i learned a long time ago... it's not a matter of whether i like it or not. it is a fact. if people are affected by your music, they will redistribute it.
i mean... back in 1994 i convinced sidd into making the internet's first shopping cart (for the purpose of allowing people to buy music.) it runs a computer program that automagically adds up the total of your sale, adds sales tax, etc.
the idea was based on the concept of giving "bits" away for free. people weren't downloading songs back then... because they were on 14.4 modems. so, we gave them free samples. then... the idea was they would buy a tape or cd... and supposedly interact with the website.
later, we even packaged a cd-rom that way (called Self Imposed Discipline Distortion or SIDD for short.) you'd put it in your computer and fire-up a webbrowser. you could listen to it like an audio cd... or interact through the webbrowser.
sidd (the human, not the cd) also helped me create the first www music subscription site in '94. included in the subscription was a username and password that would let you into the rock n' roll romper room where you could get music... or watch/interact with the musicians and business people in the "music world"
variations on the subscription model included pay-per-download
soooo... you see... we tried all these models first. then, we watched others try them.
up until 1997, i fought piracy in a severe way. i had not yet learned that -- it's not a matter of whether i like it or not.
but by 1997... i'd seen enough. we had entered into arrangements with several other record companies. we were trying to sell cd's of big names... bob marley to tabatha's secret. before that i'd failed at selling my own music, so i figured it was just cuz i sucked. however, when we couldn't sell famous names... at cost... i said to myself, "this ain't the right path."
once someone can hear it, they can make a digital copy of it.
there ain't no stopping it
that is why we abandoned subscription based models and models that relied on proprietary file formats, etc.
when someone with a subscription or pay-per-download listens to it, they make a copy. often they don't even know they redistribute it.
if you make it so the file only plays for a certain period of time... it can still be copied before it dies.
if you make a file that you think is un-copy-able... you are foolin' yourself. i can hook-up any listening device to a digital recorder. if i can hear it, i can make a copy that sounds identical.
soooo... i learned the hard way:
it's not a matter of whether i like it or not. it is a fact. if people are affected by your music, they will redistribute it.
thus i came to learn
and, instead of fighting it, i embraced it... if you want to steal my messages... and give them to others... go for it! (after all, i'm just scribin' for Her anyway.)
ever since then, the music business has worked out for me... i love it... and can't understand why more musicians don't do it?
It doesn't really matter,
Whether you like it or not,
I'm suggesting this,
Because it's a battle,
I've already fought.
Every approach tried to date,
We'd tried long before,
It wasn't in us to leave it to fate,
We've looked behind most every door.
That doesn't mean it can't be done,
Just not the way they are,
Lucky for me,
I've found a path,
That's taken me pretty far.
So, you see,
The war can be won,
I've done the math.
It will make no difference,
If you accept it or not,
The evidence --
It's a battle,
I've already fought.