copyright rentals

ryan costa · Post by **ryan costa** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:31 pm

There are questions about the legality of file sharing and mp3s and stuff in the news and forums.

It got me thinking.

There have been video rental stores for about 30 years.

Were there ever music rental stores? I spend more time listening to albums than watching movies. But i've never encountered a music rental store.

Ivor Karabatkovic · Post by **Ivor Karabatkovic** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:33 pm

libraries offer cd rentals

Brad Hutchison · Post by **Brad Hutchison** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:00 pm

I've always wondered why mp3s were such a big deal to artists, when I doubt very much they get royalties from things I buy at The Exchange or Half Price Books. I haven't bought a brand new CD in years.

David Lay · Post by **David Lay** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 12:07 pm

It's not so much the artists that are against mp3s as it is the record executives, the RIAA, producers, etc. The record companies make the money on record sales, as do producers (referred to as 'points' or a percentage of record sales).

Steve Albini does an excellent job of documenting exactly how major label artists get screwed on a typical contract (which royalties are usually .5% of record sales):

http://www.negativland.com/albini.html

Robert Bobik · Post by **Robert Bobik** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:14 pm

Napster is an example of an online music rental store. As long as you pay the monthly fee, you can listen to the music they carry. Stop paying, lose access to their music.