.

Right no we encode our Mp3s that we make available on our website direct from the 24 bit/48 Khz master files. We encode them at 192kbit level which is a vast improvment over 128 which is the norm .

My personal preference is to record the 24/48 khz digital masters to reel to reel and listen to them. That is as sweet as you can get...vinyl and even cassettes are still hooked into my system. I spin vinyl everyday. In additonn to listeing to mp3 everyday. You can;t beat mp3 for portability. Sounds better then FM and you have access to gigabytes of storage with todays Mp3 players. In all things it is about compromise.

IN our album "Strip Mall Heaven" (available on iTunes) during the mastering we added a analog tape mastering step to introduce the natural harmonics of tape saturation. Mnay bands and mastering gurus do this now. Thus the popularity of of the Otari MX-5050 1/4 two track recorder...radio staions have been dumping these units and you can pick one up rather cheap from e-bay. We used Pioneer Rt-707 for our analog step.

We expect to do the same for the next album as well.

Also there is a new mp3 spec being developed for 5.1 encoding as well as higher quality.

http://soul-amp.com

[Catch22Dem]

74. Agreed, I'd like to see that option

But it doesn't stop me from buying.

[benburch]

76. Maybe you can hear the difference.

I cannot.

I bet you are one of the people with the single-crystal oxygen-free speaker wires and a tube amp?

[UCLA02]

79. Not necessary.

The differences between lossy and lossless are (usually) quite noticable, especially when you turn them up a bit, no special equipment required.

On edit: sanctimonious tone removal (attempted) ;-)

[benburch]

83. I ruined my hearing tuning receivers and listening to overmodulated 1KHz

test tones...

So, you can likely hear what I cannot.

[UCLA02]

86. Then you get off much more cheaply than I do! ;-)

When it comes to iTunes vs. CDs, at least.

Not being insensitive to your affected hearing, of course. I worked on and around F-18s for 6 yrs, I know the value of protecting hearing.

[benburch]

88. Sadly I needed to hear the harmonics...

No other way to design the stuff I was doing... Which paradoxically was a sound compression system.

[BamaLefty]

104. Dave Matthews has a full stomach.

And so does Jack Johnson. It's a'ight.

[mike_c]

41. why not-- I've almost stopped buying CDs-- iTune DLs are usually...

...30 percent less expensive than the same CDs in their record company jewel boxs. Plus it's a great way to preview music before buying. Frankly, a year ago I couldn't imagine buying music from Apple-- now I buy MOST of my music from them. And I don't own an iPod.

[darkism]

53. Anybody who pays money for lossily-compressed,

less-than-full-quality music that's locked with DRM IS a sucker AND a "dumbass." Period.

Until these stores start offering FLAC, APE, AIFF, WAV or other lossless files, they will most certainly not be having my business.

[UCLA02]

71. I'm with you, except for the "sucker" and "dumbass" labels

As a downloader of live bootlegs (anybody wanna give me their trade list?), I am well aware of the lossy/lossless, flac/ape/wav/shn/etc concerns, and have high standards for what I collect. But just downloading a song or two here or there on iTunes in lossy format is really no problem for me, personally, as I mostly listen to this music on my computer or headphones where lossy/lossless differences are less noticable. I won't, however, purchase an entire CD on iTunes for the very reasons you mention above, because it is lossy. If I were to buy the entire album, the idea would likely be that I would be burning it and playing it in my car or home system, revealing the limits of lossy audio.

Bottom line, a song here or there is fine if lossy, entire albums should be lossless.


Again, anybody trade live bootlegs, PM me and we can exchange lists!

On edit: Spelling and grammar like a Freeper tonight. :-(

[Catch22Dem]

75. Did he just call me a dumbass?

[UCLA02]

78. Methinks...

...he did.

;-)

[Feron]

81. True...

especially since the DRM is not platform neutral making the song unplayable. Why should I have to burn and re-rip a song just to get it to play on other devices or in Linux? Not to mention having to keep track of licenses and all of that junk. No thanks. If I buy it, then I should be able to put it on any device I want without a hassle.

It's easier just to download songs and then buy the physical CD if I like it. Not only will my music already be backed up, but it will be lossless. Also, I'm a sucker for album artwork.

