Record companies buy P2P download patterns

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Wired Article

 

Just part of the article, a lot more to read on the site..

 

Fleischer hangs up, turns to his computer, and clicks through an online database. On his screen, he can see in astonishing detail when, where, and what Internet users are sharing on peer-to-peer file-swapping services like Kazaa, Morpheus, and Grokster. He searches for cities where downloads of the band's single are outpacing its exposure on radio. He likes what he sees. In Atlanta, sharing of the group's new album is up more than 1,200 percent over the previous week; in Houston and New York, 300 percent. So Fleischer checks to see how much airplay the track is getting on alternative rock stations in those markets. Very little, it turns out - less than five spins per week in each city. "Jesus," he whispers. In Houston, "KTBZ only spun it once, and it still got into the top 15 downloads. This is hot."

 

In the argot of the industry, what Fleischer sees is reactivity: the single most important quality a song can have. Basically, it means listeners can't get that tune out of their heads - they probably downloaded it after hearing it only once - and radio stations ought to put the track in heavy rotation. Usually, programming executives evaluate songs by call-outs, telephone surveys in which people hear a clip and give an impression. But that information isn't very helpful to labels, Fleischer will tell you, because it doesn't apply to album sales.

 

Fleischer is VP of sales and marketing for a company called BigChampagne, which has a better window into consumer demand. By matching partial IP addresses to zip codes, the firm's software creates a real-time map of music downloading. The company sells subscriptions to its database that let a user track one album for $7,500; bigger labels have annual deals for up to $40,000 per month.

 

He calls his client and gets voicemail. "Dude, you're gonna be stoked," he says. "I'll shoot you an email in a few minutes." In the office, Fleischer seems 39 going on 18, a Valley Boy with a baby face and a sly grin. He has music in his blood - his father was a studio musician who played with Frank Sinatra and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and Fleischer himself is a band manager in his spare time. I ask how the label executive will use the data. "He'll give this to promotions," he tells me. "They'll call these stations and say, 'You need to bang this shit. You're barely playing it, and it's already in the top 15 among alt-rock downloaders in your market. You need to step on this at least 20 more times a week, and not while people are sleeping.'"

 

According to on-the-record statements by many major labels, the scene I witnessed in Fleischer's office couldn't possibly have happened. But Eric Garland, CEO of BigChampagne, says his firm is working with Maverick, Atlantic, Warner Bros., Interscope, DreamWorks, Elektra, and Disney's Hollywood label. The labels are reticent to admit their relationship with BigChampagne for public relations reasons, but there's a legal rationale, too. The record industry's lawsuits against file-sharing companies hang on their assertion that the programs have no use other than to help infringe copyrights. If the labels acknowledge a legitimate use for P2P programs, it would undercut their case as well as their zero-tolerance stance. "We would definitely consider gleaning marketing wisdom from these networks a non-infringing use," says Fred von Lohmann, staff counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the San Francisco-based cyber liberties group that's helping to defend Morpheus, Grokster, and Kazaa.

 

I just love how they record companies talk out of both sides of their mouth on this issue. Sure, its illegal to download music, and damn you if we find you doing it, but just for the hell of it, we'll buy your downloading patterns from a 3rd party to try and figure out what people want to hear.

 

Man, someone needs to bring this to the attention of the courts. Seriously, if the courts knew that the Record Companies were using the P2P networks to try and spin a profit, Im sure that all of the lawsuits would be overturned.

[Guest Choken One]

MMM...They are looking at Kazaa, Morpheus and Grokster?

 

Imesh is not being targeted...I'll use that one more frequently now.

[Insane Bump Machine 0]

As long as they don't care about Emule I'm good.

[caboose 0]

Sometimes I actually think Corporate Execs are exactly like those portrayed in The Simpsons.