Thursday, January 03, 2008

Is the end near for the RIAA?


I believe the recording industry, as we know it, is dieing. It is dieing because they refuse to change with the times. Like the old horse and buggy whip makers, they are in a line of business which is fading away. I also feel the recording artists are also clinging on to an old and outdated model and must either move-on, or move over.

Why is the RIAA so hot about this? They are hot because they know the end is near. There is no longer a need for the recording industry anymore because of low-cost technology and the Internet. Just about any artist can produce high-quality content. With digital players, there is no need to mass-produce CDs or cassettes. Web sites, like MySpace and YouTube, reduce the need for distribution.

Artists need to realize they will have to work for their money and earn a living off of concerts and selling their brand-name (t-shirts, commercials, sound tracks, video games, etc.).

Now, how many whip makers are there today? In ten years, the recording industry will be the same way. Those who roll with the changes will be successful and make money; those who resist will eventually perish.

For the consumer, this will user in a new era of quality because people will be buying songs they like; not whole albums having one good song and nine crappy tracks of filler.

As a technologist, I have been laughing at the RIAA for years now because they refuse to see the writing on the wall. When I downloaded my first MP3 song in the late-80s, I new the game was changing – and it amazes me to see it has taken the recording industry this long.

What do you think?