U2′s mananger Paul McGuinness’s speech at Cannes is very long and covers a lot of ground about how the music industry and the internet might work together. While certainly progressive in places I think he’s wrong in a lot of areas. In short, he seems ignorant of the concept of network neutrality and ultimately comes across as believing the very nature of the internet needs to be changed, rolled back to a more authoritarian model. I, obviously, think this is a bad thing. But hey, it’s not my industry on the line here… via the NMS Newswire
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About this site
In June 2000 I started blogging at peteashton.com and 10 years later in June 2010 I decided to stop. Blogging here, that is. I started a clean slate over on I Am Pete Ashton and maintain all manner of other web presences which are all listed here along with my contact details.
You probably came here via a Google search or from following a link on some old blog post somewhere. I hope what you find is useful in some way, though do check the publication date - it might be rather old now.
Thanks for your eyeballs.
Pete Ashton
Progressive? God, you’re kind. To me he comes across as another confused old dinosaur. It’s just more self-important scaremongering. Home Taping Is Killing Music, blah blah blah.
The mainstream recorded music industry sowed the seeds of its own destruction in the 1990s with its continual insistence on short-term profit and fickle support for only the most consistent cash cows.
Plenty of artists who released on major labels in the 90s have albums locked away in a vault somewhere, current label bosses totally disinterested in discussing re-releases (even via iTunes).
The mainstream music business got itself into its current situation by screwing both artists and audiences alike. Now they’re fighting back and it’s dying. I will happily dance on its grave.
On the margins, however, interesting things are happening. People still want to buy CDs from Mute, 4AD, Rough Trade. Budding artists self-release. Fans fund established bands to record albums.
Fundamentally, most illegal downloads are made by people who would never have paid anyway. Many more people still want product, still want a small part of the magic to be physically present with them.
I’m hugely optimistic. I think the so called Death Of The Music Industry is actually going to mean the death of bland, manufactured music. The interesting stuff – the art – will thrive.
Survival of the fittest, in other words. And thus – neatly if rather inadvertently – we’re back to dinosaurs again. Once so fierce and dominant but now just museum pieces.
I was damning with faint praise there. Compared with the noises music industry types were making a year ago this is very progressive. And while that’s not saying much it is a development in the right direction.
Softly, softly, catchy monkey with these guys.