Frank Zappa
even laid out the business model
for music downloads (in his autobiography) even before the
technology was available.
Could you tell a bit more about that?
The Real Frank Zappa Book, published 1989. Page 337 'A Proposal for a
system to replace phonograph record merchandising'.
Re-reading it now, I'm amazed to notice that Zappa took this
all-digital network music idea to Rothschild Venture Capital many
years before the book was written, when CDs hadn't yet become
generally available and a CD player cost $700. He begins with the
limitations and business problems of vinyl distribution, and argues
that CD won't really solve those problems.
The idea was that the digital music would come down the phone line or
cable TV wire, where it could be transferred onto a Sony F1 tape
machine (which I assume is an early form of DAT). Alternatively, a
cheaper solution would use a DA converter and analogue cassette tape.
It was proposed to do all the royalty accounting in software, with
subscribers paying a flat monthly fee. The album artwork would be
displayed on the cable TV channel.
Needless to say, the VCs turned Zappa down. But it proves that the
ideas were there for the taking, probably twenty years ago.
Cheers
Daniel
