Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Post-Napster Music Industry: Still Economically Viable?

Given that stadium-filling rock concerts are still a reality, did the global music industry faired well since Napster made free downloading of music a reality?

By: Ringo Bones

If you want any proof that the global music industry have faired well against the Bolshevist Napsterization of how we get new music - as in free on the Internet - just look at Bruce Dickinson ferrying his Iron Maiden bandmates and gear via an Astraeus 757 designated as Ed Force One. And given that Iron Maiden and related fanbases has been designated by the multinational music industry fatcats as the scapegoat du jour for illegally downloading their copyrighted wares for over a decade, is this proof positive that the music industry have faired well against Napsterization?

Short of finding enough funds for Iron Maiden performing the first heavy metal rock concert in weightless conditions on board the International Space Station, the music industry fatcats had been showing us facts and figures on how Napster and its ilk had devastated their bottom line. But it did allow some deservingly talented acts access to a worldwide audience without going through the record industry fatcat middlemen. All you have to do now is to find these great stuff on the web - and its free. Copyright infringement be damned - though I just hope they can solve the perennial problem of not so pristine sound quality, someday.