And that's not because vinyl has become less expensive, in fact the very opposite, a new copy of The Beatles "White Album" will run you about $40 USD or a copy of Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago" will run you right at $20 USD in most stores.
So, why the spike in sales for something as antiquated as vinyl, a medium of music listening that 20 years ago, experts would have said was on its way out? Some have speculated it's a counter response to the digital music world, that buyers want to hold their records and be able to point to their purchase. Other say it's a backlash to iTunes and the 'shuffle generation', that listeners want to have a musical experience once again and are seeking a more 'personal relationship' with the music they enjoy.
Whatever the reason...as Bob Dylan once said "the times they are a changin"...and some musicians are jumping on board while others are more hesitant.
I've seen a new trend with artists I've worked with NOT releasing their music online, but instead making CD's or vinyl records they sell at their shows. While the other half of artists, are ONLY releasing their music online and giving it away for free. Who's right?
Now, the rest of this post is a mixture speculation and research, but it's speculation based on experience and hours of research.
In 1999 something happened online that changed the course of the music industry forever...
Enter Napster.
In 1999, for the first time music fans could get their favorite albums FOR FREE at the click of a button and the only price was waiting for a progress bar. These songs were in the mp3 format, which is a quarter of the quality of the then reigning king of music distribution, CD's. A generation became accustomed to getting music for free and didn't mind the sacrifice in quality. Just two years later, the site would shutdown following a lawsuit by the RIAA, but the damage was done.
No one then could have foreseen the effects Napster would have on the music industry and the music industry and the consumer have never been the same since.
Fast forward to 2007, the rock band Radiohead did something unprecedented for a band of their popularity. They recorded an album without the help of a record label and released the album independently on their own site where fans could pay whatever they wanted for the album, even $0.00.
The media had a frenzy and The Times hailed Radiohead's album, "In Rainbows"..."easily the most important release in the recent history of the music business". NME wrote, "the music world seemed to judder several times of its axis".
And that's exactly what happened. Soon after, independent bands were giving away their music. And in the beginning, it was brilliant and fan bases were growing, but in 2016...that model didn't seem to hold up like we thought it would.
In 2016, I talk to bands who tell to me that making an album is a risk and therefore want to try to cut costs as much as possible. And in that thinking of releasing an album as a risk, the art suffers. I believe with this mindset of devaluing music, not only are the artists shortchanged for their effort financially, but the fans are shortchanged from quality. I talk to a lot of artists who refer to the recording process as a marketing tool to get fans to the shows. The very artists have lost sight of the value of their art and see it as an 'audible show flier'. And because of this, music is released that isn't fully realized and with the budgets shortened...the music suffers...and when the music suffers...the fans die off.
These days, I see a generation of artists who are so 'hungry' for an audience to listen to their music, they give it away. On many of these artists' sites, paying isn't even an option. They may have spent hundreds even thousands making the record and they give it away in hopes that it grows their fan base. I've seen incentive programs where you can get the album, mixtape or EP for free IF you post a tweet or a message on Facebook that tells all your friends about this FREE album. Artists are looking for an audience and are willing to the go the point of 'virtual begging'.
I've also talked to artists who do music as a side project and work as electricians or school teachers during the day and have no desire to pursue a career in music, therefore give it away so everyone can have their music. And this to me is a fine reason to give away music. But the artists who DO want to pursue a career in music...I beg you to reconsider what you're doing.
I want to start by saying if you hope to make a living in music and you aren't currently purchasing music, not sitting through YouTube ads, but buying songs off iTunes, or getting a subscription to Spotify, or purchasing music at an ACTUAL STORE...you are hurting your chances of being able to make a living for your art. There is a movement currently where if you make something of value, consumers will pay money for it, with an emphasis on vinyl. We need to propel this surge of valuing music and artists should value themselves and their art enough to put a price tag on their work.
I fear that if we keep devaluing music as we have...bad albums will become what the music fans come to expect and the art of making records will become cheapened by more half-ready releases and more 'disposable music'.
In the past five years, I've seen a growing trend of artists making their own album. And though I support the artists who have taken the torch and taken responsibility and care in making their music on their own. I've also seen artists who see the need to cut corners to the point of pirating a copy of ProTools or Logic Pro, watching a few videos on YouTube and proceeding to make their album. Now, I don't condone piracy and think it shortchanges the music industry, but the issue I take with this is...there are audio engineers who have a deep appreciation for music and spent years perfecting their skills in the record making process to help make albums like the ones they fell in love with in their youth only to be passed up for convenience. And if you hop on Bandcamp today, you can download scores of these disposable albums where the care and knowledge of record making wasn't utilized.
I beg you to reconsider...
How can you stop this?
- See music as something of importance that brings people together.
- Make music that you will be proud of years to come and that represents you well as an artist for future generations, long after you pass.
- View your next record/single as a vehicle that could change your life and the lives of those who find it and decide what that's worth.
- Don't take shortcuts or cut corners to save money, but invest into making IMPORTANT MUSIC.
- Put a price tag on your art.
- Support good musicians by employing them on your next project.
- Buy music and help revitalize the music business so fans can have better music, artists can get paid and audio engineers stay employed.
Lastly, I ask that you share this blog post, not for my gain, but as a wake up call to music lovers everywhere. Thanks for reading.
Be kind+make good music.
