=====================================================================
THE INDUSTRY STANDARD'S
B E A T S H E E T
A Weekly Report on the Convergence of Music and the Net
=====================================================================
| http://www.thestandard.com |
Tuesday, September 19, 2000
TOP STORY:
* Pay Me, Please
Will fans pay actual greenbacks to fill a virtual tip jar?
NET NOISE:
* OrangeAlley.com
BEATS:
* Student's Computer Seized for Copyright Infringement
* Atomic Pop, We Hardly Knew Ye
* Listen.com Gets WiredPlanet
SOUND OFF:
* Do you think it's demeaning to offer musicians unsolicited tips?
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\
**If your business is content, be at INTERNET CONTENT EAST**
This is THE Conference and Expo for all content providers this fall
October 3-4, Marriott Hotel, World Trade Center, NYC
- The premiere place to share ideas, do business and build alliances
- Over 90 speakers, 70+ exhibiting companies & 1000s of attendees
FREE EXPO REGISTRATION and details at http://www.internetcontent.net
\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
Pay Me, Please
Will fans pay actual greenbacks to fill a virtual tip jar?
By Julene Snyder
The debate over sharing MP3s online - or stealing them, depending on
your point of view - boils down to a single issue: Shouldn't artists
be compensated for their work? Most people see it as a no-brainer: Of
course they should.
The common assumption is that most Webheads simply don't want to pay,
but Fairtunes co-founder Matt Goyer says that people just need a
painless way to do the right thing. Goyer and company co-founder John
Cormie launched Fairtunes.com a few months ago with the aim of letting
fans "make voluntary, secure contributions with their credit cards to
any artist in the name of a particular song or album they've
downloaded. The company will then make contact with the recipient,
pass the money on, and report back to the contributor."
Basically, it's about tossing a buck or two into a jar by way of a
mouse-click. Sure, the $136 that's been contributed to Courtney Love
since the site launched at the end of July won't be enough to buy even
half of a pair of designer shoes, but you've got to start somewhere.
To Goyer's thinking, at least this way Love gets to keep all of those
tips, which she probably wouldn't if the check went straight to
Universal, her record label.
Goyer recalls the day he and Cormie came up with the idea of
Fairtunes. "We were talking about an album that was coming out and
started joking that we'd go buy the CD. But we don't buy albums
anymore; all of our music is on digital format. So we were thinking,
'But we really like these guys, how do we support them? How do we
support our favorite artist even if we're not buying their product
anymore?' We could just send them money directly."
To date, visitors have contributed more than $3,000 to artists through
the site. "Let's face it, people are lazy, and they're not going to do
it if it's not easy," says Goyer. Although the numbers are still
undeniably small - the site gets about 1,000 hits a day - he says
eventually the company hopes to be cutting checks for thousands of
dollars to individual artists. And even the relatively small amounts -
the $12 that's been collected for The Offspring, the $29.77 due to
Nine Inch Nails or Metallica's $15 - can be a lot when you consider
that most artists don't get large amounts of cash from individual
album sales if they have a traditional major-label contract.
"Sure, if an artist is getting $5 from us, or from one person, that's
not a lot of money. But when I go to buy a CD, the artist is only
getting 50 cents." When asked if there's something demeaning about
musicians working for tips, Goyer emphatically disagrees. "I'd say
that 50 cents (from the record label) is more demeaning than $5. Once
we have more traffic and an easier-to-use service, we're going to see
larger check amounts. I don't think that will be demeaning. "He says
the fact that checks have been cashed by artists like Tom Petty, David
Bowie, Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco proves that there's nothing
insulting about being sent unlooked-for money.
Noah Stone, founder of the "artist advocacy group" Artists Coalition
Against Piracy, has been vocal about his opposition to the tip-jar
model for compensating musicians. He posted to the music-industry
"Pho" mailing list, "Imagine leaving a 25-cent tip for a waitress. She
gets offended and throws the quarter at you. The idea that the work
she did wasn't worth more than that is offensive to her. Most artists
are offended by the notion that they should have to work for tips."
In conversation, Stone says he thinks that Fairtune's "heart is in the
right place." Problem is, what they're doing "just isn't a true,
viable alternative to the existing model. What we're hoping from the
Internet is that we can get a real alternative model. But this isn't
it." While Stone wouldn't go so far as to advise people not to take
the money - and even allows that it's possible that this model could
"provide a viable income for some artists" - he says that tip jars
don't solve the fundamental problem of compensating musicians for
their work.
