Music Industry's Future Foretold in China?

sapphire writes "An article today in the International Herald Tribune provides a look at music piracy from the point-of-view of pop stars in China. China is a country forced to deal with the reality of unchecked piracy of digital media products. Will their experience lead to new business models for the world-wide recording industry?"

In Communist China...

[Anonymous Coward]

You pirate music!

Which means that

In Capitalist America

Music pirates you!

Calling Hillary Rosen and the RIAA, we've cracked your code...

Excellent

[Timesprout]

Pop stars learn to live with pirates
The sooner we can get some of our 'pop stars' off shore onto pirate ships the better. May I reccomend the vicinity around Bermuda as a suitable anchorage.

talent?

[ergonal]

'Our survival strategy required switching to a talent-management business model,'' said Zorro Xu, managing director in China for Warner Music. ''As piracy increases in other countries, this is what record companies elsewhere may have to try.''

Talent-management? You mean, for an artist in China to actually be successful, they have to have some form of TALENT?! Yes, I DO hope other record companies elsewhere try this, yes indeed!

Article summary and comparison to US system

[yo303]

According to the article, the pirates in China

• keep all of the money and give none to the artist
• have an efficient distribution system, but one that does not promote enough new talent
• make it so that the musicians have to make most of their money by concerts and commercial sponsorships.

This is clearly not fair. In the United States, artists are protected by the member companies of the RIAA, who

• keep all of the money and give none to the artist
• have an efficient distribution system, but one that does not promote enough new talent
• make it so that the musicians have to make most of their money by concerts and commercial sponsorships.

yo.

Re:Why do they need such a 'rock-style' lifestyle?

[God! Awful 2]

The record companies could make much more money from this method than their current model, which is probably why they aren't doing it yet. Easier to complain than change.

Ahh yes... the miraculous money making machine. It's amazing: /. readers have all the answers, but everyone in the industry is too dumb to see them. I wonder why some enterprising young readers don't put their money where their mouth is. Somebody outta overthrow the system and make millions in the process by being first to market (like they did with open source).

-a

Rich Man, Poor Man...

[The Jonas]

No matter how rich or poor these Mega-Celebrities become, there is one thing you can't take away from them and that's millions of idolizing fans ready to hop_in_the_sack with them on sight. Pay me in poontang, I'll sing for my supper!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Almost!

[Zuperdominican]

This almost makes me not want to download 10 albums a day every day like I have been doing for the past 2 years. You know with the artist suffering and all, but then again who gives a shit? no one forced them to sing.

Re:The article.

[Patrick13]

I realize I didn't make me feelings very clear. I think I would hold more of a grudge against Mick Jagger & Co. if they wrote a song called "Rock Out Your Windows" for a Windows launch than I do if that they have licensed one of their hits after the fact. One thing is about making money, which I think all musicians deserve to do, another is compromising artistic integrity to make a "jingles".

Can you imagine an entire album, where each track had a commercial sponsor...

Track 1: "They Really Know How To Build 'Em (GM Tough)"

Track 2: "So Delicious (I Can't Believe Its Not Butter)"

Track 3: "No Place Like Home (With Century 21)"

etc., etc...