As media go throught everything Bowie, it is being noted that in this NYT article from 2002 he predicted some of the impact of the internet on music. Why his prediction that copyright would not longer exist in ten years time (2012) may not be technically true, to a large extent it is the case (at least by the consumer). Interestingly in 1997 Bowie sold off shares of the rights to his music catalogue for 55 million, which turned out to be a good business move.
Quote:David Bowie, 21st-Century Entrepreneur
...His deal with Sony is a short-term one while he gets his label started and watches the Internet's effect on careers. ''I don't even know why I would want to be on a label in a few years, because I don't think it's going to work by labels and by distribution systems in the same way,'' he said. ''The absolute transformation of everything that we ever thought about music will take place within 10 years, and nothing is going to be able to stop it. I see absolutely no point in pretending that it's not going to happen. I'm fully confident that copyright, for instance, will no longer exist in 10 years, and authorship and intellectual property is in for such a bashing.''
''Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity,'' he added. ''So it's like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again. You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left. It's terribly exciting. But on the other hand it doesn't matter if you think it's exciting or not; it's what's going to happen.''...
From a Fast Company article about the NYT article...
Quote:...In place of the industry structures then beginning to crumble, Bowie foresaw a system by which people would pay for access to music. But he was also realistic about the economics: This new model wasn't going to be anywhere near as profitable as during the heyday of recorded music sales.
''So it's like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again," Bowie said to the Times. "You'd better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that's really the only unique situation that's going to be left. It's terribly exciting. But on the other hand it doesn't matter if you think it's exciting or not; it's what's going to happen.''
Record industry executives couldn't entirely be blamed if they smugly shrugged off Bowie's prediction in 2002. At the time, although file-sharing had started to nibble away at record sales, the industry's free-fall had just barely begun. In 2002, recorded music generated over $24 billion in revenue, according to IFPI. But 10 years later, that number had dipped down closer to $15 billion. It hasn't stopped dropping since, even as revenue from music subscriptions grows.
In, 2002, the music industry was still riding high with successes like NSync's massive hit, "No Strings Attached" (whose two-week record sales were only just surpassed last year, by Adele). Back then, it was easy to imagine that physical album sales might bounce bank and reign supreme. And yet here we are, paying monthly fees for music like it's just another utility bill. Indeed, just like water or electricity...
http://www.fastcompany.com/3055340/david...ic-in-2002