[LeftHander]

96. Like 16 bit/44.1 is quality? MusicGiants.com

16 bit/44.1 is LESS than full quality. Analog Tape still outshines any digtial recording in terms of resolution as tape is infinite. 24bit /48 Khz analog is noticably better than 16 bit/44.1 Khz that is the current CD standard.

I have commercial cassettes made in the early 90's that sound better than many CD's.

BTW there is a online store that sells "full" quality large aduio files.

http://www.musicgiants.com/

It is all happening my friend. The iPod, ITunes store and Mp3's have opened the door to new music revolution....soon we will all be carry solid state 3d laser optical iPods with a 20 terabytes of storage playing high resolution audio files.

RIght now it is time to use mp3s to discover new music. Then buy CD's....that is what keeps the music coming.

High res audio is coming.

[UCLA02]

101. I agree. Not complaining about the limits in technology...

...I was just pointing out the frustration that some "iTunes only" stuff makes it so that you can ONLY buy lossy formats of some good stuff (to wit, the "Unreleased and Rare" U2 demos and stuff from the "iTunes only" box set). But I digress... ;-)

And not saying that I thought you were disagreeing with me, and that I had to defend myself, either! ;-) I can wait unitl the technology catches up with the potential for digital music/video. I just acknowledge the limitations right now. That's why I buy actual CDs when I want the whole album to play at home or in the car. Song to song in lossy format for my iPod or laptop listening is quite acceptable for now.

Cheers,
Scott

(Enjoyed your songs I "LEGALLY" downloaded yesterday, btw. Glad to be part of increasing your sales exponentially!)

[NYC Liberal]

8. I tried for the 999,900,000 mark, but I doubt I won.

[BlueEyedSon]

9. That's a billion bucks!

[jayfish]

20. I'm Not So Sure About That.

They have a free song to download on a weekly basis. Now, I've only bought one song from them but I DL that free song every week. I wonder if they include those as "purchases"? You still get an invoice from the iTunes store even thought it's a free item.

Jay

[Art_from_Ark]

72. The article says that 1 billion songs have been purchased

so I don't think that includes the free downloads.

By the way, it costs me $1.20-1.25 (150 yen) to download a song in Japan. The rates are probably higher than a buck in the EU as well.

[onehandle]

51. Apple makes very little profit from the iTunes store.

Just enough to keep it above water. The iTunes store is merely a marketing device for iPods and Macs by extension.

Apple's market computer share is creeping up. Jobs is a smart guy.

[benburch]

11. Go Apple!

Apple made this market that everybody said would FAIL.

[stepnw1f]

22. Check Out Some of the Posts

Apple threads tend to get out the best on DU.

[benburch]

27. Whoa.

I see what you mean. :(

[Army]

12. Technology

Boy I gotta figure those Ipod things out. And digital cameras. I actually have an instamatic camera I found in a closet in our building in Iraq. That's Army technology for ya.

I run around with it doing paparazzi shots "1980 called. They want their camera back!"

[tabasco]

65. Instamatics are better for the field.

I have one that uses 110 film that I use in the field.

[LeftHander]

14. You think a indie band would get two of those sales....

Nope....without the PR and Apple payola our 13 songs are simply 13 songs in a catalog of several million....Apple begrudgingly slipped it in the catalog without even a basic listing in "new releases".

Lets tally up those sales...

Ashlee Simpson, Black Eye Peas, Cold Play - 999,800,000

Everyone Else - 199,999

Soul Amp - 1

The one I bought to test the purchase. We suck like Ashlee does too go figure...

http://soul-amp.com

[pimpbot]

15. 1 billion suckers

That don't know other ways to find their music. Oh well, at least they figured out how to milk the sheeple.

Apple should thank the mp3 release groups for showing that people really wanted to download music in the first place. Of course, they are branded "pirates" and "thugs" and will probably get a longer sentance than someone that commits murder.

[benburch]

23. Oh, I can find my music other ways...

But friends of mine, like Candye Kane, only eat when their music is actually sold.

I suppose you'd rather they starved???

[Javaman]

55. She has great music by the way! n/t

[benburch]

60. And a MAJOR SWEETHEART!

:)

[Javaman]

89. Do you think she ever come and sing in Austin?

big time swing dance scene here.

[benburch]

90. Only all the time.

Not sure of her current schedule, but I know she goes there.

[Javaman]

102. Oh man, that means I have missed her than. I will keep my eyes peeled.

I feel like a boob now.

