the web about the iPod.
"The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device"
In a way I agree with him. Paying for a service and having access to
everything is nice.
But what I do not see is how in this model do artists, especially new
artists, make money?
I can not see the music industry giving the artists much of a cut of
this stream, and I certainly don't see them doing a weighted system
that encourages some bands to take a larger portion of the pie.
Looking at $19.95 I see how the labels make money, but the artist?
If I am a new artist why do I want to be a part of this network.
Exposure? Easy access to my music so more people know about me and
come buy t-shirts and listen to me live?
If that is the case why wouldn't the artist just upload all of the
tracks and give them away. Encourage niche radio stations.
The labels can afford to just live off their catalogues. Just publish
what they have and extend it with small bits and pieces here and
there. This would be much cheaper then the system they have today.
To do any of this the labels will have to have a combined system to
sell, since no one is going to want to subscribe to a dozen systems
just to hear their favorite bands. Their bickering over the "single"
pipe will take a while. Especially since they aren't going to want to
give any one company control of the channel.
The music industry makes less and less sense everyday.