I was recently reading an article in Rolling Stone that showed several graphs of how album sales have been steadily declining over the past 6 years while track downloading/sharing has increased. The music industry always quickly blames listeners for "illegally" downloading music which has put a big $$$ dent in the biz.
While I continue to buy CDs, I don't "buy" into that argument.
In a supply and demand market, people will usually go for the cheaper if they can get it, and in the case of downloading, it's free.
But there's something different about music. You're not buying the physical CD as they cost only a few cents. You're buying the right to listen to the intellectual property in a predesignated format.
I've got a lot of good old LPs, that instead of rebuying that intellectual property, or buying another adapter dealie to transfer from LP to my computer, it's quicker for me to simply download, and then only the tracks that I want (although there are several B-side gems out there).
If there's a good new rock band on the scene, like Wolfmother, I'll buy the CD and check it out. But that has become more rare lately.
There are old bands that have been around for a while that also have a strong fan base, who'll buy their CDs, DVDs, shirts and stuff without a blink, and attend their live shows, no matter what the ticket price. Personally, I have several bands that no matter what, I'll buy their CD, to show my support and appreciation.
How many of the artists in the Billboard Top 100 can say that? Isn't a lot of the music out there just regurgitated variations of the same crap?
Why are so many old bands back together and touring?
As I mentioned, it's called supply and demand. Producers supply the goods depending on the demand from consumers. And in the case of the North American music biz, the goods simply suck, and the consumers aren't buying it.
Artists need to get more creative, originality and variations on their albums. Take bands like Foo Fighters and Green Day, whose recent concept albums won much praise, where songs are long, blend into each other, and an overall theme is generated. The best albums of all time all follow that template and most of those are from the 70's, believe it or not.
Also, take note of album reviews in magazines. Haven't seen too many 4 or 5 star albums out there recently. Most albums nowadays aren't albums anymore. They're a file repository of random tracks of random thoughts.
People are downloading the one or two hit songs from an album, but don't see the need to buy the whole thing, as those b-side gems just don't exist anymore.
So don't feel guilty, you downloaders. It's not your fault. You deserve better and it's obvious you're demanding better too.