On the other hand, Stone sees the guilt factor that may prompt some
people to make voluntary contributions as a good sign. "It shows that
there is a conscience out there about what people believe is
essentially unethical behavior."
Of course, other opinions abound. The Coalition for the Future of
Music, a group established to give independent artists and labels an
alternative to the Recording Industry Association of America, is all
for the idea of online tip jars and provides step-by-step directions
for artists and fans to pay and get paid for MP3s
(http://www.futureofmusic.com/tipjars/index.html). Sites like X.com's
PayPal.com, Tipjar.com and E-gold are outlined for novitiates.
Another believer is musician Jeff Coleman, who penned an essay for
Insound in late July titled "Busking as a Form of Online
Compensation." There, he says that when he puts his music online, "I
am neither promoting a CD nor fishing for a record deal. I present my
music on the net because it's the busiest street in the world. I'd
like people to stop and have a listen. If they want a copy for their
own, fine, throw me a coin."
And if enough people throw enough coins into the jar, Fairtunes' Goyer
foresees a day when his company might actually break even. For now,
he's on hiatus from school and trying to figure out how he might get
paid for the time he's spent putting the site together. "It costs us
$2 every time we write a check," he says. "Eventually there's going to
have to be a transaction fee."
But whether or not he - or artists - ultimately make a living solely
from Fairtunes isn't necessarily the point. "There's a special tie
between the band and the artist," says Goyer. "When someone sent a $50
contribution to us for the band U2, the message was along the lines
of, 'I've bought all of your CDs, and I'll continue to do so, but
you're getting screwed by your record label, so here's $50.'"
"People don't (contribute to artists through Fairtunes) solely as a
response to pirated music on the Internet," he says. "Yes, some of
it's Napster, but Napster has also brought up issues like the fact
that artists don't own their copyrights. At the end of the day, our
service is a lot more efficient way of compensating artists than going
out and buying their CD."
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\
Check out the Standard's all new Job Shop!
Come browse the hottest job opportunities in the Internet Economy.
Our new posting service brings together the top employers and the
top candidates in the Internet business space. Find your next gig
right here or post a job in front of the best web minds in the world.
Your next career move could be a mouse click away. Visit JOB SHOP today.
http://www.thestandard.com/people/recruitment/?nrc=nhsr
\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
OrangeAlley.com
It's by and for musicians! Yeah, everybody says that, but August
Nelson's site, OrangeAlley, promises that it really means it. Here
you'll find an appeal to fringe-dwellers ("We exist to serve the
thousands of artists out there who are trying to connect with their
audience but don't fit into the record industry's cookie-cutter
approach to music."); manifestos ("We are committed to independent
music, freedom of expression, and the artist's right to earn money
from the digital distribution of their recordings."); and
familiar-sounding rhetoric ("a community that is only possible on the
Internet"). Thus far, pickings look slim, with less than 200 artists
on the site. But the twist is OrangeAlley's "BootLegal" program;
browse the offerings, stream what sounds intriguing ("Crack Whore
Lewinsky," anyone?) and if you like what you hear, buy a license (99
cents for a song, $5.99 for an album, with promises that "the lion's
share" of the money goes to the artist) and receive the right to
download the music with no restrictions on copying or burning it. The
caveat? Go ahead and share it with anyone you like, but you have to
agree to include promo material telling them to go to OrangeAlley and
buy their own license. The do-the-right-thing factor reminds
freeloaders that "they're just taking money directly out of the
artist's pocket. Do that enough, and you'll soon find the lead singer
from your favorite band living in a van down by the river." Ah, guilt,
the great motivator.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEATS
~~~~~
Student's Computer Seized for Copyright Infringement
RIAA tells police that 'an individual' is illegally distributing MP3s.
On September 5, Oklahoma State University police served a student with
a search warrant and confiscated a computer and related equipment
after receiving a letter from the Recording Industry Association of
America stating that "an individual on campus was distributing
copyrighted material." In a matter of minutes, the campus was able to
ascertain which student was responsible, since the RIAA provided the
school's technical services department with the IP address. A school
spokesperson said that 40GB of data - about 1,000 albums worth of
material - were among the material seized. ZDNet reports that an
anonymous source at the recent NetSounds conference in London said the
U.S. courts are under a great deal of pressure from the RIAA to put an
individual in jail for piracy. If this case winds up putting a college
student in jail - or even just ruining a college career - expect a
great wail of anguish from the masses, who will either make a huge
outcry or quietly wipe their hard drives clean and go forth to sin no
more.
Atomic Pop, We Barely Knew Ye
Being hip is not being enough - the site shuts down.