[LeftHander]

24. At least they figured out people don't like to steal...

Music from artists.

Without getting paid. Art dies.

If you steal it. You kill it.

Even though we have not sold squat on iTunes (yet) I know I get .70 cents for every song sold.

.70 cents out of .99 goes direct to us.

So...go buy some Soul Amp songs...I need another amp. A VOX AC-30 or a Matchless....

And vintage strat...

sweeeeet.

http://soul-amp.com

[UCLA02]

28. Got any songs up on iTunes? I'll buy and check them out.

In the sprit of supporting artists, of course. DU artists, especially.

Hey, I live in Hollyweird, I know that artists starve if they don't get paid.

[LeftHander]

31. Search the store "Soul Amp"

For DUer's I recommed Throwing Rocks At Cars, Division or Seeing Jimmy.

these are somewhat political and reflect a lot of what is happening in the world.

She Walks on Up Ahead is my personal favorite.

Also we have some free new stuff that is inthe works for the next disk.

[UCLA02]

36. Done. 4-for-4.

NT

[LeftHander]

39. Hey thnx...!

Your patronage is most appreciated....!

[NYC Liberal]

43. I'm off to check out your stuff as well

:hi:

[LeftHander]

44. thanks! Everybody needs some jams...

In their life these days...

[UCLA02]

30. Added your band to my MySpace

If you'll have me...

;-)

[LeftHander]

35. Of course!

We like friends on myspace...

[benburch]

34. Amen on that.

My Artist friends have this eating habit...

[wicket]

40. I will check out your iTunes songs when I get home from work

:thumbsup:

[UCLA02]

26. See post #19 above.

Why are legal downloaders "suckers?"

Have you bought every CD in your collection for EVERY song on it? Likely not, nobody has. So who's getting screwed paying for somthing they don't need or want? Not iTunes downloaders, for sure.

And to what "other ways to find their music" are you referring? Legal? Illegal?

[transeo]

46. Excuse me?

I am perfectly aware of ways to get music for free. Wanting to do the right thing does not make people suckers. Besides, the quality is always good when you buy from iTunes and the same cannot be said of other free sources. And yes, people who download all of their music for free are pirates. You have no consitutional right to take someone's work without compensating them for it. None whatsoever.

[mondo joe]

70. What a silly post. Of course we know how to find music other ways.

I know how to find gas other ways than paying for it too.

But I still go to the gas station.

[HuckleB]

100. Don't worry about posts like that.

Immaturity is what it is. And it often make ridiculous assumptions.

Salud!

[Ezlivin]

16. How many hamburgers has McDonald's sold?

Apple has a long way to go to catch up with the count of beef patties.

I'll never get another Apple computer.

Well, not until June or July when they come out with their oct-core Universal Computer that can run multiple OSes simultaneously. Meanwhile I'll keep the three Macs I have and enjoy 'em.

[benburch]

32. Have six of them here...

And want a X86 machine eventually.

But will likely be buying now-cheap refurbished G5s soon instead.

[TommyO]

50. I just got my first Mac

Went for a nicely equipped dual-core machine to replace my dying Windows system. What's scary, is that I'm already planning my second Mac purchase (admittedly it will be for my mom).

I bought my iPod two years ago, and have downloaded several hundred legal songs via iTunes, many to replace mp3s downloaded via other not-so-reputable sources.

[Ezlivin]

54. Refurbs! The great secret

I love 'em.

I used to work for PCPC, the company that made MacBottom and HFS Backup (yeah, olden days for sure). We'd ship out brand new hard drives, have some of them come back because of a problem. All we did was replace the guts and send them out as refurbs. They were actually brand new apart from the additional mileage. Same warranty, too.

Apple has a great refurb section chock-full of goodies. I bought a G5 iMac and a 40GB click-wheel iPod, both of them good as new.

[benburch]

84. Amen.

I have never bought a new computer since my Mac Plus.

[alcibiades_mystery]

17. My iTunes is fucked

How do I uninstall, but really uninstall. When you uninstall from the iTunes program, it leaves shit all over your registry, and the files are still in your program files. At this point, my iTunes simply doesn't work. That's alright, cuz I'm using winamp and I like it better, but I would like to re-download and reinstall iTunes because I like the iTunes Music Store the best of all the online music vendors.

Running XP2 on my laptop.

