Brick-And-Mortar!

In the seemingly incomprehensible jargon of eCommerce, there's a term called Brick-And-Mortar. The term is used to describe a traditional business that choses to construct a physical storefront in order to sell their merchandise or services.

Most businesses still chose to believe that these Brick-And-Mortar establishments are the best ways to distribute music, movies, music videos, and video games. Several companies have taken the initiative already and launched products set on proving this ideal false.






Exhibit A


As of January 2007, Apple's iTunes Store has sold more than 2 billion songs, accounting for more than 80% of worldwide online digital music sales. To date, it has also sold more than 2 million movies, making it the world's most popular online movie store.


Exhibit B


In order to curtail future distribution abuses from companies like Vivendi (formerly Vivendi Universal) Valve creates their own distributing software, which they call Steam, in order to sell their games directly to consumers.


While Valve's example is not as prominent, or successful, as Apple's, they both go a long way to show the direction digital mediums will be taking in the future. The internet is profitable. The internet will always be profitable. Traditional mindsets need to be abandoned when thinking about commerce in the twenty-first century. Downloading music, games, movies, or anything else that can be converted into a digital format will always be cheaper for the producer and the consumer.

So while 'brick-and-mortar' installations will always need to be around for certain types of products, internet sites and programs like iTunes are paving the way for faster and cheaper commerce in the future.

The RIAA Hates You

"The love of money is the root of all evil." Timothy 6:10


So why does the RIAA feel like they need so much of it? In a quote taken directly from the RIAA's 'about' page, they define themselves as the following:


The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry. Its mission is to foster a business and legal climate that supports and promotes our members' creative and financial vitality. Its members are the record companies that comprise the most vibrant national music industry in the world. RIAA members create, manufacture and/or distribute approximately 90% of all legitimate sound recordings produced and sold in the United States.

In support of this mission, the RIAA works to protect intellectual property rights worldwide and the First Amendment rights of artists; conduct consumer industry and technical research; and monitor and review - - state and federal laws, regulations and policies.



Sounds pretty noble. Basically they are trying to say that they are watching out for American record companies, who are watching out for their bands. But in reality, this is far from true.

Most bands never make money off the sale of their CD's. When bands sign to labels, they sign a contract that can barely be defined as English which gives the band a few things. They get an advance (basically a loan, because they DO have to pay it back), time in the studio, and promotion by the record company. Most bands don't understand that they have to pay this money back by way of royalties.

Dictionary.com defines Royalties as follows: an agreed portion of the income from a work paid to its author, composer, etc., usually a percentage of the retail price of each copy sold.


So this all doesn't sound to unreasonable so far, does it? The record companies give their artists a loan, produce their albums, and promote their music. Then once all these costs are recouped through royalties, the artists start to see a percentage of the profits from their CD's.

But when artists average a total of $1.00, after all the fees are deducted, from the sale of one CD or tape, most will never pay off the exorbitant costs they have already incurred from signing their initial contract.

In summation, if you want to support local artists or artists that have not yet been signed to a record company, purchase their albums. But if you want to support artists that are popular and signed to the record labels that the RIAA protects, go see their live shows and buy their merchandise.


For a more extensive read on this topic, head over to Music Law as it is the primary source on the internet for such information.


And remember...

Tegan And Sara : The Con

My friends are always making fun of the music I like to listen to. I have a rather eclectic mix of music that I enjoy and an even more eclectic group of friends. Some of my friends prefer to only listen to hip-hop, some listen to hardcore music, while others are in what they like to call "experimental rock". So depending on which group of friends I'm with, I can bet that someone is going to take a jab at one of the newest albums out that they don't particularly like.



If there's one band that I get teased about the most, it's Tegan And Sara. Tegan And Sara are a female duo who are releasing a new CD on July 24th. Because I believe in the freedom of the internet and the impossible task of preventing file-sharing of any type, I downloaded their new CD before it released. Now, before I elaborate on how amazing their new album is, let me explain why I think file sharing is a good thing which actually stimulates the economy.

I was the first person I knew with a computer. A few years later, I become the only person I knew that had the internet at their house. From an early age, I have always been interested in music. I learned how to play the guitar when I was ten years old and am proud to say I have just purchased my first drum set at twenty-two years of age. With this type of background, it was no surprise when I started using IRC to download music and videos before P2P networks were being widely used anywhere.

If it wasn't for P2P networks and websites such as last.fm, I wouldn't be listening to half of the music that's on my computer. It's a bit risky going to BestBuy and spending $20 on a CD when you have no idea who the band is. I would venture a guess that only about 20% of the music on my computer is downloaded. I love Tegan And Sara. But I can't purchase their new CD yet. So instead, I download it. Then when it does become available, I'll go to the store and buy it. Not because I care what the RIAA thinks or says is legal or illegal. But because I don't want a great band to have fall apart. Musicians are people too. They need an income just like everyone else.

So because of this small portion of music that I have downloaded I've learned about a myriad of bands and different types of music that I never knew existed. In a sense, because I downloaded a few cd's, I ended up purchasing five times that amount at the store. Thus supporting the store, the record company, and the band.

Tegan And Sara have their own blog which they post pretty much bi-weekly. You can find it by going to their website and click on the Journal link in the middle of the page.