Earlier this week I wrote another criticism of the plan set forth by Jim Griffin and the ISP based file-sharing service that is being developed by his company, Choruss (see Dear Jim Griffin (and the Scoundrels of Choruss)). If you followed the comments on the post or my twitter feed, you probably noticed that Mr.Griffin was very quick to respond to my criticism and extended an offer to meet to discuss Choruss. I was quick to accept this invitation and about 24 hours after my original post went up, we were sitting down at the lovely Mexico Lindo restaurant on Manhattan’s East Side discussing my concerns with the Choruss plan.

After a lengthy discussion with Mr.Griffin, I still believe that the ISP-based file-sharing system being developed by Choruss has some pretty big questions that need to be answered and I am still very skeptical about the chances for long-term success with Choruss.  Mr.Griffin is well-aware of the issues that exist with his plan and strongly believes the only way to get the answers that are needed is by experimenting with this service on the campuses of colleges and universities who wish to participate.

One principle of this plan, which was not made clear to me earlier, and certainly eases much of my concern is that it will be an opt-in service for students, rather than another charge automatically incurred in their tuition.  If this is truly the case, I will not stand in opposition to a voluntary research project, as I believe that even if it were to fail, the information gathered and conclusions that could be drawn from such information will be valuable as we move forward in restructuring this industry.

Ultimately, the students at the schools that implement the service will decide whether or not this is a system that is going to work.  I have a lot of faith in America’s college students and believe that if they feel what they’re paying for isn’t worth the money, they will be quick to make this clear. If this experiment leads to a break-through that will prove me wrong; I have no problem with that and will gladly insert my foot in my mouth as we all reap the benefits of a more prosperous industry.

Jim Griffin is definitely one of the good guys in this battle to bring the music industry into the 21st century. He’s got an impressive background in embracing new technology and is just as critical as the rest of us about the mistakes record labels have made in the digital age. I walked away from our meeting believing that he truly believes in what his company is developing and does not have any sort of evil agenda up his sleeve.

I’m looking forward to learning more about Choruss and what Mr.Griffin and his team are working on and will certainly take him up on his invitation to come check out their office and meet some of the other people who are working on this project.

This experience has been very inspiring to me, as I am beginning to gain hope that we can conquer the digital divide of the music industry as we continue to develop new ideas and share these innovations with our peers. I’m grateful that Mr.Griffin did not take my criticism personally and applaud his willingness to discuss my concerns.

This was also a great example of the power of citizen journalism and proves how influential these blogs can be in producing effective results.

All Photos Courtesy of George for GWIZY.COM