[benburch]

29. Wish I could help more, but...

Do you have Norton Internet Security installed? If so, Apple says you need to run a LiveUpdate session for that to fix things up to where you can properly install and uninstall.

And here is what somebody else said worked;

1. Go to Control Panel --> Add or Remove Programs --> iTunes --> Remove
...uninstall the program completely and restart your computer
2. Go to Control Panel --> Add or Remove Programs --> QuickTime --> Remove
...uninstall the program completely and restart your computer
3. Go to My Computer --> Local Disc --> Program Files. Once in Program Files you will see the iTunes and QuickTime folder and you will want to delete the iTunes folder and the QuickTime folder. Right click on the iTunes folder and select delete and confirm the deletion. Do the same for QuickTime.
4. Restart your computer
5. Disable all features of any anti-virus program such as Norton or McAfee
6. Open Internet Explorer or which ever internet program you use and go to http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ and download the iTunes+QuickTime program. *Do not do any modifications in the download of the program.* Just download the program by doing the usual "Next" clicking.
7. Once iTunes is finished downloading, double click on the Shortcut Icon on the desktop. iTunes should open with a large square box and you have to click "Agree."
8. iTunes WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now you can enable your anti-virus program and there will no longer be any issues.

I rarely use it on my Windows-2000 machine as I have five Macs here...

[alcibiades_mystery]

57. Didn't help

Add/Remove won't unstall Quicktime, so the installer on the new install won't install it, and this bundling is obviously causing some fuck up.

[UCLA02]

33. Easy fix...

Buy an Apple PowerBook G4.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70104/wo/pb1og5jgPPNQ20OXOf91idqfVKp/0.SLID?nclm=PowerBook&mco=9CAC372

Sorry, couldn't resist...
;-)

[wicket]

42. my MOM just switched to a Mac

I couldn't believe it! She just saw how awesome my g4 is I guess :D

[rocktivity]

47. The result of fair pricing and offline promotion.

Simple. And fair. Congrats, Apple!

:headbang:
rocknation

[NYC Liberal]

49. Yup. And yet, the RIAA wants to RAISE the prices for the iTMS.

[democraticinsurgent]

52. The music industry has been dropped on its head

As a record store owner I would like to share my opinions on the various music acquisition options:

Illegal downloading: bad for most everyone except the consumer. Artists don't get paid, nor does anyone else in the industry. However it can raise awareness of certain artists and lead to sales, so I reluctantly see that it has its place.

Legal paid downloading thru Itunes, etc: bad for record stores, better for the artists, but record companies still have a stranglehold on radio and big artist promotion and therefore on awareness, which fuels paid downloading.

Legal downloading thru artists' and small labels websites: good for artists and small labels, bad for record stores and big record companies

New CD's: good for artists, great for big record companies and big distributors, marginal for record stores due to the disappearing margins (like a buck or two, maybe), ok for customers who are willing to pay for them but they're expensive

Used CD's: bad for artists (no royalties), labels, distributors. good for record stores (better margins, lower prices help indie stores), great for consumers because they're cheap.

Burned CD's: bad for everyone except the consumer.

Internet radio: good for artists, good for consumers.

Net, the consumers are winning, the artists are gaining, the labels are hurting but staying afloat via consolidation and various other financial manuevers, the distributors are dying and the record stores are dying (note that of the above, only used CD's are really helpful to most record stores; you can't compete with Target and Walmart on price, or with Amazon on selection).

My store is now 90% vinyl (mostly used), because it's the one thing you can't get via digital download or from the big labels, and a little guy like myself stands a chance on eBay. My industry, once vital and fascinating has been killed by collective greed. The big record companies are the most to blame and I hope they implode.

I am rooting for the artist, internet radio and the small label. Let's support those who make the music and who help us become aware of it.

See you on eBay.

[ace2u_in_MD]

80. Don't totally agree with your position...

Illegal downloading: bad for most everyone except the consumer. Artists don't get paid, nor does anyone else in the industry. However it can raise awareness of certain artists and lead to sales, so I reluctantly see that it has its place.

Totally agree.

Legal paid downloading thru Itunes, etc: bad for record stores, better for the artists, but record companies still have a stranglehold on radio and big artist promotion and therefore on awareness, which fuels paid downloading.

Again, totally agree. With the expansion of broadband and recordable media, the retail model is at the point of being un-needed. I feel for you, but times are changing with technology.

