music via CD (or cassette or lp) vs. via internet

[vornth9]

It's Grammy Award time and apparently this has brought on some (more) hype about the "downfall" of the CD. With retail outlets going bankrupt and/or closing up shop, people are pointing fingers. It's the recording industry's fault for overpromoting crappy music and overcharging us or it's the consumer's fault for "pirating" music via the internet. So the apparent solution to this quandary is to figure out how to make consumers pay for what they download, and/or turn music stores into download kiosks.

Does anyone else find this disturbing? Why or why not? I'd especially like to hear from Lunaris and Lee, since you're up-and-coming artist and label. How would this change affect your livelihood(s)?

 

[ricochet]

Well, I'll give my opinion. For me personally, the Internet has allowed me to hear and find out about MANY new artists that I wouldn't have otherwise been exposed to. I've bought countless cds due to hearing the bands via mp3s. I don't think the idea of stores turning into download kiosks would fly at all. I personally don't buy from stores anymore because I buy everything online.

MP3s are poor substitutes for cds, and personally I don't want a pile of cd-rs lying around. I enjoy having the artwork and lyrics and sound quality of cds. Recently I've started collecting vinyl (I am 18 by the way so I didn't grow up with vinyl) and have really enjoyed having the complete package in the form of vinyl.

There will always be ways to pirate music. The record companies should deal with this by providing more incentives for people to buy the albums rather than raising the already high prices. I think MP3s are a good thing for metal as they allow many lesser known bands to get exposure, which leads to album sales. I think only the big labels and big artists (if you can even call some of them artists) are losing money from MP3s as most of their fans couldn't care less about the artist. I think with most metal fans they understand what the artists have to go through and will support them in any way they can. Maybe I'm mistaken, but for me personally I think MP3s are a great thing and allow me to be exposed to many bands and weed out all the crap that I would have ended up returning to stores anyway. If I like what I hear from mp3s, I buy the album.

 

[*M*]

I must admit that the mp3 craze of the recent years gave me some concerns to the future of the cd, but it seems my concerns were unfounded… for now at least. The latest figures show that cd sales are back up the level they were at in '98. This, to me, shows that people still want to own original cd's with the artwork, lyrics, etc., and this is a good thing for the artists.
But, the music industry is balancing on a knives edge here. The prices for cd's are way too high, and anyone involved in the music industry knows the only place to cut expenses, is at the major labels. The bigger labels are taking larger and larger cuts from the profits, and this obviously is having a domino effect down through the industry.
Retail outlets are most likely suffering the effect of the explosive boom in online commerce. Online shops have only a fraction of the overheads of the retail chains, and this is obviously a lucrative option. Luckily it seems to benefit the consumer as well as many of these online outlets have reduced prices to gain a footing in the market.
Like I mentioned, I am less concerned now than I was, but there has to be a change of attitude throughout the industry, or the greed of the largest players will consume us all and destroy the business.

 

[vornth9]

And this leads me to ask.....does this supposed decline in the cd and subsequent development of "retail music download" ( how would a retail space transform from an actual inventory to virtual inventory, and what would it cost us?) have any implications for the availability of music? Right now, we can find just about anything online. Can the same be said when Sony or BMG or Universal have control over the choosing and downloading of songs? And what about privacy issues? Does the latest download from Judas Priest imply consent to be spammed about the next pop/dance diva?? Or does my Graveland download mark me for surveillance for "unAmerican Activity??"

You also hit upon another issue that I was thinking about too. Let's assume that in the future, we can download music, along with lyrics, credits and artwork. What is the difference between this and purchasing an actual album, where all of this is already packaged/presented for you?

 

[*M*]

I don't see a controlable mp3 market in the forseeable future. When I was talking about "Online Commerce", I didn't mean in downloading, I meant in ordering CD's online.
We humans haven't really evolved past our love for tangible goods, and until we do, I don't think the record industry has anything to fear.... from the consumer anyway

 

[vornth9]

I knew that you meant online cd purchases. And I agree with you about humans and tangible objects....after all, I'd probably be the first on my block (town, state) to own a Lunaris boxset

With that said, however, I must point out what one record-store chain owner has said about this: "....you'll see about 500 of 5,000 traditional music stores close in the first six months of this year....in five years you'll see virtually no cd stores. We sell a mature and somewhat stale product...." Mike Dreese of Newbury Comics Boston MA. He goes on to say that while music still brings in the profits, he's had to change his businesses into "pop culture supermarkets". His stores also carry the most metal i've seen anywhere in my area and at average prices (12-14 US$).

But again, I pose the question: assuming that you could download the whole package (music, art, credits, lyrics, etc),and putting it on our own media (paper, cdr, case, etc) what would be the difference between this and buying the package as we do now?? I sense that there is, but I'm not sure what it is.
And I'm not sure I like it, either.

Of course the recording industry would have nothing to fear in any case.....look at AOL Time Warner....a conglomerate of cable&internet, along with print, electronic and musical media, including Warner Chappell Music Publishing.

I'm sorry if this all sounds paranoid, but I'm genuinly concerned about the musicians I listen to and purchase music from (and the availability and price thereof), and the worth of my investment I've made already. And what does LEE think of all this??