MUSIC INDUSTRY “SHOULD STRIKE INVESTORS AS A LONG-TERM LOSER,” SAYS MOTLEY FOOL ANALYST: “As an investor, I do all I can to avoid companies that refuse to evolve,” writes analyst Alyce Lomax in The Motley Fool, “I think the media industry fits that niche.” By attacking webcasters like Pandora (services that provide “exactly what many music lovers want”), SoundExchange and record labels are hampering innovation, argues Lomax. By reacting in this way, the music industry has become undesirable. “Their draconian reactions to music’s continuing evolution make them great examples of the types of companies and industries I avoid…Any company or industry that can perceive massive opportunity as a threat should strike investors as a long-term loser.” Read Lomax’ full article here.

LABELS’ ONLINE GRIP FURTHER SLIPS WITH LAUNCH OF MUXTAPE CLONE: In the wake of Pandora’s doomsday announcement (RAIN coverage here), some analysts predicted that if legitimate Internet radio sites were destroyed, a melee of illegal webcasters would arise with no intention of ever paying royalties. Support for that notion may be found in OpenTape, an open-source clone of Muxtape — an on-demand music mixtape site which was recently shut down by the RIAA. As WebProNews observes, “By making the program open source, they’re throwing the door wide open for more similar programs to appear.” Compare to this the Napster fiasco, in which the music industry essentially spawned the world of P2P and BitTorrent downloads by destroying Napster (read Kurt Hanson’s essay on the matter here). By continuing to kill services like Pandora that can be controlled and even profited from, the record industry may be left with a mess of unregulated music sites that pay no royalties and offer no “buy” links whatsoever. For more, read WebProNews’ coverage here.

SAN FRAN AREA HAPPY TONIGHT TO BENEFIT NET RADIO EFFORTS: Guardian’s Hellraiser Happy Hour event tonight will in-part benefit Save Net Radio as part of their support for worthy non-profits. The party is from 6 until 8:30PM at El Rio (3158 Mission Street). More information on the event can be found here.

HD IN SATELLITE RECEIVERS? YOU DECIDE: The FCC will be asking the public if HD radio receivers should be included in satellite radio devices. “We seek comment on what impact including [a satellite] chip and technology in an HD Radio receiver would have on the size, weight, battery life and other parameters of an HD Radio receiver,” writes the FCC in a recently released notice of inquiry. The public may issue their opinions on the matter after the notice of inquiry is published in the Federal Register. Tom Taylor offers this thought on the matter: “If HD proponents want their stuff put on satellite radio receivers, isn’t it fair to ask whether HD radios should also be able to subscribe to satellite?” For more, read R&R’s coverage here.

Comment

1. This situation is a prime example of a group of business people (major labels) who simply do not have the talent to capitalize on a new technological age.

   Corporate re-engineers’ and change-manager’s biggest obstacles are middle managers who actually undermine innovation and new process development, simply because mid-managers can see the end of their place in the new model. Instead of doing the hard work of re-positioning and re-educating themselves within the core of the new models, they typically trip-up those new change programs in efforts to retain their paychecks for as long as possible, costing companies untold millions and years of implementation delays.

   This is now happening on an industry level, with major music labels acting like middle managers of a 1990s telecom company. Even though life as they know it is doomed, they still fight with myopic mindlessness in ways that only make their inevitable demise permanent.

   Bill Wilkins, CEO
   Melted Metal Web Radio
   http://www.meltedmetal.com/scorch/save-net-radio/

   — Melted Metal Web Radio · Aug 27, 11:31 AM · #

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