I think I must have posted the same blog from Auckland 3 times yesterday trying to figure out why it wasn't showing up on the front page (or even in my administrative console). Today I went to my blog and saw my blog posted three times… sigh! I guess that because I am blogging from the future (my blog is run out of some place in the US) it does not show up until the present (or is that past). Global village indeed!
Thanks to the good boys and girls at mozilla.org and their release of Firefox 2.0 today my blogs should have no spelling mistakes: That means smrt becomes smart!
So last week I purchased the new Grandaddy release Just Like The Fambly Cat from iTunes. They offered a version with an “exclusive bonus track” for the same price as the non-exclusive one. Why they'd offer both is beyond me but of course I went for the exclusive.
After downloading it I started playing a random track and it sounded like a skipping CD. Humorously I wasn't sure, given Grandaddy's brand of slacker-stoner-indie-rock, if that was the way it was supposed to be. But after playing a few more tracks I realised that somethign was up as they all skipped that way. I even compared the previews with the non-exclusive release to hear what the sound should have been like… just to make sure!
Well I found the appropiate support form, after much searching, and stated my case. I received a response within 24 hours despite the web site saying more like 72 hours! They refunded my money and told me to hold off purchasing that release for a few weeks where at which time it might be fixed or removed… Hmmm I guess I wait and see what they do with Fambly.
I'm a technologist so I know things go wrong. I'm not sure how this can slip through quality control, especially as it was an iTunes exclusive (with a banner on the homepage), but they were quick to fix things which ultimately was all I wanted.
… but definitely something healthier than sitting on the couch playing video games… also a sign of some theatre students with way too much time on their hands! I think they should take their act on the road and add other live video games.
I stumbled upon this site the other day. It makes several arguments against Apple's iTunes Music Store (iTMS). The main argument being that it screws musicians just as they have been time and time before. The site states the following:
First of all, Apple gets 3 times as much money as musicians from each sale. Apple takes a 35% cut from every song and every album sold, a huge amount considering how little they have to do. Record labels receive the other 65% of each sale. Of this, major label artists will end up with only 8 to 14 cents per song, depending on their contract.
Following this quote that makes the breakdown approximately: Apple $0.35, Record Label $0.51 and the musician(s) $0.14 (best case scenario).
I am not going to argue whether this is accurate or not (as I believe it is a likely breakdown). I also do not disagree that musicians are getting a bum deal. I do not, however, see iTMS as inherently evil.
For one they do distribute indie and near-indie (i.e. BSS or Wolf Parade) bands. A record label cut of 64 cents equalling at most only 14 cents is not a problem with iTMS but with the record industry. Apple has not improved the situation but they haven't changed it for the worst either.
If anything I view iTMS as an enabler. Digital music is still not an easy commodity to acquire legally. Apple has successfully combined a simple music program with the concept of an e-commerce music store. They've leveraged their market share of the iPod to force the record industry to accept digital music as a valid means of distribution. Finally, they have gained world-wide user acceptance to actually buy digital music as opposed to take it. This is no small feat esspecially considering the heavy-handed approach of the RIAA and the activity of many illegal channels such as Kazaa.
I feel I should also address the topic of Digital Rights Management or DRM as it is often referred to. This is even more topical in Canada with this press release from a couple days back annoucing the formation of the Canadian Music Creators Coalition. DRM is essentially placebo. Any DRM implementation is always a target for hackers to attempt to crack (and crack it they can and will).
DRM ultimately only protects music from the everyday user, who is not typically a bootlegger redistributing or worst reselling music en mass illegally, but merely is looking to make copies for personal use or to share music with a few friends. In fact in Canada we pay a media levy to allow us to do this legally.
Apple's DRM, FairPlay, is even more of a concern. Apple owns the rights to the FairPlay specification and have choosen not to open it to non-Apple products. This means music bought at iTMS will never work on your home sterio without the aide of an Apple product. This means only a limited usage of the digital music bought.
Alas admittedly, I am a semi-frequent consumer of iTMS. I do enjoy the convience. I believe that most of the music I buy not be mainstream and therefore that most of my money does not end up in the hands of the record industry. Also the work around to Apple's DRM? Burn a CD and re-import!