Face the music

Re “Music-sharing verdict a milestone for record labels,” Oct. 5

In the good old days for the music industry, recording labels had a virtual monopoly on the means of discovering talent and the production, promotion and distribution in manufacturing and selling discs and tapes to brick-and-mortar stores.

Today, consumers can discover self-promoted talent through such technology as YouTube, among others. Anyone with a few hundred dollars can acquire technology more advanced than that used to produce “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” From this story, it is clear that anyone can easily distribute music. These models are nascent, but the trends are clear.

In addition to getting songs on the radio, what role will be left for the labels, and what will consumers think that is worth? Perhaps it is in their shareholders’ best interests that the energy and funding for lawsuits be invested in answering these questions rather than in litigation to defend a dying business model against the inevitable.

George Alexander

Encino