"What's The Download" Music Industry Launch's Site

[Earendil]

The music industry (record company? I dunno) Launched a site recently. I only heard about it during the Grammies last night, hope this isn't old news

The site contains a bunch of info on illiegal downloading, and alternative ways to get music (including the featured site, iTunes! woot!)

What do you guys think?

http://whatsthedownload.com

Tyler
Earendil

 

[srobert]

Hmmm... when I go to the site, it's Napster that is featured on the front page.

I did find iTMS in the list of featured sites though. It's in first place but only because it's in alphabetical order.

Not the best exposure but, hey!, maybe they'll rotate those featured sites logo on the front page.

 

[rainman::|:|]

my god, what an attempt to be "cool". They go from suing people, to a site including the words "hit us up", "legal stuff", "file-swapping"... they need a better PR firm.

i'm not loving the fact that napster is their initial "site of the month", as iTunes is the one that started the craze, and by which the other services are gauged...

paul

 

[coolsoldier]

Interesting note about the results of their "poll" -- all of those things that look like bars don't actually show the results of the poll. In a poll with 60% to 20% results, it's kind of weird that all the bars are the same length.

 

[bitfactory]

read Moby's quote on the site... i'm not sure if he's FOR filesharing or against it! i'm surprised they put it up there.

 

[coolsoldier]

Originally posted by bitfactory
read Moby's quote on the site... i'm not sure if he's FOR filesharing or against it! i'm surprised they put it up there.

A lot of the artist quotes they have are impressive. They shows real level-headed thinking and not just a knee-jerk "file sharing is the devil" reaction. I think this site is a better public presentation than most of what we get from the recording industry... now if only the RIAA would learn a lesson or two from the Recording Academy.

 

[Dippo]

Sounds like a true artist,

Moby

"Well, the whole reason I started making music is cause I love music and I'm flattered if anyone makes an effort to listen to my music whether they buy a CD, whether they do a legal download, whether they download something illegally, whether they listen to it at a friend's house. I just am flattered and honored when someone makes the effort to listen to my music. So, of course I support legal downloading, but, to be honest with you I'm pleased if someone downloads my music illegally. Again I feel quite flattered."

Dido

"I think for me it's a mixed thing, I love people hearing my music, however they hear it. I think it's great and it makes me happy. But I do think that people need to know what the consequences of it are going to be, which is you're not going to get to hear new artists as much. New music is not going to get a chance, which means not so much variety because, for me, what seems to be happening, the more illegal downloading is taking off, the more the record companies are suffering, the more that they're only concentrating on the big artists and the littler ones, who probably are making far better music quite frankly, aren't getting heard. And, I just think everyone loses at that point. So, to me it's just about being careful with an industry that can bring us a lot of joy, and bring us a lot of variety of music, and just being careful that it doesn't get destroyed because of it. I'm never going to get too upset when I hear about someone downloading something because I think great, they like it. But, I'm doing fine. But that doesn't mean my friends who sing or play or whatever are doing as fine."

 

[Makosuke]

Wow, that's actually a fairly reasonable, interesting site. The poll graphic is downright insulting (I hope it's a bug, not an intentional distortion of the facts), and it has a clear bent toward legal downloading (not exactly an unreasonable stance, though doing it through talking about lawsuits is a nasty tactic) but the musician quotes are by and large forward thinking and meaningful.

Since I think the whole iTMS-inspired internet music scene has the potential to destablize and reorganize the top-heavy music industry (since when should an art form have its own industry?), I consider anything promoting legal downloading potentially subversive to the RIAA, and therefore good.

Here was another good one:

Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

"We've all been living with the old design where bands sign up with record labels, and musicians end up losing control. In my opinion, that model has ripped off more from musicians [than piracy]. Why not try something else? What have I got to lose by jumping in and experimenting with doing a selected release on a few Web sites?

There has to be some kind of alternative that omits the recording labels so the artist becomes the salesman for his wares. And the Internet could be the vehicle by which he can do that."

 

[OutThere]

It's a Safari bug: