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Physical/digital distribution (in music)

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NYNE
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How do you obtain the majority of your music?

Physical/digital distribution (in music) Vote_lcap43%Physical/digital distribution (in music) Vote_rcap 43% 
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Physical/digital distribution (in music) Vote_lcap7%Physical/digital distribution (in music) Vote_rcap 7% 
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Total Votes : 14
 
 

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Post by 01casey Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:52 pm

Distribution and the transition between business models is very much an area that interests me at the moment. With illegal downloading far exceeding legal methods in the present, and the old-school record labels failing to acknowledge this, it seems clear that something big needs to come along in terms of a whole new system. But first, let me clearly explain where I stand on the issue personally.

I would love to believe that when I purchase an album from iTunes for £7.99, the majority of it is going to the artist, but as always, this isn't the case. So just as easily, I could download an even higher quality copy of an album, for free, illegally, enjoy it, and therefore probably end up buying a gig ticket for the musician or band, therefore they still make steady income. For my favourite bands, I still purchase their albums, but download a free copy if it should leak in advance anyway.

The frustrating thing for me is, how ineffective attempts have been at introducing a new business format to suit the digital revolution so far, not just in music, but in the film industry too (and to a lesser extent, the video-game industry). Radiohead embraced the 'pay-what-you-want' scheme, which is all fair and good, however only 17% of people payed more than the average traditional price for a digital or physical album of around £8, which means that the model failed. This explains why Radiohead soon closed the offer, and went on to release the album in traditional forms. If it had proven a success, then I'm certain I wouldn't be writing this now, but human nature = greed, I'm afraid. We thrive on cheap goods, and are always trying to find things for cheaper in a money-driven society, so given the option, we pay less. Like I said, its human nature.

Saul Williams was next up with his The Inevitable Rise & Liberation of Niggy Tardust album (fantastic release by the way, which I highly reccomend you check out). As I'm sure many of you won't be familiar with Saul, he is an actor/poet/author/musician who built up a bit of an underground following after a certain Trent Reznor decided to produce the album. With no conventional advertising other than word of mouth, the release model pretty much followed a 'Low Quality DRM-free MP3s for free, or $5 for FLAC/320k MP3/ALAC, direct to the artist, with no label. Seems a decent enough decision, right? Wrong. In similar fashion to In Rainbows, the stats summed things up - just 18% (or roughly one in five) of people payed $5, and although the artist himself made more than he would've done ona conventional label, human nature won over again.

Since then, we've had a wave of attempts by artists. Coldplay gave away a physical single with the NME, and digitally, for free. Nine Inch Nails threw out a free download of their latest album, The Slip, for free, without a record label, and just charged for numbered LE physical copies. It seems that this is the best sort of model for the fans, as true fans will typically be happy to pay knowing that near-100% is going to the artist. It is good to see the acknowledgement that music is free anyway, so instead of people having to go to Pirate Bay or whatever, why not just give them the option to get it from you? That's the whole point: music no longer has any value in its current digital form, so it is down to the labels and the artists to work together with the fans to come to some sort of conclusion.

Regarding my thoughts on Spotify, I think it is a clever gimmick and a good idea, but it still doesn't give you the option of owning any of the music. I wouldn't pay £15p/m to be able to stream music to my phone because throughout history, it has always been about tangibility, not loaning. Therefore I feel Spotify Premium is a step in the wrong direction, and people should resist signing up to it as once again, it is putting a price-tag on sounds that are free without tangibility, as a fact.

iTunes LP, however, IS a baby-step in the right direction, albeit severely flawed. Bringing back the tangibility to music that I can't seem to shut up about is the most important factor in giving music a value again, so exclusive artwork, bonus videos, lyrics, and basically an interactive LP experience reminiscent of the old days of physically owning an album could prove a hit. However, a huge flaw is a lack of native iPod or MP3 support, plus the restriction just to iTunes, of course. For this reason, I can't see iTunes LP flourishing, and if it does, it is a worry for the rest of the industry, effectively making iTunes the only place to purchase music.

Anyone else have any strong beliefs on a direction that should be taken? Are you content with the current business model? Couldn't you give a damn? Let me know, as it is something I could discuss all day, and something I may personally attempt to tackle one day.
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Post by JokerJamie Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:04 pm

To be honest, I used to obsess over the idea of having physical copies of my albums, but at the minute I use torrents because I simply can't afford the music that I want to listen to. I have never been strongly opinionated on the matter, as long as the quality is good, get the music whatever way you want/can.

Thats not to say that I wouldn't prefer having the actual CD's. If I had the funds I would spend the money on music, without a doubt.
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Post by 01casey Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:06 pm

Pricing of albums is a huge issue for a lot of people, I agree. However, I believe availability and an obsession to own as much as possible also aids illegal methods. I know for a fact I have some albums in my library that I downloaded from Rapidshare simply because a.) It was there to download, and b.) Because I could. You ever get that?
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Post by Seany C Fri Sep 11, 2009 3:08 pm

I don't pay for music as it's not an industry I care for.
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Post by DanglyBrasco Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:53 pm

I pay for albums, everytime. Partly because of the obsession thing, partly beause its a habit i've gotten used to, and partly because im quite happily naive in thinking that album sales are going towards the band.

