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What the world needs is a giant repository of all music (legal, of course) and accessible by an API for streams and downloads. Any access to the API would char

What the world needs is a giant repository of all music (legal, of course) and accessible by an API for streams and downloads. Any access to the API would charge for the rights to play the song, of course, but it would be up to the retailer to decide how the song was paid for, whether it be web-song stream rights, subscription, download sales, ads etc. This would open up a whole new market for music sites without having to directly manage deals with music publishers - we the web entrepreneurs could focus on creative delivery instead of fearing / bargaining with labels. This is a ludicrous pipe dream, obviously, based on how technologically frightened and fractured the music industry is today. But it would make the world a better place I think.

jrockway 16y ago
Remember, the music industry doesn't want you to buy their music. They want to "deal" with you. An example of a company that wants you to buy their stuff is Amazon. Click a button, make an API call, and you have a new server. That's because they are the ones providing value; they are not the middlemen worrying about being cut out of the loop. The music industry is different -- they don't do much more than act as a loanshark to the artists, which the artists put up with because the only way to have your music advertised is with the record labels. If there was just an API where you could sell your stuff, then the record labels wouldn't be necessary. Your laptop, a good soundcard, and free software is all you'd need to "play in the majors". That's not good for the middleman. Bittorrent is an acceptable interim solution.
dagw 16y ago
Sounds a little bit like what Spotify does. OK they don't have all music, but it does have a fair amount. They also have a cross platform API (http://developer.spotify.com/en/libspotify/overview/ http://developer.spotify.com/en/libspotify/overview/), and while I don't think you can use the API exactly as you like, I'm sure if you had a good idea they'd be willing to listen. It's not quite your pipe dream, but it isn't too far off.

jrockway 16y ago

Remember, the music industry doesn't want you to buy their music. They want to "deal" with you. An example of a company that wants you to buy their stuff is Amazon. Click a button, make an API call, and you have a new server. That's because they are the ones providing value; they are not the middlemen worrying about being cut out of the loop. The music industry is different -- they don't do much more than act as a loanshark to the artists, which the artists put up with because the only way to have your music advertised is with the record labels. If there was just an API where you could sell your stuff, then the record labels wouldn't be necessary. Your laptop, a good soundcard, and free software is all you'd need to "play in the majors". That's not good for the middleman. Bittorrent is an acceptable interim solution.

dagw 16y ago

Sounds a little bit like what Spotify does. OK they don't have all music, but it does have a fair amount. They also have a cross platform API (http://developer.spotify.com/en/libspotify/overview/ http://developer.spotify.com/en/libspotify/overview/), and while I don't think you can use the API exactly as you like, I'm sure if you had a good idea they'd be willing to listen. It's not quite your pipe dream, but it isn't too far off.