How Much Of The Collapse Of Recorded Music Sales Revenue Was Due To The End Of Illegal Price Fixing?
[Via Techdirt]
Harold Feld has made a very important point that has been totally ignored in the debate over the state of the recorded music business. In Cary Sherman’s diatribe about how the evil tech industry is destroying the music industry, not only does he pretend that recorded music is representative of the wider music industry’s situation (it’s not… at all), but he seems to have carefully chosen the date of 1999 as his starting point for the supposed “collapse.” Why? Because in 1999 the major record labels (i.e., exactly who the RIAA represents) were charged with illegal price fixing… a practice they then agreed to cease. And, of course, when you stop price fixing, generally speaking your revenue goes down:
This is important because in 1999, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the major labels were engaged in an illegal price fixing scheme. The major labels agreed to discontinue their price-fixing practices as part of settlement decree in May 2000. Not surprisingly, once the major labels stopped violating antitrust law, their artificially inflated profits declined and independent competitors saw a significant rise in profits.
This is a pretty important point. The “high point” for recorded music sales was completely artificial, not just because of a “legal” monopoly right, but because of illegal antitrust activities in the form of price fixing.
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So, the recording studios were the ones screwing over the users in order to enhance their profits. Now they are trying to get the government to do the same thing.
Bandits are the bane of a healthy society but it is the stupid that let them get away with it. The ones who hurt others without actually getting anything out of it.
The bandits are only doing what is in their nature. The stupid prevent others from stopping them.
How much longer can we remain in the thrall of stupidity and banditry?
A Man With A Ph.D. 