Making music, and money

The music industry should be doing very well. India has plenty of talent.
Just look at the number of 'song and dance' shows on television. The interest is
there. Movie songs often determine a film's box office performance. And even
before a movie makes it to the cineplex, the music can becomes a nation's
anthem.

So why is it that a media report by PwC states that the music industry will
grow by 1 percent per annum till 2010?

The India music industry estimates that the extent of piracy is Rs 6.5
billion each year. Our industry is largely made up of film songs-about 40
percent of the total industry size, according to IMI. If I want to download a
new movie song for free, I can do it easily. Many sites let me stream it or
download it to a place on my laptop where I can't find it easily. Some others
let me download and store it happily. I can burn a CD and give it to my friends
as well. The Internet, P2P networks, CD writers, plunging costs of media and
storage space,

ripper software...piracy never had it easier, better, or cheaper.

That is where the problem lies. These are incredibly more efficient methods
of procuring, organizing, listening to, and sharing music. To listen to one
song, I don't have to buy the entire album or a movie's soundtrack, I can just
buy that song. I don't have to step out of my door to buy it. It's right there
as I work, and chat with people halfway across the world. And I don't have to go
near my music system to play it. I can listen to it as I jog, or do anything
else inside or outside home!

And the industry has been trying to fight them. That will simply not work.
Sales of audiocassettes and CDs are stagnant at best. There is no doubt that
they will remain under pressure. Even in an Internet-sparse country like India.

The industry has to evolve new models to navigate the Net. It has to use the
technology and make people pay for it. And, sadly, one does not seem to be
seeing too much happening in India. The online medium is being used to an
extent-to sell CDs. It is like a racing car being transported on a bullock cart.
There are some small efforts by individuals or small organizations. But money
and technology muscle is still to be deployed.

There is more action happening at the international level. Digital rights
management (DRM) was touted as a good model, but that has now changed. People
don't want to be  locked into subscription services that offer limited
flexibility or choice. Early last year, EMI unlocked its digital music catalog
from the DRM mode because they found that only one out of ten users preferred to
go the DRM way. Amazon MP3, which is available to only US users, has DRM-free
tracks from all the biggest labels. The iTunes model has gone down very well
with listeners. SpiralFrog runs a free music download service riding on ads.
Qtrax claims to serve you free music through ad-supported P2P networks. Artists
are experimenting with ways of using 'digital' to their advantage. Some allow
the download of a song or two to give listeners a taste of their latest album.
Last year, the band Radiohead launched their latest album In Rainbows online and
asked listeners to pay the price they liked. By some reports, 38 percent of
downloaders paid an average of $6.

We have not yet seen such experiments. Clearly the music industry in India
has to stop protecting the past revenues. It also has to define the future
revenue streams.

Shyam Malhotra author is Editor-in-Chief of CyberMedia

shyamm@cybermedia.co.in