I remember when I got Nirvana's Nevermind on tape from my older brother . I was in the 6th grade and by then I had heard the album but to have the tape in my hand to listen to it whenever I wanted was cool. Song for song I loved that tape. I wore it out.
About a year later I got Green Day's Dookie and again another tape track for track I loved it. Then I got Candlebox's Lucy album. It was awful. I bought it at Dearborn Music and felt like I wasted 10.99.
What Rick Carnes said is dead on to me. The recording artist's days are over. Oh, there is a few and working and running the college radio station on campus, there are artists we get and their free cds we run to play on air that are way better than what is on the radio. I do not blame people for wanting music for free. Why? Cause I blame the record companies for quality. It is what sells not what is good. Bands are like gypies in the night. They are camped out putting on a show and by morning they are gone. Have you heard the newest from Fall out Boy? Did not think so.
"Today's music artist is focused on image and brand development because the money is made on ticket sales for live shows. Album sales are an after thought since music piracy has obliterated the ability to support an act through recorded music sales alone. Recorded music is given away as a promotional loss-leader, sold as an adjunct to a new tech device, or as an impulse buy at big discount stores. Gone are the record stores of old."
I love that quote. Bands are built for singles and piracy has taken away from the recording artist to come out to produce a track for track album that is good. What is the incentive? Well, none. They can rest on that hit single and boom they will be okay. But really that format has not changed since the 50's when singles were printed on 45's. The Monkeys outsold the Beatles the last part of their careers based on singles that were catchy and easy to listen to.
The recording artist is now exposed. I have downloaded music for free for years. Even here at WUMD we get music for free way before the general public gets a hold of it. It is our job to pass the music on to the masses and I understand that.I feel on both sides of the fence about this. I like the music I get for free I cant afford yet I miss the days of where a album changed my life about music and my thought process. Albums like Nevermind and the Replacements " Let it Be." I enjoy the lower prices and the fact I can get whatever I want in a quick snap of my fingers. Record companies are still making a ton of music and because of " losses" they can support less artists. Unless a artist is a slam dunk, they will not sign them because of " we cant afford it based off piracy". Hmm. So really in all reality, both sides are using the piracy argument to their advantage. I personality think music will never go back to the days of Best Buy's having cd shelves 100 rows out or your record shop having everything. Instead, things will continue as they are where music is special ordered and songs on Itunes will replace the Billboard Chart.
Funny, I remember getting a Rage Against the Machine Tape from my brother back in the fourth grade.
ReplyDelete"Bands are built for singles and piracy has taken away from the recording artist to come out to produce a track for track album that is good."
So true, even legal options like iTunes allow most tracks to be purchased individually. The albums that iTunes has restrictions on are clearly the record label's attempt at forcing us to be treated like we were when CD's where the mainstream distribution model and we had to pay $16 for a album with one or two good tracks. This has been a key issue that the record companies are finally getting hosed on, personally I think they deserve it. For the 30-50 CD's I have purchased, about half were only for a couple a tracks on the CD. Piracy has put pressure on record companies to stop turning out factory made junk and actually force artists to create more complete, well rounded albums.