It's not very funny and doesn't convey the statement very strongly.

I thought it was entertaining. Thumbs its nose at the RIAA, which really is a scary bully-style organization.

But I'm sure the RIAA will sue them for unauthorized use of that Twisted Sister song.

[pedantic]
And it is more correct to say (and reads much better as) "Who are the real criminals?"-- since there are multiple defendants in the commercial, and since "recording industry" is a collective term referring to multiple companies.
[/pedantic]

I ONLY HAVE TWO WORDS FOR MACNN... YOU SUCK!

I MEAN IS THIS SIGHT RUN BY PC IDIOTS OR WHAT? I mean come on, for c*** sake! Do some real reporting of your own and not this lame c***... Shame on you Macnn..

Its true, for what you pay for a music CD vs a DVD movie. Why aren't cd's cheaper?


What an idiotic argument.

The cost of producing and promoting a CD is paid for through sales of the CD.

With DVDs, the cost of producing and promoting the movie has often already been covered by ticket sales, the DVD sales are just icing on the cake. Using your logic a DVD for a successful movie should cost substantially less then a CD. h*** based on your argument, with the money LOTR is making they should be giving away the DVD!

this movie is just RIPE to be downloaded 10-15 times.

gotten the font right..

But really, Apple's not the enemy here. Apple's here to slap the rampant downloaders in the face, and make them realize they're not saying anything from stealing music but "I'm too cheap to buy music".

I'm all for fighting the RIAA, but you can't say you want to support artist when you know that downloading music is going to result in some money being lost to the artist (probably more lost to the RIAA). If you think that's progress, no one's stopping you. Well, some people want to stop you. Apple's giving you another option... like with the Mac.

this is bankrolled by downhillbattle - the same folks that want you to send them your winning pepsi caps so they can promote their indie friends... seems stupid - refuse to buy retsail music so you can burn free music on cdr - this still doesn't help indies. these guys have more anger than brains, and it shows.

uh, i pay $8 to $10 for lunch and will have to do it again tomorrow, $20 a week in gas and have to fill up the car next week again, $70 for tennis shoes that last me one outdoor season, $4 for a 12 pack of coke that lasts a week, $15,000 for a car that may last 10 years if I'm lucky, $15 for a CD that will last a lifetime. That means if I want to listen to the Clash or Chuck Berry or Cold Play I pick it out of my CD collection and NEVER have to buy it again. Ever. Like not ever again. What planet are you on where you consider Cd's overpriced?

I did a spoof on that commercial. you can see it at:
http://homepage.mac.com/jimyounkin/iMovieTheater2.html

-Jim

just makes me love internet activism.

CDs are too expensive, so steal music and the artists you like don't get a CENT! Now THAT's supporting music? Brilliant.

Way back when CDs first started appearing... for $25 a disk at hi-fi stores... we were told by the record companies that the price would remain high until the recording industry switched their infrastructure from analogue to digital. Yes, we consumers were footing the bill. So, 20 plus years later, prices dropped a bit, but never dropped to the cost of LPs ($5 - $10) of the time.

I'd qualify that as greed.

I can understand the complaints. Part of the problem with CDs is the generally low quality of the content they contain. Seriously, look at your typical pop album and if you get 3 decent songs out of 12 or 15, you're doing really good! (I use the term "pop" in the broadest sense, like using "classical".)

Classical labels aren't much better, churning out recordings of the same pieces over and over again and re-releasing (and re-re-releasing) old recordings ad nauseum. Contemporary work is ignored, Interesting and obscure music is released by small labels and can be difficult, if impossible to find.

So what's the solution? Apple has come up with a workable one. it's far from perfect, but it DOES work. I'd like to see higher quality sampling rates, so why not just buy the CD?

I think it is a great idea. Makes people think about what they are buying. Brilliant.

cack. check it out:

http://alanthompson.net/cdrot/

I think there are some valid points beeing made here. Im a total Mac fan and I really lust for an iPod, but I would never buy music from the iTunes store. Its a crappy deal, more like a lease than a purchase really. Sort of embarrasing that Apple are the ones to do this in such a big way.

How is buying a song for 99¢, and having it forever a lease???

I work for several RIAA artists. We've done the math. They make more off of things like iTMS than they ever would through CD Sales.

Downhill Battle wants to promote S***** music that doesn't get played. They don't understand the first thing behind recording a professional album -- it costs a LOT of money. Most musicians, as illustrated by Courtney Love, are idiots and think of the money as a never ending well. They are into it for the fame and spend it fast. When its all coked up, they cry to the press that the mean ol' record company has screwed them over. Folks like Albini, as referenced a page back, are pissed that he produced one of the 90s most influential records, and decided not to even as for producer points instead taking the cash up front thinking it was going to be a dog and got screwed out of millions. As a pee on, I got a quarter of a point for the last major album I worked on (then again, I didn't get paid for my work or the use of my equipment -- it was a gamble, and it paid about 2x what I would have gotten if I would have taken the cash up front...over 2 years).

Most of the artists I deal with these days are grown ups that had their time in the sun. They don't go for all the bullshit, and end up making a pretty decent living. Some have a second career for when they aren't on the road or recording (along with the Hey Aren't You comments). Most have decent homes, and live well. No mansions, nothing Cribs would want to showcase, but they live well. If the kiddies want to waste it all, fine...just don't blame the RIAA for kids doing what kids do. They can't control where the money goes after they give it to them, and if the artist can't speak up about the direction of their own album and show up prepared, expect overruns in the costs. No movie producer would show up to the set with no script, but thats exactly what these kids do every day and then b**** about it later when they got nothing to show for it.

That the RIAA gets away with blaming pirates for their piss poor distribution model. If the choice is between people paying $17.99 for a CD and not buying music, most will choose not buying. That's why CD album sales are falling year to year, and CD single sales are nonexistent. While they have a right to go after the pirates, they are not the problem. iTMS is a start to a better solution, but I won't buy anything from them until I get a better deal. I want lossless compression, and I want more rights under DRM, like the ability to play on ANY device I want (not just computers, iPods, and CDs) and the ability to sell my purchased license to others. When my conditions are met, your people can get in touch with my people.

http://jacobschatter.blogspot.com

Well, sending a dollar to an artist is quicker, safer and 10+ times cheaper by regular mail then through cds or apple's music store. (Guess what? When you get your crippled mp3-imitation you don't pay the artist. You pay those suing 12 year old kids.)