Prince sticks it to the Music Labels in UK

Kudos to Prince, or the artist formerly known as Prince, or whatever name the Minneapolis native is now using for sticking it to the record industry and distributors in the UK. He is releasing his latest album via a newspaper insert in the Mail on Sunday instead of using the standard distribution through record stores.

Needless to say the record industry is up in arms about this stunt, and that they are going to not allow the album Planet Earth in it stores because of this. I bet you in a few weeks, months at the latest you will find this album in Virgin and other UK stores. After all there are dollars (or pounds) to be made once this controversy dies down.

This just another example of the recording industry as a whole is still completely out of touch with the consumer in 2007. Right now the industry seems to be stuck with a business model from the 1960's and is unwilling or unable to update its business model to allow alternate distribution models that better meet the consumer needs.

On a somewhat related note, I recently joined Pandora (though I much prefer Yahoo Launch, since I have been using it for years and therefore have years of preferences already saved, either way check out my play lists) and I got an email on July 12 from them regarding the fees Internet radio stations need to pay in order to continue playing the music was going to increase astronomically (again, labels out of touch with the current market place).

Disaster looms! Yesterday a federal court denied a plea to delay the massive increase in rates webcasters must pay the record labels. This means that, absent immediate Congressional action, the new ruinous royalty rates will be going into effect on Monday threatening the future of all internet radio.

This is a very dire situation and I'm writing to ask one more time for your support. The effort you've made over the past four months has been extraordinary and has forced the rapid introduction of the bill, but the committee process has been sluggish and we need to once again remind the representatives of the urgency of this issue.

The good news after seeing MG Siegler's post on ParisLemon and Save net Radio, it looks like the disaster has been averted. I think Siegler says it best, why ultimately played out the way it did:

So Internet Radio is saved - for now at least. Why the sudden change of heart? Well it likely had to do with both the huge public backlash against this decision since it was announced, but also the fact that almost all Internet radio companies were simply going to close up shop rather than even attempt to pay the ridiculous feeds to keep operating - so SoundExchange wouldn't likely have been seeing very much money anyway.

Good for Pandora for just saying we will go out of business before we play by your crazy, outdated and ridiculous rules. It is going to take a lot more effort from Prince and Pandora before the Record industry gets it act together and realizes it has to change the way it does business