Is there accountability and accuracy and trust in providers of downloadable music?

[junplugged]

they get paid, buy what can possibly keep them honest?

do you really think they'll pay indy artists what is actually sold?

or majors either.

it's so easily fudged, what, if any controls are there on these systems?

[Mindset]

Yes there is trust. These companies are major corporations that have to follow rules. Nothing amature goes on, your talking about professionals who do this for a living. By law records must be kept very accurate in any industry. Of course I'm talking about sites with accountability, not some no-name trying to sell his ripped cd's on the internet.

In the last year, cd sales in the world dropped 300 million $ down to something like 700-800 million $$ sold around the world, and digital downloads though ranked in 500ish million $$. There will/is/and has been money in digital downloads and thats where this industry is starting to shift focuses - technology.

[junplugged]

the reason why there is the right to audit is just for the reasons that you stated are not followed.

the right to audit is one section of a record contract that you can be lucky to have, if you have the power to negotiate. it's one of the reasons to have a publishing company, to be able to get what's due to you. audits routinely find unpaid funds, so to believe what you are saying is hard to do considering the history of record companies since day 1.

[tanlith]

Originally Posted by junplugged

the reason why there is the right to audit is just for the reasons that you stated are not followed.

the right to audit is one section of a record contract that you can be lucky to have, if you have the power to negotiate. it's one of the reasons to have a publishing company, to be able to get what's due to you. audits routinely find unpaid funds, so to believe what you are saying is hard to do considering the history of record companies since day 1.

Yeah... but who would actually risk prison for a few "extra" bucks... these guys are making a decent living... who want's a wife named "Bruno"??? Sure there's always someone willing to skim off the top, but how much would it actually hurt the artists as individuals? They wouldn't pick one guy and not pay him at all... they'd take a few ($0.02?) from each artist's sale? Most people wouldn't even feel it... Sure it's wrong, but Politician's do it every day! And you guys let them loose in the whitehouse!!!

And CD Sales dropped due to all the file shareing... it has severely INCREASED since Napster started it all...

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by junplugged

Is there accountability and accuracy and trust in providers of downloadable music?

I'd say there is at least as much accountability and accuracy and trust in providers of downloadable music as there is in people who use their product.

Doesn't really answer your question though. Huh?

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by junplugged

audits routinely find unpaid funds, so to believe what you are saying is hard to do considering the history of record companies since day 1.

+1.

Some humans are honest and some are not.

Yeah... but who would actually risk prison for a few "extra" bucks...

Umm, all the 2 million people in prison? Ken Lay? Every Politician?

Greed is greed. Do record companies rip people off? Yes. Not all of them, but just pick up a newspaper. I have no doubt that SOME download sites skim, it would be against human nature if some did not.

An interesting thing about audits:

audits routinely find unpaid funds

Yes, mistakes happen. I would be curious to know how many mistakes happen in favor of the artist? I would bet that 99.9999999999% are all in favor of the label.