CHANGES IN THE WAYS OF MUSIC

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

By Aaron Davis

Jackson Hole, Wyo.-Each year around this time, I like to revisit the future of music—how its being produced and consumed, and how it affects our day-to-day culture. As complex as the industry is, it’s a very cut and dry issue when it comes to business—you’re either consuming or selling music (either as a self-releaser, indie or major label).

It’s been a pretty stunning year for exciting, quality music. Changes in the ways music is distributed and consumed have sparked a creative explosion where the real challenge is getting to it all.

The powers that be are still trying to crack down on illegal downloads, in hopes of paying artists (and labels) what they deserve. But worldwide litigation against file-sharing sites and individuals who downloaded music illegally has created more nightmares than daydreams. From the days of dubbed tapes to mp3 sharing of today, people will figure out a way to share recorded music, and continue to get away with it.  

Wherever you fall in the spectrum, if you listen to a lot of music, studies show that you’re getting at least some—legally. A BBC news report found that consumers who download music illegally also spend more than $110 a year buying it legitimately. Those who claimed not to use peer-to-peer file sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay, spent a yearly average of just $66. While surveys asking people about unlawful actions should be treated with caution, this is all rather surprising to me.

I think the solution to increasing sales from illegal downloader demographic is a moral one. They can’t be stopped, but they can be educated and maybe even wooed by legal download extras. I admit to being a slice of the population that has acquired music for free, only to turn around and buy a concert ticket and/or buy the latest recording online.

Standing around a campfire in North Carolina, I engaged in conversation with an old-time banjo player. The mid-20 something picker had no interest in contemporary music whatsoever, but rather the sharing of old-time music the way it was 100 years ago, before recorded music existed. To think of music sharing in a non-techie way is much more simple—real people play it, share it, and interpret it later down the line.

The protection of intellectual property rights doesn’t appear to have been an issue before recordings existed. On one hand, I hanker for that era when live music was scarce, when it was highly valued because of its limited access combined with the inability to take a hard copy home with you.

But if my only fix were face-to-face, I would not know of or enjoy the plethora of recorded music that is such a luxury of our time.
No complaints here. JHW

Courtesy photo
"I made you a tape"

PERMALINK:
CHANGES IN THE WAYS OF MUSIC | Planet JH News Article: Music Box

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