JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Mentor Questions Forum Newsweek Interview with Michael Laskow

y'all JPFers,

Brian would like all of you to believe that because he misread my post above, that I made a "ridiculous statement" about JPF awards not already being a 'filter', and thus anyone reading the thread in its entirety should...

...disregard the facts I've presented in support of my arguments that Laskow's 'vision' is just a way to sign up more JPFs hoping that they'll get favorable consideration in getting 'approved' by TAXI for play on 'JPF channel' on 'future-music-service' (doesn't JPF on Radio Free Virgin do that nicely already?).

Brian said on page 1:



NOW, in my post above, I asked if Brian has created a page of links to the winning songs and artists from JPF awards, and BECAUSE I KNOW HE HAS, I stated, "Well there's your filter right there." Brian's misread.

ALREADY. Like Brian said to Rod on page 2:

"But the filter portion of it is already here. JPF is already there."


A JPF 'filter' that folks can use to go find the artists and listen and hopefully BUY THE CD, or some tracks if they're available that way!

I suggested that a truly far-reaching and eclectic JPF 'filter' would be a list of Brian's favorites in all genres, because he's heard it ALL, not just the top few nominees in each category!

BUT in deflecting attention away from JPF's past-and-current ability to steer folks to places where they can BUY CDs by JPF award-winning artists,

and embracing and promoting this penny-per-play service model on his JPF site, what Brian IS telling you JPF award-winners who have CDs and/or tracks for sale, perhaps through CDBaby, IS THAT HE THINKS YOUR EFFORTS TO SELL YOUR MUSIC FOR CURRENT MARKET VALUE ARE LUDDITE (backward-thinking anti-progress) AND USELESS, BECAUSE THE PENNY-PER-LISTEN FUTURE IS NOW, SO GIVE UP AND GET ONBOARD.

For those who have read my posts with care, I have offered that CDs and music SALES (vs. 'renting-by-the-month') are STILL viable and the public will respond by BUYING, IF you've got a product they want.

If you don't, NO amount of price-slashing is gonna get anybody to LISTEN, much less buy.

I have debunked the fantastic claim that 10 million subscribers are chomping at the bit and raring to sign-on to pitch their pennies at the new 'JPF channel' (one of how many dozen that the new service would offer? Again, doesn't RFV fill that role nicely already?) a thousand or so at a time,

by showing the history of XM satellite radio's subscriber numbers and growth, and their current P&L (ALL 'L'; point being that any new service is going to try to squeeze blood out of turnip artists and songwriters to try to get profitable and keep their checks and jobs after the startup money is all gone).

But Brian, hoping that those of you who aren't following this closely will just fall into line, is trying to dismiss my arguments and their supporting facts by
misreading ONE of my MANY salient points and declaring it as "ridiculous".

SALIENT POINT:

Streaming does NOT leave a copy resident on the playback device. If you're DLing a bunch of songs overnight (see Brian's iTunes example, pg. 1), and playing them back later 'on-demand', you are playing back a DOWNLOAD.

Point being: DOWNLOADS are currently going for 99 cents (not a penny! and 8.5 cents goes to songwriters/publishers) at iTunes, who've just announced their sale of the 50 MILLIONTH DOWNLOAD.

Calling a DOWNLOAD a STREAM is just a way to pay songwriters/publishers LESS than the law provides for.

Brian, page 1:

"Digital download sites based on a per song sales model are going absolutely nowhere."

(ed. note: yeah, 50 million DL sales since March is it? is going "absolutely nowhere". And CDBaby clients who are accepted by iTunes are getting about 50 cents a DL.

Apple may be taking a loss on selling the songs, but THE SONGWRITERS AND ARTISTS AND SR-holders AREN'T! Apple pays 65 cents per song to the SR-holders:

http://www.em411.com/show.php?area=alert&area_id=523 .

NOW, if you're not getting passed on to iTunes by CDBaby, do you think 10 million folks are gonna want to hear your song? But, THAT'S the number Laskow floated AND fired up everybody's imagination with in the Newsweek interview! Talk about 'visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads'!).

Brian made a factual mis-statement that "...[t]hen there is [sic] the subscription models. This model is coming with Virgin Digital (as an on demand feature AND streaming, not just streaming like XM radio)"

XM radio IS NOT STREAMING. It is satellite radio broadcast, a 'push' model. Everybody hears the same thing at the same time. You don't pick the song you want to hear next, you can't skip to the next song coming up on the channel, or even skip forward or back in the song. You choose channel and on/off, that's it.

Streaming is a 'pull' model, a computer-only model. It requests song from a remote server, plays as it is being received, and the file is NOT transferred to, nor is resident at the requesting client after the playback.

Brian doesn't have a firm grasp of the concepts OR terminology.

Again, calling a DOWNLOAD a STREAM is just a way to pay songwriters/publishers LESS than the law provides for.


SALIENT POINT:

Record labels with popular artists and catalog are not legally required to grant access to those tracks to licensees at a rate they find objectionable. They can keep them in the vault, throw darts at them, bake them into a soufflé, IF THEY LIKE.

You, music listener, have NO inborn right to OWN OR EVEN HEAR those songs, no matter HOW BAD it may hurt, except on terms the owner finds acceptable!

And THOSE songs are the honey that the Ten-spot-collecting penny-payers hope will attract subs by the millions, in JPFs hope that SOME of those subs will instantly get addicted to 'JPF channel'.

Paying you a penny a listen.

JPF songwriters and artists, SELL YOUR TRACKS and CDs at current market value, NOT next-to-nothing hitched to some promised imaginary multiplier.

www.wraptor.com will let you sell your work a track at a time, if you don't have a full album, at a price you set and can change easily. So will www.digizaar.com and www.lulu.com and www.usasounds.com and www.buymusic.com WITHOUT anyone passing judgment on the 'market-worthiness' or 'listenability' of your songs!

Because after your prospective customers have listened to all the tracks of yours that they like as many times as they want on 'hog-trough-central', you'll never sell them ANYthing EVER AGAIN, and be left with pennies-on-the-dollar in ROI (return on investment).

That is all.




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EdX.iuma.com www.soundclick.com/40LOVE www.soundclick.com/EdX



[This message has been edited by ed323 (edited 03-16-2004).]