Music

Downloading has an Impact on Music Sales

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The impact, though, is very small and in some cases positive:

This estimated effect is statistically indistinguishable from zero despite a narrow standard error. The economic effect is also small. Even in the most pessimistic specification, five thousand downloads are needed to displace a single album sale. We also find that file sharing has a differential impact across sales categories. For example, high selling albums actually benefit from file
sharing.

So, as has been recently mentioned here the content providers and in particular the RIAA might want to take another look at their business models. Perhaps the artists should consider whether they really want to be involved with the RIAA members.
On the other hand Newmark’s Door links to this study which argues that there is a significant impact. I hope Craig does take a closer look at the two studies and write something on their comparative validity from a technical perspective.
Initial link to the Strumpf Oberholzer-gee study via Boing Boing.

Jammin’ the Night Away

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Well, I don’t agree with SK Bubba’s rating of the Allman Brothers Band as the greatest touring jam band Ever. Regular readers will probably know my choice.
However, Bubba’s rating and Scott’s review of last night’s Beacon Theater show inspire me so I’ll download a recent show or two for listening and plan to attend their next close by gig.

Goin’ Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

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I apologize in advance. It is late and this post assumes some prior knowledge as I’m too tired to spend time on backstory which is pretty readily available for those who are interested.
I like good music in small indoor venues much better then in large outdoor amphitheaters and stadiums. The sound stays around you, the mood stays around you and you really can not escape. You must ride out the storm.
Ratdog tonight (3/8) was no exception and an excellent example of why many of us keep going back for more and then more. A perfect storm. Well, not quite but it was clear that the band and Weir in particular were trying. There was a fair amount of experimentation. Some of it worked and some didn’t…I saw Weir grimace several times. No not quite perfect but maybe the next show will be…and even if it is not you will know that they tried, you will be hooked by what they teased and didn’t quite play and just maybe they will play your perfect set list next time.
Let me mention just a few of tonight’s many treats.

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The Music Industry Might be Wise to Get Rid of the RIAA

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John Dvorak makes this interesting argument:

Copy protection schemes, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and lawsuits against file sharers are not going to save the music business. In fact, the opposite is true. I’m convinced that the shuttering of the original wide-open Napster almost four years ago was the beginning of the end for the recording industry. This is because Napster was not just an alternative distribution network; it was an alternative sampling system.

Dvorak is right about the aborted potential of Napster to power growth in the music industry but it was never going to survive in its old form with or without Napster like sampling capability.
I can’t predict exactly how it will transform as such things take on a lives of their own but I do expect to see massive disintermediation despite the best effort of the faltering industry dinosaurs.
Napster was the tip of the meteor so to speak. The RIAA, Warner, Sony, etc., congress, the FCC all need to just get out of the way because we will have our music and we will have it at the price and in the form that we find useful and enjoyable.