Copyright Law

Interesting article on future of music business by Bob Lefsetz

By Ty Rogers and Ray Beckerman

Interesting article by Bob Lefsetz on the future of the music business:

Spotify

It?s time to stop suing traders (stop the Pirate Bay proceedings post-haste) and recognize that the labels will be saved by the future, which is imminent.

I used to comb Limewire and Rapidshare, adding to my collection of often unlistened to MP3s. But I?ve just about given up. It?s just not worth the time. Not when I?ve got Spotify.

Once again, everything the pundits said was going to be true is. You don?t fight piracy via lawsuits, you just develop a more enticing business proposition. ISP fees? Charging for downloading? Who is going to bother to take the time to steal when you can listen to whatever you want, instantly?

The biggest mistake the major labels ever made was their refusal to license Napster. Suing the company was okay, after all, the trading company insisted its service did not infringe copyrights. Once the court decreed that they did, the labels needed to license Napster. Exact terms of the deal were irrelevant. Because Napster had a defined lifespan. Like a Nintendo Game Cube or a PlayStation 2. In tech world, there are product cycles. Presently, Apple is on the upswing in the notebook/laptop world. Will this maintain?

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Full post as published by Recording Industry vs The People on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).