I know who you work for.. nice attempt at trying to spin corporate greed into something rational or altruistic. But, I think now most are aware of crap when they read, see or hear it.

The business/mental model of music companies since the creation of the cd hasnt changed in 20+ years.. they feel that since you bought their cd, you should only be able to play it on their given format, CD. and only CD.

what happens if you dont like the whole cd? maybe you only like a few songs from the cd?
why should I have to buy the whole cd if I only want a few things? i dont buy stuff I dont want or need, why should i be subjected to the same in music?

the fact is Big Music companies dont want to change. Cant afford the switching costs to do so.
They dont want to invest in new technology because they would have to retrain their way of marketing and selling songs. this requires research and design which cuts into their bottom dollar of only finding artists, get a portion of their IP from the artists themselvs, for every song they’ve made and market that..

Remember, Music companies DON’T make music, they market and sell it.. When you use an IPOD or mp3 player your affecting their profit maximization.

So, why should i fork over hard earned cash to someone just profiting from someone elses thoughts and music?

If I hear a song I like and hum it, will that be DRM violation as well? or play it on a piano?

oh, and for the folks who believe that all music profits go back to the music companies, google how many musicians leave their companies to go someplace else because of corporate greed.

and finally, a few years ago, music companies were price fixing music titles to big companies to force them to sell their stuff at a premium. NYC AG got involved and they lost but theyve been keeping it discreet. So, wheres the honor in music companies now?

Kind of like Garth Brooks wanting to get another royalty when I sell a used CD I don’t like anymore to someone who wants it. He got his cut the first time.

Are they willing to give me back some money when I get tired of the musicians stuff? How many people did the record companies pay back when (can’t remember their names) we found out their “hot artists” were just lip syncing someone elses music?

Microsoft sold out to get a piece of the market. Thats their business deal. But to simply accuse all customers of stealing music because they own an iPod is crass and not very intelligent. Want to see your sales go down even more? I think he just did it. Why punish the vast majority of us that are doing the right thing for the few who don’t?

He should be fired or forced to apologize publically.

Just my rightfully purchased two cents.

First, let’s get facts sraight once and for all.

Morris isn’t calling every single iPod-owner a thief: Rather, what he’s saying is if you buy a CD, go on and import it to your iTunes, and while you’re at it, feel free to transfer it to your iPod. Enjoy and be merry! Or if you buy digital music off your favorite site, more power to you! What Morris IS contesting, however, is the ILLEGAL sharing/P2P of music. So for example, don’t upload music onto sites, blogs, forums and allow people to download it for free. You’re not doing anyone any favors (including the artists) by doing that. If the artist needs your publicity, they’ll ask for it but would rather hire a company like Wireset or whatnot to do that kind of aggregation/distribution for a nominal fee.

Now if you know his history, Morris (aka, the guy with the yacht, the corporate suit, the soul-less music executive) actually started his guilded career as… a humble songwriter and producer right out of school. Yes, and a rather good one at that. Wow! What a new-fangled notion, folks! A music executive who actually knows what it’s like to be an artist and producer, someone who actually knows and truly loves music! Someone who isn’t all about the numbers and profit margins. So before you villianized someone, do some homework. As the saying goes, know your friends but know your enemies better.

Look, at the end of the day, we all love music. But put aside your haterade for the “man” and put yourselves in the artist’s shoes if nothing else: The people who write, create, produce music deserve to be paid for their compositions. They also should have some say about how their compositions are altered and sold. I think that people are very lax about the respect that people should have for other people’s works. I hate to see these groups work for two years, making an album spend enormous amounts of money, putting their creative juices into something that’s $9.99 in Best Buy and people would rather have it for free. For me (and others like me), being a music person it’s very hard to watch that. At the end of the day, you’re just fucking the artist/band over.

From a technological standpoint, a lot of people think that Morris is failing to ride the new wave of the future, that he’s an extinct dinosaur in the new media age… And to them I say, are you kidding? I think that’s just a wildly popular and lazy excuse for people with less lucid and linear arguments to cop out. Of course he’s fully aware of the ever-growing digital trends! UMG’s New Media dept is one of the savviest in the entire International landscape. Their digital revenues are through the roof!

Bottom line: For all the whining that onliners do about this topic, how many of them have ever bothered to pull up the Digital Soundscan numbers? How about iTunes Top 100 charts? Billboard’s digital charts? Not too many, huh? Well, if you actually pulled up that info, you’d learn that Universal Music Group is head above shoulders in digital sales. So I’d argue vehemently that Morris knows a thing or two about utilizing the digital platform to optimal effect. So please do your research. Don’t fall prey to being one of the millions of less-cognizant people on this topic. I expect more from you.

And FYI: try boycotting all of Universal Music Group’s artists and you’ll quickly realize that it’s a virtual impossibility. They own the majority of the market share on the globe, including international labels like Mercury, Island UK, Polydor, and dozens upon dozens of ventures and distribution deals. UMG is involved in other record labels that you wouldn’t even know about because they’re married through what’s called P&D deals, if you know what that is.

Now how about I turn the tables around to tell you all that it’s about time that YOU ALL need to get hip to the age of New Media and new music. It’s easy to hate the “man” and the “corporation” when you reeeeeally don’t know what the exactitude of the situation is. So instead of just jumping onto the haterade bandwagon blindly because you think it’s the right thing to do (because everyone else is doing it), why don’t you be the one who actually researches and stands apart from the rest, armed and equipped with knowledge. Because realistically, if you don’t, in 5 years you’ll be the one left in the dust.