Music Outlaws Beware: New Sheriff In Town & He Has A Plan
By Bryan Munson

New York, NY (March 28, 2008) – From Wired Magazine:

…”Edgar Bronfman Jr.'s Warner Music Group has tapped industry veteran Jim Griffin to spearhead a controversial plan to bundle a monthly fee into consumers' Internet service bills for unlimited access to music.

The plan—the boldest move yet to keep the wounded entertainment industry giants afloat—is simple: Consumers will pay a monthly fee, bundled into an internet service bill in exchange for unfettered access to a database of all known music.

Bronfman's decision to hire Griffin, a respected industry critic, demonstrates the desperation of the recording industry. It has shrunk to a $10 billion business from $15 billion in almost a decade. Compact disc sales are plummeting as online music downloads skyrocket.”


This announcement comes at a time when several other major players in the industry are trying their hand at “music as a service” solutions.  Sony is working on an on-line subscription service that would give consumers unlimited access to their catalog, while Apple is in talks with the Big Four about an unlimited music deal.  Warner thinks that this small additional fee – maybe $5 a month, bundled into their monthly Internet access bill in exchange for the right to freely download, upload, copy, and share music without restrictions – is the answer to “monetizing the anarchy of the Internet.”

While some will cry foul that they’re being charged for a service they’re not using, it’s an interesting idea.  Griffin believes that by getting the right people on board, he can create a $20 BILLION annual pool to pay artists/labels from.  Eventually, he says, “advertising could subsidize the entire system, so that users who don't want to receive ads could pay the fee, and those who don't mind advertising wouldn't pay a dime.”

I say go for it.  If there’s that much money to split, the artists are going to recoup on it now more than they have in the past, which would be a good look.  It would definitely give some assistance to the traveling road or indie artists out there.  And it shows that at least one of the majors is thinking with a foot outside the box.  Personally, I wouldn’t have a problem paying the extra money if I knew I was going to use it. 

I wonder what the breakdown of people willing to pay for it would look like?

Comments:

VIEWING 1 - 3 OUT OF 3 COMMENTS mcrumble 03/30/2008 03:19:59 cool but what if a person does buy the music in stores and has to pay extra on their cable bill? NIKIBOND 03/29/2008 14:32:38 IM FEELING THE IDEA OF THE POOL TO PAY ARTISTS/LABELS ...USING ADVERTISEMENT MONEY TO FILL THAT POOL WOULD BE THE BEST IDEA..I DOUBT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GO FOR THE EXTRA CHARGES ADDED TO MONTHLY IP BILLS THAT SEEM TO INCREASE CHARGES WHENEVER THE SEE FIT. CaliakaKazie 03/28/2008 23:59:21 This idea is great if it include,under-ground artist and there music,to be paid royalities, and be scored on all of the chart's, with radio rotations equal to establish artist that's been in the industry, other than fear treatment to underground artist, there will be a backlash on companies milking new artist, fraudulent tax credit claim by the music industry,and unfair raise in rates on customers, who have nothing to do with the music industry,but has fiber optic and cable. In short all artist,who participate in this, be it sign or un-sign,should be sign prior ,under and administration contract deal based on percentage.

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