It probably won't surprise you to know that things like charging a crowd of people $2 each to listen to a band's CD is illegal you're basically getting paid for a performance of somebody else's music that you don't own the rights to. But the definition of the word "performance" is mind bogglingly vast when it comes to music royalties.
For example, did you know that a "public performance" includes a coffee shop owner putting a CD or an MP3 player behind the counter to play some Mumford Sons as background music? Or that it counts as a performance if a shop wants to play music over the phone while people are on hold? iphone 5 refurbished That's why hold music is almost always bland, instrumental filler keeping you on hold to a computer algorithm's idea of a "marimba jam" is a lot less expensive than having Usher keep your hold time sexy. ASCAP explains it all in this depressingly comprehensive guide to all the ways you can pay for the right to listen to the music you already own when other people who don't also own it might be close enough to hear it too.
They even take time out to lecture you for not considering the artist, who might be getting shafted out of their four tenths of a cent royalty when you choose to dance to "Wonderful Tonight" at your wedding reception without asking Clapton first:
"This rule, however, does not apply to us."
Oh, and they also argued that royalties should be collected on ringtones. Not on the purchase of ringtones, mind you; they already have that. Rather, they wanted to be paid every time the phone rings. In other words, when a phone rings in a crowded movie theater, someone out there believes you've just been entertained to such a degree that an additional outlay of cash is warranted.
Their attempts to cash in every time a song is even thought about being listened to haven't always been successful, though. They wanted to collect on those 30 second samples you listen to before actually purchasing a song, which is kind of like the government taxing the free pizza samples you eat at the grocery store as income.iphone 5 refurbished Or maybe it's nothing like that . we're not record executives. We can assure you it's just as stupid, though.
"Keep shopping! It costs $70 to get in here, we're going to stock up!"
4. Reducing Sound Quality So You Perceive a Song as "Louder"
Due to the way the human brain works, there is a formula for making a song into a hit (we broke down the numbers here), and one of the most important elements for the last few decades has been "loudness." But wait a second how can record companies determine how "loud" a song is when we're the ones with our hands on the volume knob?
It has to do with how the track is engineered. The trend started as far back as the days of jukeboxes, when producers noted that certain tracks got better reactions than others, and a lot of it came down to how loud the song was perceived to be when it started playing. it was discovered that you could use a technique called dynamic range compression to amplify the quieter parts of the melody to match the louder tracks like drums and bass. The difference is demonstrated masterfully here:
The result is a song that has a more "in your face" quality at first listen. And that's exactly what record labels want: a song that grabs your attention right away. So what's the problem?
Well, it's sort of ruining the music. See, there used to be limits to how horribly you could mangle the dynamics of a song when analog equipment was the only way to record. But digital technology did away with that shit, and now record labels are free to blast your eardrums with all the unnecessary noise they think you can handle. In many cases, classic albums from the analog days were taken back into the studio, ruined, and then marketed as "digitally remastered."
Because if there's one thing Depeche Mode needed in order to be a good band, it was loudness.
That's how we found ourselves staring down the business end of the Loudness War, the music industry's attempt to address the growing prevalence of shitty ear bud headphones turning every song up to 11.
And the thing is, most of you didn't even know this was happening until now it's hard to perceive what's wrong until you hear the unaltered version. This happened with Metallica's album Death Magnetic. On the same day the album was released to retail outlets, it was also made available as a playable download in the video game Guitar Hero.iphone 5 refurbished It didn't take especially attentive fans long to notice that the non game album sounds like complete ass when compared to the Guitar Hero version. Why? Because the latter hadn't had its levels pegged to eliminate all range:
Because if there's one thing Metallica needed help with, it was loudness.
Fans started an online petition to force the band to remaster the album, and Lars Ulrich responded exactly in the manner you'd expect the guy who destroyed Napster to reply.
The worst part about all of this is that it's more than just a matter of taste. Your booty may crave the beat, but your brain and ears need dynamics and sound diversity to keep engaged. Without them, one succumbs to ear fatigue, and there's even danger of actual hearing loss. There hasn't been a Metallica album worth that kind of risk since the mid '80s.
