HDCP and Apple

There used to be a time when joining a record label was a huge achievement for an artist because it enabled them to increase the range of distribution for their music.  In current times it’s unfortunate that record labels have positioned themselves for reigning in that distribution instead of nurturing it.  The internet has presented itself as a tool for distribution that is unprecedented in our history.  I find it saddening that major record labels aren’t using this to their advantage.

I figure that each record label should be selling their brand experience, not their music.  Musicians would be inclined to associated themselves with a record label based on the ideals associated with their brand, and their webportal experience would be an extension of those ideals.  An entire culture of loyal users would visit the website on a daily/weekly basis to find out what new music there was available, and the record label would be happy to give that new music away for free.  Why!?  Because it creates the potential for new fans at absolutely no cost to the record label, and increases ticket sales for the little guy who just got signed.

The potential exists today for a record label to subsist on several lesser known artists pulling in medium sized crowds with lots of tour dates.  Labels could even go so far as to give their users the option of providing location in their user profiles and then map the fan base geography to optimize tour locations for each band.

Instead, they force one of the largest distribution networks they have to piss of their entire viewership and in the end loose out on the potential to capitalize on what people want most.  Good music.

Cheers,

Tarandon