Legal downloading thru artists' and small labels websites: good for artists and small labels, bad for record stores and big record companies

Why does downloading hurt the label? They still get their cut under the artists contract. Their only complaint is that they cannot sell the entire record with one or 2 good tracks and the rest filler (in the case of some recording artists). If the artist is unsigned, it breaks the monopoly hold on distribution. I am a fan of a band who does not have a record deal, and self publishes and self promotes and self books their tours. And they are far more successful now in terms of being able to earn a living than they ever were when they had a record deal.

New CD's: good for artists, great for big record companies and big distributors, marginal for record stores due to the disappearing margins (like a buck or two, maybe), ok for customers who are willing to pay for them but they're expensive

Again, the distribution model is changing. If I need or want a CD, I can take my download and burn it. This should be allowed under fair use, regardless what RIAA wants to tell us.

Used CD's: bad for artists (no royalties), labels, distributors. good for record stores (better margins, lower prices help indie stores), great for consumers because they're cheap.

Sorry, you lost me there. The artist and label goth their cut when the CD was sold the first time. Please do not tell me you believe that they should receive residuals for secondary transactions.

Burned CD's: bad for everyone except the consumer.

What happened to the tax / royalty that the RIAA got attached to each blank CD-R? That was supposed to compensate the artists for copied CD's?

Internet radio: good for artists, good for consumers.

Agreed

The record store will be a memory soon (if it is not already). Especially the independent stores. But, with the digital world, bands do not need the traditional outlets to get their product heard.

[iconoclastNYC]

56. 1 trillion downloaded "illegally"

Copyright is totally outmoded in the Internet age. Unless the government turns the Internet into a virtual police state Piracy will never be stopped.

[benburch]

59. Then how do artists eat?

I'm happy to cut out the "record labels", they are parasites. But I have friends who need the revenue from selling their recordings.

[Ignacio Upton]

61. maybe levy sales taxes on mp3-related items?

BTW, I agree that people are willing to pay for music online and I used itunes myself from time to time, but I think that paying .99 cents per song is still too pricy. If I were running Itunes I would knock it down to .50 or .70, and charge $7.00 per album. Also, Apple needs to have a "return" policy for music that people mistakenly downloaded. I'm stuck with a hitty acoustic/instrumental version of an album I tried to download a result.

[benburch]

63. There is already a tax on Music CD-Rs.

The RIAA put it in the fund for cocaine and strippers, and the artists get not a dime.

[Ignacio Upton]

66. I would like to see artists directly promote themselves through

the internet instead of signing on with a record label. Unfortunately, the RIAA-member labels have the money and resources to "get your name out."

[benburch]

68. Well, iTunes will let you do that.

There are independents on iTunes.

And there are non-label labels like Magnatune.

But if you have no property rights to your music, you are screwed.

Yeah, you might be screwing Sony when you pirate that new Madonna EP, but who would want to screw Madonna? ( joke intended )

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

62. They tour.

It's been that way for years anyway.

[benburch]

64. And they do.

And are still poor. The recording income makes the difference between continuing and becoming accountants.

And what about artists who CANNOT tour.

Wendy Carlos comes to mind.

What she does is and always has been 100% studio.

You have to be able to sell recordings or the recording artform dies.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

67. Here's something to chew on:

Music sharing doesn't kill CD sales, study says

http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5181562.html

[benburch]

73. Maybe true for big labels.

I wager it is not true for tiny labels like Anton's and small time artists like my friend Candye Kane.

You cannot get her stuff just anywhere, you have to order it.

If instead a person downloads it, I am quite sure that represents a sale that never happens, and that it steals food from her pantry.

Sorry, downloading music you never paid for is theft, and ought to be illegal and result in fines.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

91. I would think smaller artists would be for it more than big artists.

How can someone buy your music if they don't know it exists?

Publicity without being binded to a benevolent :sarcasm: record company.

Anything mid-major and above is a slave factory.

[iconoclastNYC]

94. Your friends biggest problem

Is that nobody knows her. If she encourages people to share her music then she'll have a better chance of becoming popular and earning money from touring and other sources of revenue.

P2P is free publicity.

[LeftHander]

103. Tour is an expense....

paid to sell Albums....

