Rick Rubin Remixes Columbia Records

This article in The New York Times Magazine shows that the major record companies still don't get it. By hiring Rick Rubin, Columbia Records is becoming wiser about the process of choosing acts with which to put their resources behind, but they haven't learned that fans don't want a subscription method, that most fans want to own the tracks that make up the soundtrack of their life, and that most bands often don't need a huge marketing arm, they merely require a company who is competent enough to physically manufacture and distribute the art they produce, whether that may be in physical or digital formats.

It also indicates that they still haven't figured out the biggest obstacle to the success of the major record label in the digital environment of today: DRM

Digital Rights Management (DRM), which is the use of encryption schemes to prevent the copy and distribution of music is the number one crippling old world model out there and since Columbia Records is owned by SONY that is not likely to change anytime soon. With or without Rick Rubin.

SONY is the company who not only loves DRM on their music and video projects, but has also found a way to make sure that all the rest of their consumer electronics products are just wonky enough as to be incompatible with any of the other non-SONY manufactured products in your possession.

Mark my words, companies like CDBaby, who do understand what it means to be a major record company these days, will begin to replace these stodgy old companies over the next two decades.

I only wonder how long Rick Rubin fights this uphill battle with SONY before he realizes that he is one man trying bail out water from a sinking Titanic.

What fans clearly want is the ability to buy high fidelity sound files (that means higher than the typical 128kb compression schemes) and have the ability, without punishment, to place their files on their mp3 player, their hard drive, in their CD collection, on USB keys, etc., without being charged for every single transaction. Let me buy it once, let me own it, at a reasonable price, and I guarantee you, most honest people will pay for their music while sharing it with people who will in turn also be willing to purchase their own copy.