So, I'll admit to being a little scared by the RIAA's shotgun lawsuit approach against filesharers. I don't appear to be on the shitlist - though it's increasing every day - and it appears they're exclusively targetting KaZaA users, meaning macintosh users (who can't use the PC-only KaZaA) get another free pass (like we do with most viruses).
But. What am I supposed to do when I want a song like Aretha Franklin's "One Step Ahead", the song sampled in Mos Def's awesome "Ms. Fat Booty"? I've wanted this song for a long time. I remembered I wanted it, today, and went to the iTunes music store, to legally purchase it. No dice. It wasn't there. They have a good selection, but they don't have full catalogs for most "older" artists - just recent "best-of" collections or re-releases, in most cases.
Now, I actually was never able to find this song using LimeWire, either. The network simply doesn't have the selection KaZaA does. And I'll grant that this is a somewhat niche-market kind of desire. But while most of the controversy rages over new music CD sales, it seems like there's a real market opportunity in back-catalogs and out-of-print albums. "One Step Ahead" may never have even been released on CD; it was a 1965 single, but I haven't been able to find it on any compilation.
Another market opportunity waiting to be exploited: adult baseball leagues. Both in D.C. and in Boston, I sent out multiple inquiries every spring, and never heard back. There are leagues, but they're established and exclusive, holding try-outs to fill a few open positions every year, but turning away many interested players. The Boston Men's Baseball League turned away about 120 hopefuls this year, and it's not the only league around. The rest of us are relegated to softball. Why? Softball is some fun, but it's not baseball. Adults play basketball. Adults play soccer. Adults are fully capable of playing baseball. Instead, we play a second-class game. It's bogus. posted by Miles 11:35 AM