>>>I choose to support the artists' right to choose for themselves.<<<
Maybe I missed something in Janis' Article, But I am almost positive that she said the Artist does not own the rights to his/her songs. In order to get a contract to get their works published, they sign contracts giving the ownership to the Studio. As this is the only game in town( a lack of competition) they have no choice if they want to sell their product. And to attempt to sell it on their own usually fails because of the lack of Knowledge as to how the industry works and pressure on the Normal retail outlets By major brands to block them. Also, the Artist will Never Own them due to changes in the copyright laws that are extending ownership of copyrighted materials for up to 70 years, well beyond the artists' lifetime. This will apply to TV programs (did you know that many older programs, the Actors do not even recieve royalties on reruns? the Producing studio or current copyright owner gets the money) Books, Drawings - any intellectual property, To have it made commercially available you have to go to the gatekeepers (the recording/publishing companies) and deal on their terms or under todays methodology, you don't get on the market. Neat Scam.
>>>It is not my place to make that choice for them.<<<
A position I can and do respect.
But what do we use for weapons? Giving up the only one they fear and respect makes the consumer powerless again.
As to numerology and bad statistics, It is almost always a result of making public the ones that support your position rather than an honest mistake. It is a time honered concept in politics and business. Enron and Other companies know this. that is why they hire accountants that skew the numbers to their favor. Especally at tax time.
When you have a virtual monopoly, and a new technology comes along to challange it, the nature of the human is to destroy it to protect their territory. The History of Industry is filled with examples of old technology producers warring against change and delaying the arrival of new products and new technologies Including medicines and fuels for many decades or until some country allows the new technology a foothold where it becomes sucessful and from there takes over the market. Japan used to be the center for this type of revolution, now it is the countries like Korea.
Posted on Jul 17, 2002, 2:43 AM from IP address 207.159.110.54