"
I am not worried about MQA, or technological progress being altered or
anyone losing anything in terms of music quality. I did worry or at
least wonder around the years after 2000 how record companies and
recording artists would continue to make money when Napster, Gnutella,
Freenet, Kazaa, Limewire and other free music sharing music online
companies were allowing artists music to be shared and CD sales, along
with other music sales (such as albums) were declining year by year.
" - 2psyop
Glad there is record label representation here on Audiogon - the poor, poor record companies and various "starving artists" that were so badly hurt by the likes of Napster need a spokeperson like you to help them make payments on their Maybachs and mansions....(massive eyeroll)
A much brighter future for both technology and the "starving artists" is possible when artists bypass the useless parasites that make up the "record label" consortium. With streaming, there is no huge manufacturing overhead required to manufacture/distribute physical media. Any mom/pop shop can stream media online. You don't have to be a Warner Brothers or Sony with hundreds of "executive vice presidents" sitting on their duffs attending meetings about scheduling marketing meetings.
Open source digital audio technology doesn't have to give way to big player monopolies with never ending licensing fees and absolute control over distribution that stifles technological progress and innovation. Artists in the future can and hopefully will have more control in direct marketing/streaming their creative product to the masses using canned "off the shelf" technology to assist them in managing content distribution/security. In the past 10 years, we've started to see a building trend. Practically every serious group or artist - new or old, has a website and does some amount of direct marketing.
The old model using big record labels with their leagues of fat cat lawyers and overpaid "management" is no longer necessary and hopefully will go extinct sooner than later. There are plenty of small independent top quality tech saavy recording studios these days that help produce excellent content catering to a variety of talent from rookies to well known veterans. Artists don't need the big fat cats to prosper. In fact, there's plenty of evidence to suggest that they and every other aspect of the music industry will do just fine without the blood sucking monopoly players. Hopefully, there will come a time when the general consensus among artists is that they'd rather have more control over their own creative identity and destiny than continue to rely on a select group of "star makers" who determine who gets promoted and who doesn't. There is so much that is wrong with the old model. But thanks for speaking up for the poor media distribution companies. God knows they need spokespeople like you looking out for them.