True dat
From Colby Cosh’s eulogy for Sam the Record Man’s flagship store in Toronto:
Indeed, if the record companies could be persuaded to stop suing their customers for 10 minutes, it might dawn on them that their best chance for survival conceivably lies in buying interests in “stores” like the Sam’s flagship and giving the music away for free — in an environment where the customer, while he’s filling up his terabyte thumbnail hard drive, is kindly given the opportunity to buy overpriced coffee, beer, books, audio equipment, digital storage and concert tickets. But instead they seem content to die from what amounts to a hunger strike against the existence of the Internet. [Emphasis added]
I’ve never read a better metaphor for the way the RIAA, MPAA, and their ilk have responded to the Internet. These industries are clinging to a business model that once landed them mountains of profit and near-complete control over their product, and they just don’t seem to realize that those days are over for good. Toothpaste back in the tube, and all that.
Find a different way to make money, guys. Show some of that entrepenureal genius that is supposed to make America great.