With all the talk about the RIAA lawsuits and the problems with the recording industry, I got to thinking. There seem to be people out there who download mp3s who would not be buying the albums anyway (or who perhaps download in order to preview what they might like to purchase) and then there are those who download albums as an alternative to purchasing music.
Everyone says the RIAA needs to embrace the internet, and we’ve got businesses like Apple which has its new mp3 purchasing thingy.
My thought is this: forget the internet. Focus on the album itself. Focus on good cover art, quality inserts, and coherent albums that are more than random mixes of disconnected schlock.
I could never use mp3 downloading as an alternative to buying CDs, because for me all parts of the album are important, even the non-musical ones.
So, I think the RIAA should try to engender interest in actual albums, and try to appeal to folks aesthetic sensibilities by selling a ‘complete’ product (and dropping the price a bit would certainly go a long way towards that goal).
There’s a lot of online buying of anything in general because of elimination of the middleman. Online stores have web pages instead of posters, sound systems, and other such trappings to lure customers, so there’s much less overhead. Plus, the music buyer (or downloader) doesn’t have to bother leaving home to get what they want.
The RIAA is a collection of totally unnecessary middlemen, and like any other agency that markets product they had no hand in creating, is collapsing. Why they think suing 12-year old MP3 collectors for $2000 is going to save their industry is beyond me. Their presence won’t be nearly as big as it used to be, and they have to realize that.
I think it’s gotten kind of cyclical: years ago, folks bought records because of what they heard on the radio. They didn’t have a visual image of the artist or the performance thereof, because TV wasn’t around yet. It was radio and word of mouth that was an artist’s means of selling his product. Nowadays, The MP3 hunt, and of course word of mouth, is contributing to make non-visual appreciation of music a force to be reckoned with once more. The middlemen are freaking out.
We’ve already seen the culture of the album, its art and liner notes, reduced to one ninth scale. It could get to the point where the entire recording is sold online, and attachments to the download include a PDF of the liner notes and cover, if any. Album cover art will become another web graphic. The package will include a streaming of the video that’s currently being aired on MTV instead of a painting.
The convenience of getting what you want without leaving the house is a big factor. The RIAA and others like it are becoming obsolete. I do think there will always be sales of solid, unvirtual albums, but it just won’t be as much as before. We’ll see later how price reductions on CDs will work.
Yeah, theft is so much less of a hassle when you can do it from the comfort of your own home, instead of having to go downtown and risk getting shot by a security guard or the police.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Dude, we know. We KNOW. We freakin’ get it. Downloading music without paying for it is theft. Wonderful. That argument has been done so. many. times. It has nothing to do with this thread, so why don’t you take your sanctimonious smilies elsewhere. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
As for something that actually has relevence to the OP: I don’t think there’s anything the RIAA can do that would make me buy more cds. I often buy directly from the label, especially if it’s an indie label. Otherwise, I often use independent online stores which cater especially to my favorite genre(s) and offer a large selection and excellent customer service.
The jerks out there who do download albums in their entirety and never buy things? The only thing that will make them stop is shutting down every single file-sharing program in existence. And there is more than just Kazaa out there. RIAA is going to have to expend a lot of time and energy to come close to succeeding. The file sharing industry is a hydra, and while fear of suing may stop some casual downloaders, it won’t even effect many teenagers, most of whom think they’re invincible, in any case. Even if the RIAA does succeed, the freeloaders will still get shit free, through friends and the miracle of cd burners.
And the “thieves” who use file-sharing programs to sample music will find others ways, and will continue supporting their favorite bands by buying their albums, buying their t-shirts, talking the band up to their friends, and going to their concerts.
And the only thing RIAA can do about it is create ugly publicity for themselves by suing 12 year old girls for $2000 bucks. I most sincerely hope they never recover.
I’m confused. Some of you are saying that you’re buying direct from labels, or wherever, but isn’t that ok? I mean, RIAA doesn’t care if I buy my CDs from the music store downtown, amazon.com, or straight from the record company, as long as I’m buying the album, right?
I can’t really comment on this thing with the RIAA, it just confuses me and I doubt they represent any bands I like. I couldn’t care less if they make money or not.
But to answer the OP, yeah bands should try to engender more interest in actual albums with better artwork, booklets and liner notes etc. Definitely.
I love albums with great artwork, it just a total fetish product. Many bands have gotten this right a long time ago.
Sure, I download music all the time, but I buy more albums now than I ever did before I had access to the Internet. Just last month I bought over 15 albums. No way would I have done that if I couldn’t have sampled those songs beforehand. Nothing beats having the real physical thing in your hands and in your shelf. It’s a total collectors mentality.
And maybe that’s who these bands should market albums towards: the collectors.
Sure, a thirteen-year-old kid, sitting in his room right now downloading rare Brittney Spears b-sides, couldn’t care less about using his pocket money on albums.
But with the continued use of file sharing he might. Some day.