What do AC/DC, Police, Christina Aguilera and the Eagles all have in common? They would all like us to waste a little gas, just to listen to their music. In other words, if you want any of the new releases from the artists above, you’ll have to drive your ass down to a Wal-mart, Target, or Best Buy as they all have exclusive deals with the big box stores. Why would they do this? Well, in exchange for exclusivity, the artist/band gets HUGE promotion in the stores. So anyone walking into one of those stores, may come out with an impulse purchase of a Christina Aguilera CD…or not.
Will the music industry please move completely into the 21st century already? The future of music is digital. Period. Don’t get me wrong, I used to love the old neighborhood music stores and actually owning the CD, artwork, etc, but let’s face it, all of those stores are out of business…for a reason. When faced with the choice of driving to a store, or clicking a button, consumers chose to click a button, and own the music instantaneously. Those who want to own the CD now buy it online at Amazon. The iPod and other portable music devices only furthers the need for digital downloads as buying a CD requires the extra step to actually upload it digitally before it can be transferred to the device.
So what’s up with this new wave of artists who think they are so big, and people love them so much, that they can make it MORE difficult to give them money. Seems a little backwards if you ask me. I suppose you could say a true fan would drive anywhere to get their hands on the latest release from their favorite artist. Well you know what? I wouldn’t…just for the principle of it. You think you are so great that I don’t want to listen to the CD before I buy it? You think people should have to drive to give you money for your music? Fuck that! I’m a big supporter of buying music, but illegal downloads haven’t gone away, and I think artists are going to lose a lot of money to that if they don’t make it available legally online.
Yes, I’m very aware that AC/DC has sold a shit-ton of albums already using this model. But has anyone thought about how many more they would have sold if we could just click “buy” in the iTunes store? And I’d be very curious to know how many people have, and will opt to get the music illegally since they can’t access it on their computer. In fact, I encourage this, who do these artists think they are? Does anyone else see how f’ing backwards this is?
Yes, I’m a little angry, not because I was planning on buying any of those albums, but at the audacity of artists and labels so caught up in retail commercialism that they are forsaking spreading their music to as many ears as possible. In a time when the music industry is struggling to keep up with technology, I see this as a huge step backwards that may work for a few big names, but is ultimately bad for their bottom line, and just plain annoying for their fans.
Hey, I’d really like you to pay me $10 to read my blog, but I have much better visibility at my house so I’m not going to post it digitally anymore. Why don’t get in your car and drive over and read the handwritten version? Thanks.
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