> Off-topic, kinda.
>
> It seems to me that recording artists themselves are missing a chance
> to bypass the record labels, by developing their own open-source
> alternative to mp3s that would allow them to be paid for their work
> without involving a record company at all. Imagine how rich they
> could be if they could keep *all* the proceeds! Is such a thing
> actually happening anywhere?
>
> ~ Kiran <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I doubt it. For a start, the number of unsigned bands who are "techy" enough
to start posting mp3s and the like is pretty small. Amongst them, there can
only be a few sufficiently talented to write new audio formats.
Then you've got the problem of people actually wanting to pay for their
music. For an unsigned band, releasing MP3 (and other formats) samples of
their work is a way to gain exposure and also to keep momentum up amongst
their current fans (gives them something to put on thier MD players while
the band sort out recording something properly). In the end, it all comes
down to promoting themselves well enough to get a good record deal.
At the end of the day, the bands could all chip in for a nice fast
e-commerce server and hire someone to run it. But that's a huge amount of
cash for not a lot of return - and if you have someone else owning/running
the server (who would need a cut of the profits to keep the whole thing
going), then it just becomes another record label, just in a different form.
And anyway - who would pay (whatever amount) to listen to some unsigned
band's MP3s? Certainly while mp3.com exists, I can't see a lot of point :)
Simon
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