And your ears shall hear…

I just happened to glance at an email I got from Paste, and they linked to a story that said “Kazaa Returns, Legally.”  So, being a little interested, I clicked, read, and laughed.  Basically, they are bringing nothing new to the table, just charging a ton of money for what millions of people get for free!  For $20 a month you get unlimited downloads, that can be played on up to three different PC’s.  That’s it?  Are you kidding me?  Am I kidding you?  NO!  You can’t burn these songs, you can’t put them on your mp3 player, and once you cancel your subscription, all of your songs are gone.  We are nearing 2010, a time when you can practically find anything you want on the Internet.  Whether it be bootlegs, albums, or DVD’s, with very little work, you can get your hands on whatever your looking for, and probably for free!  But, now, this week, KaZaA comes up with a plan like this?  This shit might have flown in the year 2000, but what asshole decided this would be a good idea, now!?  Who is their demographic?  Most people download music so they can put it on their mp3 player, and as far as I can see, they don’t carry their PC ‘s around to hear that music.  If they are at a place where there is a PC, or a laptop, they would just go to Last.Fm, Pandora, or MySpace to hear music for free, instead of paying $20 a month.   Secondly, most people want to keep their music, and with this plan, if you built up a great catalogue after a year and then decided to cancel, you would lose everything.  So, I ask you, what would be the upside to a music based subscription like this?  To find new music?  To pay for music you will end up losing?  Who knows, I’m just preaching to the choir anyways, but I had to write about this, as it just upsets me.  I can’t believe they want people to pay that much, when they know the alternatives out there.  The reason why KaZaA worked so well, is because it was free!  Now they are charging $20 for music you don’t OWN! They are ten years too late!  They need to come up with a plan for around $10 a month, unlimited downloads, high quality mp3’s that play on every player, and can be saved to your hard drive.  Then they might have a shot at getting some subscribers.  I’m old skool, and I still love having the real, hard format.  I like reading the linear notes to see who produced a track, or to check if I’m singing the right lyrics.  That’s why you’ll still find the ‘Kid rummaging through the cut-out bins for those left-behind bands and barely played CD’s.  I grew up paying $18.99 a CD, and can remember and loved the longbox.  I have also embraced the new formats with my I-Tunes, and my E-Music (who also recently raised their price and are offering less downloads for it).  I love music, and I am willing to pay for it.  But, when are they going to offer us something we want without all the stipulations, that ‘s the point.  Give us what we want and we will pay for it.  Don’t tell us what we can do with the music we pay for!

07-27-09 A Little Update and added note…

BOSTON (AP) – Lawyers are to begin formally presenting their case in a music downloading lawsuit filed by the recording industry against a Boston University student.
The industry accuses Joel Tenenbaum, of Providence, R.I., of downloading songs and making music files available for distribution on the Kazaa file-sharing network.
Jury selection began Monday morning in federal court in Boston. Opening statements are expected later in the day.
Tenenbaum’s case is the second such case to go to trial.
Last month, a federal jury in Minneapolis ruled that a Minnesota woman must pay $1.92 million for willful infringement of the recording industry’s copyrights by posting music on Kazaa.
The industry has threatened about 35,000 people with charges of copyright infringement over the past five years, typically offering to settle for $3,000 to $5,000.