Random: HELP! Writers Needed Badly!. We've got more great URLs than we can handle, and nowhere near enough people to do the writing. HELP! [Morons Dot Org]

8:05:06 PM    

The Music: A summary for individual action

There's more to come in our business analysis of the future of music, but I wanted to take one post for my own summary of the consequences for individual action of Kevin Law's analysis of the industry.

1. Preferrably, boycott the RIAA labels and acts entirely, and let the industry collapse of its own weight and ineptness. If you need any more reasons, try this. There are lots of non-label acts, festivals, concerts, CDs and MP3s available. The production isn't as slick, but you can find astonishing quality, and have the satisfaction of putting the money straight into the artists' hands.
2. If you feel you must patronize label acts, buy digital tracks online, and hasten the decay of the the channel for physical media embodiments of music. Apple and Dell Computer may have their own issues at time, but they pale in comparison to the corrupting influence of the RIAA.
3. If you really need tangible media, buy online. A virtual channel like Amazon is quite capable of adapting its business model to selling digital tracks, and won't fight the vicious rearguard actions of the physical channel. Update: Or, as Tom Walker writes to suggest: "...buy from small independent used stores.  That way we keep small businesses running, and our money doesn't get back to the RIAA since they already got their profits from the initial buy."
4. If you really must buy a CD in a real store, go to Wal-Mart. Help collapse the influence of Tower Records and other music specialists that are holding back the industry. While you're at it, consider moving your video business to Netflix or another online source. Kevin's analysis makes it clear that the Tower's of the world are near the root of the music industry's retrograde tendencies. Let the air out of their tires.

[Due Diligence]

8:04:37 PM