Piracy: Scapegoat for an Entire Industry

Back in October, I posted, in excited anticipation, about Radiohead's newest release In Rainbows. You may recall that the band opted not to sign to a record label. Instead, they made the album available for download and allowed users to pay whatever they wanted.

Radiohead has not released their sales figures, but surveys indicate that most users paid very little for the album. However, whatever Radiohead did receive in payment likely exceeded their share of sales royalties under a conventional recording contract.

Now the physical version of the album is in stores, and (Guess What!) it went straight to #1 in sales for the week. Granted, January is a slow month for music sales, and the total US sales in the first week were about half of Radiohead's highly anticipated previous release. However, this supports the case (however strongly) that piracy is not the primary issue facing the ailing record business. Even here, where listeners were encouraged to download the album for free before it was available in stores, they are able to demonstrate sales most other artists would be jealous of, not to mention that every physical album sold is just gravy at this point.

Instead, the problem with the record industry is stubborn insistence on an outdated business model. They market one catchy song and sell it as a pricey album with 12 crappy songs. Yes, consumers are pirating the catchy songs, but they wouldn't if they were given an alternative with value, like a reasonably priced single (consider the success of iTunes) or an album of genuine quality (think Radiohead).

Don't get me wrong. As a budding Intellectual Property attorney, I firmly support the right of record labels to control the terms of distribution of their copyrighted works. But at some point, they have to consider the practical aspects of enforcement. If their marketing strategy encourages more piracy than they could possibly hope to control, it is bad business not to adapt. Examples like Radiohead's new album illustrate that record labels may be a hindrance to artists rather than an aid, and more artists may choose to exploit their copyrights on their own.

Farewell Andy Olmsted

Major Andrew Olmsted, a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq and frequent blogger at Obsidian Wings, was killed in action on on January 3rd. He left behind a final post to be published in the event of his death. Here's an excerpt:

Soldiers cannot have the option of opting out of missions because they don't agree with them: that violates the social contract. The duly-elected American government decided to go to war in Iraq.... As a soldier, I have a duty to obey the orders of the President of the United States as long as they are Constitutional. I can no more opt out of missions I disagree with than I can ignore laws I think are improper. I do not consider it a violation of my individual rights to have gone to Iraq on orders because I raised my right hand and volunteered to join the army. Whether or not this mission was a good one, my participation in it was an affirmation of something I consider quite necessary to society. So if nothing else, I gave my life for a pretty important principle; I can (if you'll pardon the pun) live with that.
...
Sometimes going to war is the right idea. I think we've drawn that line too far in the direction of war rather than peace, but I'm a soldier and I know that sometimes you have to fight if you're to hold onto what you hold dear. But in making that decision, I believe we understate the costs of war; when we make the decision to fight, we make the decision to kill, and that means lives and families destroyed. Mine now falls into that category; the next time the question of war or peace comes up, if you knew me at least you can understand a bit more just what it is you're deciding to do, and whether or not those costs are worth it.

It is a very insightful and moving post from a self-effacing, fallen soldier. I hope you will read it.

Andy was killed by a sniper while attempting to convince suspected insurgents to surrender before he and his men opened fire. Andy is survived by his wife Amanda.

[Thanks to Cosmic Variance.]