It was going to be the "21st century music company," but instead, the
online label with a then unprecedented 50-50 royalty payment structure
went out with a whimper instead of a bang last week. Founded by big
kahuna Al Teller - a music industry veteran famously booted from his
top post at MCA Music Entertainment in the mid-1990s - Atomic Pop had
grandiose plans, along with what anonymous insider sources have called
confusion about the firm's direction and what's delicately referred to
as "management deficiencies." Public Enemy's Chuck D said that
although his group and the company "made history together" by offering
a full album as an online digital download before releasing the disc
to record stores, in the end the company was overly ambitious.
To read more, click here:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18580,00.html?nl=bts
Listen.com Gets WiredPlanet
The online music directory makes its first acquisition.
Online music directory Listen.com will buy WiredPlanet - a site that
gives content owners, such as Web sites and record labels, the tools
to program their own streaming-audio MP3 stations - for a price that
an insider estimates to be between $1 million and $1.5 million. This
is the first acquisition for Listen.com, which launched last year, and
is a clear indication that the company's strategy is to syndicate
private-label content. Listen.com's president, Sean Ryan, told The
Industry Standard that "most" of WiredPlanet's staff will be given
jobs at Listen.com. A press release from the company said that
Listen.com "will immediately begin to integrate WiredPlanet's
streaming technologies and personalization tools into its offering to
distribution partners and consumers."
To read more, click here:
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,18631,00.html?nl=bts
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUND OFF
~~~~~~~~~
This week's question: Is it demeaning to offer a musician unsolicited
tips?
E-mail your opinions to julene@well.com with "sound off" in the
subject line, and we'll print a selection of the responses in next
week's newsletter. Letters may be edited for clarity and length, so
keep them short and include your name and affiliation if any.
FEEDBACK:
Last week's question: Is it possible for a major-label boycott to
actually make a difference in corporate policy?
If a major label boycott was to make a difference in corporate policy,
then the issue surrounding the boycott would have to garner enough
public passion to be effective. Americans in the latter half of this
century have found few causes to rally behind. Be it apathy, time
constraints or indifference; we simply have not got a unified value
system in our country currently. If America cared enough to make a
difference, then why has the public not tried to affect the price
gouging happening in the petroleum industry this past year? Why did we
allow Clinton to continue as president after his shameful lying? What
this country needs is a "moral patriotism" that moves people to act
collectively in order to affect change. A record label being pressured
to alter its practices because of the debate over intellectual
property? Not today: Go back to the colonial era or World War II, and
maybe you would find such public sensibility.
- Erik Tollefson
Music marketing executive
Portland, Ore.
Unfortunately, a boycott of major labels will not have any deep effect
on corporate policy. Basically, this is because the boy (and girl)
cott will only be embraced by a small percentage of the population.
Only 10 to 30 percent of any community is genuinely "active" and will
take the fight to the streets. That still leaves the Big Four with a
huge piece of the pie, and the effect of a few thousand fewer units
sold will probably be some low-level layoffs or shedding the
up-and-coming bands from the roster.
- Jody Lentz
VP of buzz
eConception
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder (julene@well.com).
Editor: Steven Zeitchik (szeitchik@thestandard.com).
Deputy Editor: Michele Keller (mkeller@thestandard.com).
GET THE MAGAZINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 RISK-FREE issues at this URL:
http://www.thestandard.com/account/magazine
GET MORE NEWSLETTERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Industry Standard newsletters cover the media, stock market,
e-commerce, music, law and more. Enter your e-mail address at the
following URL and select the newsletters you wish to receive:
http://www.thestandard.com/newsletters/
To UNSUBSCRIBE to any newsletters, log in at the following URL and
select the newsletters you wish to cancel:
http://www.thestandard.com/account/newsletters/unsubscribe
GET MORE NEWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go to http://www.thestandard.com for more coverage on the Internet
Economy.
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on advertising in The Industry Standard
Newsletters, contact:
West Coast
Connie Elliott (mailto:celliott@thestandard.com)
East Coast
Norma Wesolowski (mailto:normaw@thestandard.com)
FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Send letters to the editor to letters@thestandard.com.
Please contact us with any problems that arise:
http://www.thestandard.com/service
You can also contact us via phone or mail:
The Industry Standard, Customer Service
(402) 293-0386 (phone)
(402) 293-0794 (fax)
The Industry Standard, Production
315 Pacific Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 733-5400 (main)
(415) 733-5401 (fax)
Copyright 2000 The Industry Standard |