[joe-frank-list] Thread re: Joe Frnak web site needs updates

[Harold Johnson]

I wanted to back up some of the comments I made with an example.  This news
just came out; the chief of Yahoo!Music -- one of the top digital music
services -- made a point of stating that record labels should try selling
music online without copy protection:

http://news.com.com/2061-10799_3-6042756.html?part=rss&tag=6042756&subj=news

Harold
P.S. In case you're wondering, I'm not working for Yahoo!Music; I'm working
for Virgin Digital!


On 2/22/06, Harold Johnson <harold.johnson at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> I won't speculate about Joe's income/financial status, but I would like
> to offer my own point of view.  Whether his financials are in order or not,
> Joe's status as an artist will be preserved forever.  However, I think he
> would be wise to consider some other means of distributing his works.
> Streaming is good, but (currently) portable media is better.  I've never
> enjoyed listening to Joe's works while sitting at my computer as much as I
> do while listening on a portable device, either with the lights out and
> headphones on, or driving in a car.  I like to really *listen* to Joe's
> shows, and being tied to a PC distracts too much.  Certainly there are ways
> around it: I can use an FM transmitter to transmit from the PC to my
> headphones or whatever -- but nothing ruins a Joe show more than the stream
> hiccupping or a battery running out on that transmitter.  Neither of these
> happens often, but when they do it blows (especially since I have to get out
> of bed, turn on the lights, set up the stream again, etc.).
>
> It's not just the method of auditing Joe's works (though that obviously
> makes a difference).  It's the sense of ownership of content.  I'd much
> prefer to be able to purchase Joe's shows, carry them around on my portable
> digital audio player, and know that I'll be able to return to them whenever
> I want.  CDs are way out of my price range, though I'd buy them from Joe if
> I could afford to.  As it stands, CDs are prohibitively expensive (for me).
> So I'm much prefer to purchase digital audio files, which I'm assuming would
> be made available at a price point that I could afford.
>
> Audible has been mentioned, but I'm not too keen on their service.  For
> one thing, I have issues with Audible-formats not play on my iRiver digital
> audio device, which plays MP3, WMA (including WMA DRM), OGG, and AVI files.
> I had to borrow an iPod in order to listen to the audio, and even then it
> was a hassle, due to being unable to convert the 10-hour long file to a more
> tolerable size due to Audible's DRM.  (Granted, Joe's audio wouldn't be that
> long, but still...DRM's a bitch.)  Keep in mind this is coming from someone
> who currently works for a digital music service, the business model of which
> is selling WMA DRM files.  I can attest to the issues DRM presents...
>
> That said, as a consumer I would be willing to put up with DRM if that's
> the only way to obtain Joe's works.  I understand copyright protection, and
> I'm concerned with it.  (I have my own ambitions as a digital media artist,
> so I'm considering copyright in my own works.)  Yet DRM seems more
> problematic these days; it's just not being done right yet.  There are too
> many limitations applied to DRM -- for both the consumer and for the
> companies selling DRM'ed content.  (Do you think Apple prefers to sell DRM
> content?  Certainly, but only because they sell the devices.  Other digital
> music services, not having iPods to sell, would prefer to sell un-DRM'ed
> audio, if only the record labels would allow them to.)
>
> I've got to head out to work now, but I'm hoping my feedback adds and
> opens up some more conversation on this subject.  I hope JoeFrank.comconsiders providing portable digital audio content eventually...and
> hopefully sooner rather than later!
>
> Harold J. Johnson
>
>  On 12/27/05, billmilosz at aol.com <billmilosz at aol.com> wrote:
>
> >  I got the idea that the site provides a source of income that Joe found
> > useful.  The man doesn't talk about it, but he's not rolling in dough.  I
> > think times are pretty tough at Chez Joe right now.  I don't mean to imply
> > he is eating only ramen noodles and watching off-the-air TV  but he's not
> > shppoing for a new 'Benz either.  His health care costs are huge and I don't
> > think he has blue cross.....
> >
> > So I think it would be in Joe's best interest if the web site continued
> > to draw subscribers.
> >
> >
> > There was a comment abou the site having confusion subscription levels
> > and being hard to use, and, yeah, it is one of the most complex I've
> > seen.... many subscription tiers and this whole pre-queueing mechanism can
> > be a trifle confusing.  I usually have to dig around for a while before I
> > find the page where I can select shows to listen to.  I understand the
> > pre-queue mechanism saves a ton in terms of online storage and possibly
> > streaming charges.  Running a stream server or leasing capacity tends to be
> > very costly.
> >
> >
> > I wonder if Joe should re-evaluate Audible.com <http://audible.com/>? I
> > think a lot of people get podcasts and content from there.  Part of the
> > issue may be, Joe wants to stream something to you but would rather not give
> > you something you can download and keep  and copy for your pals...
> >
> > (even though one could easily use a stream-ripper to save the Windows
> > Media files that Joefrank.Com streams.)
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Joe Frank Mailing List
> > joe-frank-list at armory.com
> > http://www.armory.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/joe-frank-list
> >
> >
> >
>
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