[advocacy] Re: draft proposal for new file share agreement

[Daniel James]

> I'd appreciate your thoughts on the attached document.

Thanks for that. I once proposed something similar to the Ogg Vorbis
developers, by putting a PayPal tag into the metadata of the audio
file, but they weren't very keen on it.

Perhaps though, it could work something like this:

1. The freely redistributable audio file is considered a promotional
tool, rather than a product in its own right. The artist wants as
many people to hear the promo as possible, because they know that
they will make more money per listener by selling a CD, DVD or
T-shirt than they will from the likes of iTunes. (If there's enough
bandwidth around in future, peer-to-peer music video sharing may
prove even more popular).

2. The audio file tag (metadata) contains a URL which is the
e-commerce page of the artist, as well as the usual album and track
details. Public key cryptography and md5 checksums might offer some
defence against tampering.

3. The media player has a button for 'Buy this track' or 'Support this
artist', and can post the metadata to the e-commerce site.

4. On clicking this button, a new browser window opens which takes the
user direct to the page where they can buy the related CD or
whatever, because the metadata indicates the exact track the user is
playing. Setting user preferences such as geographical location could
help promote live appearances.

So we end up with a system that doesn't need to ban file sharing and
doesn't need to rely on DRM, because the artist income is from the
sale of tangible property and access to concerts - a physical, not
virtual location.

I think adding an 'artist support' tag like this could be something
that artists who don't want to go down the DRM route would
appreciate, and could help Vorbis adoption.

As I see it, user convenience is the key to the sucess of iTunes, not
artist support. I'm not suprised that bands like the Red Hot Chilli
Peppers have withdrawn from iTunes, given that it only pays something
like 60 US cents wholesale for a single.  By the time you've paid
everyone in the chain, you might as well be giving it away...

http://www.absolutelyric.com/a/view/Red_Hot_Chili_Peppers/Give_it_Away/

Cheers

Daniel
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