[colmustard]

Hey guys,
 
I wrote an article that I think some of you will find interesting. Let it be said that my argument comes with no supportive market research or data. It's just the opinion on how things look from my perspective and what I think should be done about it. So take it for what it is, but I think it's an interesting topic to discuss nonetheless.
 
http://breakthenetwork.com/2012/04/03/the-music-industry-needs-to-grow-up/

 

[PleasantNoise]

It seems odd to me, The way music is treated because of the internet and pmp's.  People at my school will have music blearing in their ears all day at school, but they won't have a clue what they listened to, they listen with ipod headphones in noisy environments, they can't hear most of the music.  I worry about how people listen to music as a result of it's availability, theres no satisfaction in it.
I went to a concert yesterday, and all my friends asked why I shut my eyes the whole time, I just  said, that's how I always listen to music, I want to listen, not see. And I'm so used to doing so that I found all the stage lights and glare and idiots with their cellphones out so distracting that I couldn't listen with them open. They didn't seem to understand that I listen to music like this normally, I lie down, put an album on and just listen.  But it was good to see some of them actually buying the cds after the concert, so they must've enjoyed it.

I do agree that the music industry is so stuck in it's ways right now that it's blinded by the potential that the internet poses for music, I use it to find music I like, and to order cds from, without it, I would have very limited access to music content, So I agree that they need to embrace it's potential.

 

[LizardKing1]

It's well written and concise, but I disagree with some parts and was confused by others. There are lots, and I mean lots, of artist who put their music for free download. Most do that with their first album, since getting known is much more important at that point. Also some artists (I only know of Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails) who make their albums available for free even though they're already widely famous and rich. A free EP for the fans is a great gesture. So basically, the concept of free music isn't exactly new, it's been around since social networking, and I think it probably started with electronic music. And I think it's fantastic I share free albums with my friends, but I believe that if an artist
 
At this point I should mention I pirate music. I do it and I don't really know why. I have a stable financial situation, but by no means one that could allow me to buy every album I listen to. If I really like a band or artist I buy the album, but there are a lot I listen to or used to listen to and never bought. Also albums in my country are ridiculously expensive and I'd rather buy them online. I've heard, or read, a lot of people saying they pirate stuff because the music industry sucks, and they pirate as a protest. This to me is hipocrisy 101. If you're going to do it go ahead, but the obnoxiousness of actually trying to justify it by saying it's a protest and that you in the least care, or know, about what the music industry is or should be is really annoying. Most people just don't want to pay, they just don't want to look like jerks and need an excuse, a cause. I think there are things wrong in the music industry, but not only do I not try to justify my jerk-ness with it, I don't think it's that big of a deal. And even if these people were indeed caring souls concerned about the poor artist, I'm wondering why artists on Beatport with 1 album released and no label to back them up get pirated. What 'big shot' would they be feeding? There are lots of small independent labels that have their music pirated, these aren't millionaires, they're guys like us. Why is it so wrong to actually give money towards their work (yes, recording and owning a studio is work)? It's not so much the piracy that annoys me, but more the attempts at justifying it as way to change something.
 
As for piracy as a phenomenon, I agree entirely, it's not something you can stop. It's like violence or evil, not exactly something right, but it's virtually impossible to prevent it. You can only encourage people not to do it. The idea of buying an album should be something more ritualistic, like playing vinyl. I think not just a CD with an artbook, since those usually get copied too. Something you only get with a CD, like a t-shirt, a replica of a band's guitar, or some of the albums having tickets for a concert or backstage passes. Of course this would raise prices, and it's naive to think this would have a big impact on piracy levels, but it's a start to encouraging people to buy instead of just downloading, because they're getting stuff you can't get from a torrent.

 

[PleasantNoise]

Many people my age (18) don't even own cd players anymore, it's pretty sad, they've never been to a concert, or listened to music from a decent set of gear.
They've never bought a cd, or an lp, they don't get it at all.  How we change that, I don't know. The world is generally wrong, it's built around compromise and botched jobs,
fixing something that's become engrained into a generation is going to take something seriously big.