That’s where Randy Saaf comes in. His company is hired by record labels to use anti-piracy tactics, like flooding the pirate download market with bad/distorted songs and affixing advertisements to pirate downloads of cover art. These contradictory, unproductive methods exemplify the trouble record labels are having with the evolution of the music industry. And it was not a comfortable discussion for Mr. Saaf, even though he assured the room (who, with a show of hands, was full of “pirates”) he was not involved in litigation. Attendees implored him to stop saturating an already diluted industry and to stop thinking of us at pirates and to start thing of us as consumers. He pleaded utilitarianism, but could not come up with much of a rebuttal.

Schwartz interjected that anti-piracy legislation is merely enforcing broken copywrite laws. The argument that “we are stealing from the artists” no longer holds up. A prime example of this is the recent Radiohead album, In Rainbows. Radiohead allowed people to download a low resolution copy of their album online on a pay what you like basis (with a minimal processing charge of less than a dollar).Then they released a high resolution version of the CD with added bonus material. It was a marketing stunt but also a great example of the need to appeal to the modern online educated consumer. Half of the people I know, who download free music online, make it a point to buy a CD if they like it.

Robber Baron Music uses a donation based download option and we will be seeing more of this method. The old business model of selling physical records does not translate to the web. Schwartz suggested that free online music downloads should be treated as a service with a monthly fee. Artists can then be paid based on the percentage of the user pool who’s listening. In addition, it gives artists an unprecedented ability to understand their fan base.
The take away: Online consumers will get what they want, so be a good capitalist and sell it to them at a price they’re willing to pay. It’s sink or swim, or better yet, sue or swim.

Podcasts of the panel discussions are being posted here. Stay tuned to hear more on the piracy debate.