Go figure. - Ars Technica

The amount of online “chatter” about an upcoming album release directly correlates to higher physical album sales, according to two researchers with New York University’s Stern Business School.

Could $5 a month save the music industry? was posted on the Star’s site Feb 20, 2008 at 4:30 AM.

The issue:

The Songwriters Association of Canada proposes a $5 monthly fee on subscribers’ Internet bills that would make it legal to download music and hopefully save the failing music industry.

We’ll focus on the negatives, the issues they would need to overcome to make it happen.

WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES?

Internet Service Providers may resist adding $5 to customers’ monthly bills.

The four major record labels, which have traditionally dominated music distribution, oppose all attempts to establish alternatives or competitors.

The federal government, which will have to be convinced of the merit of the changes in the Copyright Act, is reluctant to intervene in the marketplace unless in the public interest.

Songwriters and authors will have to give up their long-established right to approve or disapprove of the use and means of dissemination of their work. The only right they will have is the right to be paid for peer-to-peer downloads.

Internet users who do not download music – paid or otherwise – will balk at paying an extra $5 a month.

Source: David Fewer, staff counsel with the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law

Not even 12 hours later, Feb 20, 2008 at 11:47 AM, the Star posted a series of responses to the above article. Here are the first 11 - all against it - as are almost all the rest [there has to be an easy 100 posted]:

If every Internet subscriber pays $5 monthly; then all music downloads should be free and legal. The Music Association of Canada cannot suck and blow at the same time.
David Boyle, Toronto

Already they over charge huge amount to buy their CDs, if only they could be practical in pricing their product, they would not be in this situation.
Steve Moore, Toronto

If that comes to pass, how and what would corporate and business subscribers pay ? Now I wonder if Toronto Star would also ask for a $5 fee since I came across this on the online edition ?
Mukesh Vashi, Brampton

Ridiculous. I have never downloaded music, never will, I’m lucky to have finally accomplished a level of computer savy to do basic tasks. I still have a collection of tapes for heaven’s sake…I don’t want to be bothered replacing them all with CD,s. So why should people like me, and there are plenty of us, pay for a service we will never use?
Jan Pinney, Elora

I object to paying for a service I would never use. If I want music I use a CD or listen to the radio. Why should I pay for some strangers’ habit of pirating music from the internet
Aileen Carter, Toronto

Since we already pay a levy on blank media such as CDs and DVDs, and there is also a proposal to add a similar levy to hard drives and MP3 players, I don’t see why we should have to pay yet another fee to supposedly compensate for downloaded music. Downloading music is already legal in Canada because of these levies, so why should we be slapped with another fee for doing something that is actually legal?
Iris Gray, Victoria

The idea is ridiculous. Should all mortgage payers be surcharged to help those who live beyond their means and default on their payments? Should all credit card users have to pay extra to bail out those who abuse credit? Should all car drivers have to pay an extra tax to subsidise those who evade payment? The truth of the matter is that the music business has brought its ills upon itself by its head-in-the-sand attitude.
Clive Warner, Monterrey, Mexico

What happens to this money that is collected? How can the possibly know how much a musician or song writer should receive?
Randy Drefs, Medicine Hat

Nothing wrong with paying $5 a month provided you WANT it. But I just dont get the thought process behind this ludicrous proposition of making everyone pay even if you never download music. Are we heading towards a communist/socialist internet usage, having to pay up for someone elses losses. I, for one, will not fork it.
Vikas Thusoo, Richmond Hill

$5 a month for music is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of, even if you are a music downloader. The only music I’ve actually ever downloaded was Radiohead’s newest album, In Rainbows. Radiohead chose to release the music independently and actaully let you set your own price for the online download - a truly novel idea that the music industry should take note of. I have no doubts they’ve still made plenty of money.
Shawn Vickar, Calgary

How arrogant can these people be? First there was a tax on blank CDs, with the working assumption that anyone who burns a CD is ripping off an artist. How do these funds get disubursed? Why should Anne Murray get paid everytime I back up a database on a CD?
Dave Kingston, Toronto

Word is Songwriters Association of Canada has all but accepted the proposal is dead in the water.

And thanks to Coolfer otherwise, I might have missed the responses from readers on that piece

And in the initial article Trent Reznor is noted as a supporter for the ISP music tax when he is on record stating that quote was incorrect.

Photo from Stock.xchng

Our good friend Chuck writes:

You have ten days left to vote in the Best of Saint John Music Poll.
(http://www.giraffecycle.com/survey)
Please read below if you’re unfamiliar with the survey!

Here’s how it’s going to run down. For the next six weeks you will be able to vote in up to 15 categories (you must fill out at least 7 for the ballot to count). Then, on March 15, our super trusty ballot counting monkeys will quit writing the great Canadian novel and figure out who received the most votes. The winners will be announced during a FREE SHOW at A-Khord in mid-April.

Remember, we’re looking for local answers here. If you put down Shania Twain as best female artist, we’re going to laugh at you, so think Saint John and surrounding areas. And don’t get all up in arms if your favorite band/radio station/musician does not win. This poll is about having some fun, and thinking positive about our wonderfully diverse community.

Let’s start filling out some ballots! You can find the poll at http://www.giraffecycle.com/survey. Please feel free to spread the word!

Done!

Title is a comment taken from Digg.com regarding the newest Nine Inch Nails`record

Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.

Trent Reznor explains, “I’ve been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn’t have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I’m very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts.”

And if you don`t want to buy it or even download it from the official site, but prefer to get it via your usual torrent site, well it is already on private torrent sites. The best part being how clear it is who put them there.

The site is currently UP, but from another comment, pricing details:

FREE DOWNLOAD
Ghosts I - The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as
high-quality DRM-free MP3s (320kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged) including complete 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

$5 DOWNLOAD
Ghosts I-IV - All 36 tracks in a variety of DRM-free digital formats (320
kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged; FLAC Lossless; Apple Lossless) including a 40
page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons,
and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.

This version is also available from the Amazon MP3 store.

$10 2XCD SET
Ghosts I-IV - 2 audio CDs in a gatefold digipak package with a 16-page
booklet. To be shipped TBD. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the
entire collection in same choice of formats as $5 Download option. Download
will include the 40 page PDF and the digital extras pack - various wallpapers,
cons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
This configuration will be released to retail in North America (April 8), Australia (April 5), the UK (April 8), Japan (April 5) and most European territories (April 8).

$75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE
Ghosts I-IV - Hardcover book holding 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD of all 36
tracks in multi-track format (in .wav files readable by Mac and Windows), and
Blu-ray disc featuring stereo recordings in high-definition 24 bit 96Khz with
exclusive slide show. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire
collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. Also includes
48-page hardcover of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan.
Discs and art book both housed in fabric slipcover.

$300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE
Ghosts I-IV - Contains all elements from deluxe package, along with
exclusive 4XLP 180-gram vinyl set, and two limited edition Giclee prints
available exclusively in this package. Disc book, art book, and prints are
all housed in a fabric slipcover. 4XLP vinyl set comes in its own fabric
slipcover. INCLUDES immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in
all formats and with all extras mentioned above. LIMITED TO 2500 PIECES,
NUMBERED AND PERSONALLY SIGNED BY TRENT REZNOR.