However, singles, il download, leagally or illegally depending on my mood. For example, i found an illegal copy of the Big Pinks new track, but i've already payed for their other two singles from I-tunes, but i will buy a physical copy of their album.

I feel that the way i obtain music is pretty healthy for the industry. So, like, swings and roundabouts innit?
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Post by Moozo Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:06 pm

I download nearly all of my music illegally. Even if I own the album I download it anyway because it's easier to do that than find the CD and rip it.

I buy the albums of my favourite artists, though. I kind of obsess over physical copies from particular artists. I'll download in advance if it leaks, though, like you Ryan.
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Post by gdf Fri Sep 11, 2009 5:24 pm

I buy CDs, sometimes download from iTunes and use Spotify to source new music/save me putting the CDs onto iTunes if I want to listen to something good whilst playing a game (Fuel, for example, has a crap soundtrack)
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Post by JokerJamie Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:44 pm

01casey wrote:I know for a fact I have some albums in my library that I downloaded from Rapidshare simply because a.) It was there to download, and b.) Because I could. You ever get that?

Jesus yes. All the time. There are plenty of albums in my library that I've never listened to if I'm honest. I hear about a band, and just say 'fuck it, I'll download their discography' lol It works sometimes, but others jsut sit there wasted...

What's Rapidshare btw? I'm using BitTorrent...
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Post by Mindkiller Fri Sep 11, 2009 6:59 pm

Rapidshare is direct download. Much better than bittorent

Though I wouldn't recommend RS itself. "Mediafire" is much better

I hardly ever buy physical copies anymore and I would never pay for a low bitrate iTunes album when I can get a better quality product via physical distribution
My collection is probably 2:1 in favour of illegal files over legal copies (I have ~5000 tracks)
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Post by Dingo Fri Sep 11, 2009 8:41 pm

If I know I like it, I will buy it. If I can't find it in the shops well I'll illegally download it. I sometimes illegally download stuff now if I want to see what it's like. I don't listen to much new music these days mind you so I rarely download more than a few songs. I use Itunes every so often too.
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Post by Moozo Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:37 pm

I just search "artist album name RAR" on Google and that comes up with a bunch of .rar files for direct download from Rapidshare, Megaupload et al.
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Post by Jammer Fri Sep 11, 2009 11:23 pm

Download some stuff first and then buy the album if I like what I hear.

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Post by weeble Sat Sep 12, 2009 8:02 am

If i like a band i will but Albums as i belive they are just doing a job and should get paid for said work.

And i like to "have" stuff in hand, not sat on a PC where i cant just turn to the side, jab my finger out and think "yep, ill listen to that today"
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Post by NYNE Sat Sep 12, 2009 9:43 am

I buy all my albums, something I enjoy doing.

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Post by Kaptain Kaviar Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:52 am

Download music, buy films.
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Post by GearsCT Sat Sep 12, 2009 11:57 am

Ok I have a bit of a predicament, well when its a band that I really really enjoy, this case being Five Finger Death Punch, when their new album is coming out in 10 days time, I've already pre-ordered it and paid, but I can get the album download now, is this bad?
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Post by maze Sat Sep 12, 2009 12:25 pm

Why would that be bad? You've paid for the album, do what you want. This is the main thing wrong with the music industry, they complain about piracy, but you are always better off pirating an album. Earlier, cheaper (well free), better quality.

When I pre ordered Sonic Youth's new album they sent me a stream of it before it even leaked, that was nice, you'd think more bands would attempt to make paying for their album seem worthwhile.
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Post by gdf Sat Sep 12, 2009 3:22 pm

I held off from getting either the Muse leak or listening to the full stream when it went up.

AND IT ARRIVED TODAY!!!!!!! cheers
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Post by JokerJamie Sat Sep 12, 2009 5:57 pm

Mindkiller wrote:Rapidshare is direct download. Much better than bittorent

Though I wouldn't recommend RS itself. "Mediafire" is much better

Sorry but does it have a really wide variety of music? Not to sound arrogant or try to be 'alternative', but I listen to many bands that don't have such a huge fan base, I guess...
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Post by Mindkiller Sat Sep 12, 2009 7:05 pm

Yes. You can find a lot of obscure stuff on MF

You can always replace the "mediafire" part of the link I just posted with "megaupload" if need be

MF throttle your DL speeds (typically ~100KB/s) , but you can DL as many files from them as you want at once (Handy for grabbing discographies)
MU is faster and it is generally easier to find higher bitrate albums there, but they only allow one DL at a time from your IP

Neither site relies on bittorent clients in case you aren't sure.
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Post by mcgugan Sun Sep 13, 2009 11:51 pm

i do the same as jammer. I love having physical copies, but i want to sample the music before i buy. thanks to spotify, this means i hardly ever download any more
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