Many many times they don't make money. Until you break into the gaurenteed $5 dollar per head in the venue range you don't make any money. A 2500 person venue charges for everything. The Room, Security, sound system, lighting. heat etc...and then they giveaway hundreds of tickets to boost booze and energy drink sales. Add five bands to the mix and a ticket price of $18 dollars and you have a full house and bands that get maybe $100 dollars to split after expenses. Enough to buy a pizza, twelve pack and a hotel room. Merch and CD sales are big at shows like that.

It is worse for the vast majority of touring indie artists. They play in clubs that have like 200 capacity. Usuually for the $8-$12 door that they split with other bands. If they can get enough gas for the van and some breakfast they are doing better than most. Still they have to pay PA fees. security and promoter fees.

For the music fan if you like the band, paid less than $20 buck for gosh sakes buy a CD, t-shirt or stickers or something from the band at the show....that is extra cash in their pockets.

Its a hard life....with minimal compensation and most levels of the industry, except the tip.

IN general a indie band that has been around for 3 or four disks....::MIGHT:: start to make money...it takes lots of CD sales to replace the income from one fast food job.

A 4 member band would have to consistently sell 20,000 disks a year to make even a very modest living...that would still be less than 15,000 k per year for each member by guestimation.

Disks costs 3 dollars to record and produce. Retail, they sell for 10. (major labels have pushed the price down in recent months) Artists gets 5 you keep 3 to make more disks and new album. Repete that cycle. Until you get three or four disk selling you can't really pay for your craft and pay living expenses.

Now one can understand why Ryan Adams puts out so many disks.

[iconoclastNYC]

93. Here's two ways

Merchandising

Touring

France is about to leaglize P2P by the way.

[Yavin4]

77. This Should Prove To The Dumbasses in the Music Industry...

that you fight illegal downloading by making LEGAL downloading inexpensive and fast. I can't believe that it took the music industry almost 10 years to learn that downloading music over the internet was indeed a new inexpensive way to distribute music. You would think that they learned this lesson from the 80s with the introduction of the VCR. Back then, they made the same lame arguments about pirating until they started selling the movies on VHS at discounted rates. Voila! A whole new market opened up for them, and pirating became obsolete because you could just buy the movies cheaply.

Instead of over-paying retailers and kissing MTV's ass, they should have adopted music downloading as their primary means of selling music. Instead of suing Napster, they should have bought it a long time ago and made it legal. Instead of investing in lawyers to fight technology, they should have adapted technology to fit into their business model.

The sheer idiocy of the music industry shows just how small-minded and ignorant our corporate leaders are. They are more interested in protecting their territory than they are about expanding their business.

Steve Jobs has become one of the richest men on the planet only because he takes chances and eschews conventional thinking.

[mvd]

82. No wonder it's popular

I've found some songs I liked there from albums I didn't want to buy. I'm not saying 99 cents per song is bad, but I'd use it significantly more if the price was 50 cents per song.

Some albums are above $9.99 there, though, and that's too high for albums that don't come with a digital booklet.

[benburch]

85. Steve Jobs would happily make it 50 cents.

But the RIAA & company won't let him.

They wanted him to raise it to $1.99!

[mvd]

87. Yep

RIAA is always out of touch.

[Yavin4]

97. 50 Cents?

Naw, man that's Ludacris.

[benburch]

99. LOL!

I knew something similar would be said!

[Strathos]

98. I love my Ipod mini.

It holds over a thousand songs, (way to many to listen to in one sitting) but it's cool to have it for walking or just around the house.

[Maestro]

105. I have over 150GB of music

either downloaded legally via iTunes or ripped by iTunes from my personal CDs. I am not a prude about downloading music but if I can support a predominantly blue company and help out a little the artists that I like, I see no problem.

[toddaa]

106. Limited catalog?

The first time I saw iTunes, I was totally underwhelmed. My musical tastes are eclectic, leaning heavily towards avant jazz. I see nothing on iTunes that comes close to rivalling the catalogs of Forced Exposure (http://www.forcedexposure.com/) or Downtown Music Gallery (http://www.downtownmusicgallery.com/Main/). Has this changed? Can I get the complete back catalog of ESP-Disk or FMP on iTunes?

[onehandle]

107. The catalog is controlled by the Record Companies.

No major online music source is as broad as we'd want them to be, because the music corporations have no vision or imagination.

If it was up to Apple, everything ever recorded would reside there.