I've aquired quite a taste for a well make mistake.

Everyone loves to hate the record companies, and honestly, they make it really damn easy. They short change their artists in their early carrier, they put secret rootkits on our computer, they sue kids who can't fight back, the list goes on.

My loathing comes from a slightly different source. I understand why they short change their artists. Developing new talent is expensive, and risky, and quite frankly, doesn't pay off a lot. Suing those people that were just serving up copies of music, I get that, they needed to send a message. Mission accomplished. But some of the strong arming they did on kids that just downloaded...that was probably pushing it. I'm a firm believer against piracy. If you believe a CD is too expensive, or overpriced, don't buy it. It does NOT give you a right to steal it, no matter how evil the record companies are.

Sorry, I'm digressing from the focus I want to get too, but I've heard all the whining about why its ok to make illegal copies of CDs. Its annoys me, you're just justifying something you know is wrong. Its not a ideolgical fight, its a purchase. Deal.

Anyway, back to business. Now, I can understand stupidity and ignorance. Not everyone is the brightest, and not everyone has all the info. Its not their fault, so I don't get down on those people. God knows I've had enough stupid moments in my life. But WILLFUL stupidity. Well that I just can't stand.

And that's where the record companies are going. The world is changing, and they just can't handle it. One exec stated that people would just have to buy a seperate CD player instead of playing the music on their computer. Another stated that you should pay again if you put the music on your iPod. I bought the right to listen to the music, how I listen to it is my business.

And for god's sake, stop treating your customers like they're criminals. How is THAT supposed to help? The grand success of iTunes has shown that people want to own their music. They are willing to pay to have a legal copy instead of stealing. So what is your problem? All you're doing is driving away customers. Boards should fire their executives, and hire some people who know what the music consumer wants. If you're not going to let them play their music on their iPod after they buy the CD, they're not going to buy it. Or worse, they'll steal it.

You got to realize, as much as the digital age has come, people still LIKE buying CDs. It feels more real, and gives a nice fuzzy feeling. That and they sound better too (for now). So let them buy CDs! You get money, they get music. Put extras on the CD: videos, interviews, and such. Copy protect the hell out of THAT. That's stuff that people don't need to casually copy to other devices, and it gives them that feeling of exclusivity. People like extras.

Its amazing that iTunes exists with the current attitudes over there. Steve Jobs must be one hell of a salesman. Of course, they already want to tinker with it. Instead of 99 cents per song, they want make new hits more expensive, and discount colder songs. Now I've seen a lot of consumers rant against this idea saying its stupid. That's not true, its a great idea, its just not a great idea RIGHT NOW.

The digital download is a hot growing market. Emphasis on growing. There's a lot of market penetration to do. What brings in new consumers? The fact that everything costs the same. 99 cents. It makes sense to a consumer. It gives the consumer a warm fuzzy feeling. Let it go a couple of years. Once iTunes is a household word, then change the pricing model.

And for god's sake, don't equivilate what people pay for a ringtone on their cell phone with what they'll pay for a song on iTunes. They're two different things. People only have a limited number of ring tones. So they'll pay a little bit more since they won't be paying again for a long time.

You'll notice I haven't mentioned the terrible music being put out, and the way artists are dealt with. That will come in a later post. For now, start making good business decisions instead of decisions based on decades past. As big as you are, you will fall if you don't keep up.