[NetBehaviour] How Dare The BBC Introduce New Listeners To Beethoven

[marc]

*How Dare The BBC Introduce New Listeners To Beethoven*

Posted: 07/12
From: TechDirt

Never underestimate the short-sightedness of record execs -- even at 
classical music labels, who you'd think would be a bit more 
understanding about these things. Last month the BBC got some attention 
for releasing, for free, downloads (just for a period of time) of all 
nine of Beethoven's symphonies. I downloaded them, as did about a 
million other people apparently. It was a nice gesture, and probably 
introduced plenty of people to elements of classical music that they had 
not experienced before. In fact, since they included an introductory 
explanation before each symphony, even those familiar with the music 
could learn something as well, adding to their overall appreciation for 
classical music. All of that, you would think, should be applauded by 
the industry -- as it should only help to drive more interest in the 
often ignored area of the music world. Not so. GeekNewsCentral points 
out that classical record label execs are positively livid about such 
impudence. Proving just how little he's thought through this issue, the 
head of one label explains: "There is the obvious issue that it is 
devaluing the perceived value of music. You are also leading the public 
to think that it is fine to download and own these files for nothing." 
That's because it is fine. It's completely legal, and even more 
important, it's helping to get a lot more people interested in the music 
which is only likely to increase sales. As for "devaluing the perceived 
value of music," does he wonder why so many classical music 
organizations are having so much trouble staying around? It's because 
there aren't enough people listening to the music -- which often 
involves expensive tickets to fancy symphony halls. What they need is to 
devalue the music to make it more accessible.

more...
http://mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=261002


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