Strategy

Executive Profiles

Board of Directors

Company Background

Be Investor Relations

Be Branding

Contact Be

Jean-Louis Gassée Column

Intellectual Property and Internet Appliances May 24, 2000 Historically, there have been two views on possession of property: "What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable"; or "What's mine is mine and what's yours is yours." When I write historically, I refer to nobles and peasants; Bolsheviks and kulaks; as well as to the Founding Fathers, libertarians, and followers of Ayn Rand -- to name but a few prominent actors and ideological types on the historical stage. I'll let the reader decide who fits where. The antagonists in realm of music, however, are clear. There is a peasant revolt against big companies' over lordship of music publishing and distribution. Or so it seems. Some observers call the Napster phenomenon a normal but transient manifestation of extreme aural gratification, encouraged by pervasive Net connections, MP3 compression, and cheap computing power. Others call it a profound new beginning. More somber haruspices see strife and poverty in the entrails of yesterday's cozy CD business. Actually, it's all this and more. The FTC's felicitous timing in accusing the Big Guys of CD music publishing of pricing collusion makes the peasant revolt sentiment credible, if not exactly justified. Any argument that there is no constitutional right to free music falls on deaf ears -- pardon my choice of words. There's an emotional reaction: it's proper revenge for corporate abuse of power; I'm burning the castle -- and a lot of CDs. As for the freeloaders' gluttony, the argument goes that digital music abusers wouldn't have purchased all this music anyway, so the damage to publishers and artists isn't what it's claimed to be. I'm not so sure that this is true. It used to be that I heard a tune on the radio, went to the store, and bought the record. Now, I can launch Napster and grab the tune on the Net. With fashion driving the process, success can be ephemeral and the damage lasting. This is critical success with a new Winamp skin: great reviews, no money. It doesn't have to end up this way, though. My hope is that digital music appliances will help straighten out the problem in two ways. One is by making secure and very inexpensive music sales possible; the other is by signaling the beginning of a land redistribution. If and when the powers that be agree on a good secure music food chain, entertainment appliances will receive and play encrypted music. If this is coupled with the ability to make micro-payments, then artists, their publishers, promoters, and other saprophytes will be able to make their money. At the same time, I'll get inexpensive music on demand on my connected entertainment system, its synchronized MP3-man, or a fourth generation multimedia cell phone or PDA. This won't prevent pirates from pirating, but the convenience of grabbing content will be matched by equally painless revenue generation. One correspondent wrote that total security was impossible and included a URL for a column making that point. It turned out to have been written by the CEO of a security company. *Beware of these column-writing CEOs.* Yes, piracy is eternal, and it can be made less attractive, more difficult, less rewarding and, possibly, more painful. Cell phones are pirated, but the cell phone industry isn't doing too badly. I called my second hope for the future of music sales "land redistribution." Market access used to be controlled by a few large and larger publishers. This made it practically impossible for a majority of artists to be heard, seen, or published in other media. The capillary market created or revealed by Napster points to a nice opportunity for artists and smaller publishers to reach a very large number of listeners who are willing to pay a very small fee, without sinking an infinite amount of money into marketing. If the Napster way wins, we'll all be richer for the more diverse cultural scene it enables, freed from today's choke points. Lastly, encryption can help make music both free and paid for. For instance, one download can be played on my connected stereo in two ways: with advertising, like my favorite country music station; or, for a small payment, without the ads.

Past Columns: March 7, 2001 Intemperance Makes the Suit Look Bad February 7, 2001 The Web Device of Choice at Home January 17, 2001 Transfer of Power December 6, 2000 One Step Closer November 15, 2000 Thoughts on Comdex 2000 November 1, 2000 Watching the Pendulum October 4, 2000 Plus çà change... September 6, 2000 Connected Appliances: A Field Report August 16, 2000 Sub-PC vs. Appliances July 12, 2000 The Victim Microsoft June 7, 2000 The Power of Words May 31, 2000 The First Be Shareholders Meeting May 24, 2000 Intellectual Property and Internet Appliances May 17, 2000 Spreading the Virus May 10, 2000 Numbers and Feedback May 3, 2000 Manufacturing Consent

About Be, Inc. | Be Products | World of Be | BeOS Support | Jobs | Developers | Press | Partners | Investors

Copyright © 2001 by Be, Inc. All rights reserved. (Legal Info)
Comments, questions, or confessions about our site? Please write the Webmaster!