DVDs have more information on them and cost less...
CDs generally have 2 decent songs and the rest is crapolla. Hence the popularity of "Greatest Hits" CDs.
Then while in grad school in the 1990s, I became busy replacing many
of my vinyl releases with CD's. At the same time, entrepreneurial music
industry types began to exploit the market for out-of-print recordings
by reissuing long out-of-print records on CD formats, which of course I
instantly snapped up.
So here I sit circa 2007 with a house filled with over 1000 vinyl
records and around 800 CD's. If you figure about $12 per recording as
an accurate average, that's somewhere around $20,000. Not a bad chunk
of change for the music business, I say.
Last week while I was busy importing my CD's into iTunes so I could
listen to them on my iPod (a most tedious task), I hopped on the
internet. iTunes was busy importing a Luna CD, one of my favorite
bands, so I decided to see what they were up to since they disbanded a
few years back. After a few clicks in Google, I found a blog site
describing a posthumous, internet-only release of a collection of
covers the band had recorded throughout their career. While I already
had many of the songs (they were often featured on b-sides and imported
singles, etc.), I couldn't resist tracking down this compilation. As I
read further on the blog site I encountered a link to a .zip file
containing the entire collection ripped as 128kbps mp3's.
While I must admit being tempted to simply click away and download
the collection, I though to myself, "Well, if I buy the music it's only
$10, and this way I will get high quality .WAV files. Besides, it's not
like Luna were getting rich off of their careers, they could use the
money..."
So I headed to Rhino's online store, purchased the music, and downloaded the files.
A little later that evening, I tried to move the .WMA files into
iTunes, when I received an error message telling me that iTunes could
not import them because they were copy protected. I downloaded the
files again (which took another 12 minutes) and again, the same message.
So I called Rhino customer support and after an 8 minute wait spoke
with a representative. She informed me that the files were indeed copy
protected so that I could only play them on specific music players,
most notably not iTunes.
"You don't understand," I said, "These files were not copied or pirated, I actually purchased them."
"Well" she responded, "You didn't actually purchase the files, you
really purchased a license to listen to the music, and the license is
very specific about how they can be played or listened to."
Now I was baffled. "Records never came with any such restrictions," I said.
She replied, "Well they were supposed to, but we weren't able to enforce those licenses back then, and now we can"
She later went on to explain that I could burn the songs to a CD and
listen to them in a regular CD player, but I would need an additional
Windows based music player to listen to them on my computer. But either
way, she suggested there was no way the files could be played on my
iPod.
Frustrated, I hung up and began my search for a Windows application
to allow me to burn the music to a CD. After downloading Nero and
firing it up, imagine my frustration when I receive another error
message telling me it cannot locate the licenses for the music I
purchased.
I call Rhino again, and this time speak to a young male CSR. He
explains that I need updated licenses in order to burn the music and
often the problem is that many firewalls will allow the music to pass
through the firewall, but not the licenses because of their encryption
schemes. Lest you think I am exaggerating, I included below the
following text from their website (apparently this is a big enough
problem that it warrants mentioning in their FAQ):
1. Temporarily disable all firewall and pop-up blocker software you may be running on your computer.
2. Attempt the download again
If the Licensing portion of the download is still hanging, please
update the Digital Rights Management (DRM) component on your computer
via the following URL:
http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/indivit2.htm
The friendly CSR representative then suggests that I try once more
to download the files and licenses and if I still have no luck to try
accessing the internet from other providers such as a local coffee
shop, library, or work computer.
"Basically, just keep downloading the music until you find a gateway that let's your licenses through without problems"
While I would like to say I responded with something witty, I must
admit to being completely flummoxed. There I sat, a loyal music fan who
has shelled out actual money to a business that is supposed to be
having financial problems, and the best they can do is tell me to
wander the streets of Seattle looking for different internet providers
who might allow me to download the music that I have already paid for,
music that I have spent the better part of three house trying to listen
to, and which is still unusable?
How on earth have things come to this?!?!?!
Honestly, if this is the best you can do, you're business is in really, really serious trouble.
I mean, could you imagine the consumer response if Coke could only
be consumed from specific Coke-approved equipment, and then only in the
specific ways that the folks at Coke wanted the product to be consumed.
"drinking Coke with fast food is no problem, but we must warn you that
your license forbids the mixing of Coke with any alcoholic beverages..."
In the end, I never was able to get the music to play on
anything--my computer, on a CD or on my iPod. I invested $10, several
hours of my time, and my reward was, well, nothing.
I'd like to say I was outraged, but in the end I must admit to
feeling remarkably sad and deflated over the whole process. See, the
thing is, I was raised on music. I was saved by music. I (used to) live
for music. Lester Bangs wasn't my idol, he was my soul mate (in a
matter of speaking).
I've devoted a not-inconsequential chunk of my life to collecting
music; to tracking down obscure records, cassettes, 8-Tracks and CD's
of all genres and styles. And now apparently that is all but over.
Music has somehow evolved from tangible things into amorphous
collections of 1's and 0's guarded over by interested parties as if
they were gold bullion. How so very sad.
I would like to think that someone at a place like Rhino would care
enough to not let these kinds of things happen. But alas, my suspicion
is that anyone who would have been cool enough to work at Rhino in
their heyday some twenty years ago would never be so callous, foolish
or shallow to allow these kind of absurdities to occur.
Since I've resigned myself not to waste any more time with the music
business, I suppose I'll have to resort to purchasing used CD's &
records, or having my friends occasionally make me a copy of one of
their newer CD's.
Call it piracy. Call it whatever you want. But at least I tried. I
gave you several chances and you failed miserably at every level.
Jarrett
Well, it's a good thing you stopped Jarrett from sharing his files
on the internet. Imagine! Losing a good customer! Oh wait. It's not
free music that drives some people to piracy, it's the lack of a
quality product from legitimate music sources. —MEGHANN MARCO
