VENTING: The cheap music consumer

[James Steele]

Okay... granted... as I've said in other threads... I have no expectation of being wealthy. If I release something on iTunes my goal at this stage is to perhaps reduce my "losses" for the time and recording expense. It's all building and promotion, whatever at this point.

So today I post a link to a new single on iTunes which features a guitar solo by a well-known guitarist. A few of my fans/friends pipe up... cool... I'll get it. But almost immediately one guy, let's call him "Joe" says "I don't use iTunes... can you put it on YouTube for me?" I half-jokingly reply "I don't use YouTube and it's not a video. I'd also like to maybe make something on it." Then soon after, another person who I've sort of corresponded with who is a supportive fan chimes in "Me too Joe. or send in an email?" I reply "Send what in an email?" She replies: "The song? I don't use iTunes either. I hope soon you might put it on your site?"

To all this I humbly try to explain the huge expenses involved and hours of toil in the creation of a work, not to mention if you throw a few bucks to a guest musician because it's just the right thing to do-- even if you know the person... and that it isn't wrong to try and recoup SOME costs even though it's highly unlikely you'll make it back.

So, honestly, I am a little irritated and I'm really feeling like just flat telling people "sorry... I can't send it to you for free-- at least not for a while after release so I can recoup costs." Of course there's an audience watching this exchange because it's happening on Facebook and if you agree to send on person a free copy, everyone else is thinking "Well why the hell should I have to buy it?" and rightfully so. So I feel like holding the line here and just saying "Sorry... I can't afford to give it away right now." No exceptions.

I am sort of floored just how intellectual property is perceived as valueless now by the public. It's not tangible, so it's worth nothing? Of course they want it. I can't imagine walking into the shop of someone who was a painter or sculptor who spent hours of time and money creating something and saying "That's nice. Give it to me. Here's my address on my card... ship it to my house. Oh... and aren't you grateful that I'm willing to take it for free?"

I guess this all boils down to music being intangible. Perhaps the problem is more acute with digital downloads because it is not affixed to some tangible object. We don't expect painters to just paint and then just hand it to us when they're done. Seems putting something on CD helps. The public can grasp that the CD is worth something... the packaging etc. But then we are giving up trying to educate that the value is not the CD itself, but the skill and brain power and hours of effort that went into creating the sounds that are embodied on that medium. This is why when people say "Well, why is it $10... heck a blank CD is less than $1 now" it sort of ticks me off, because that statement clearly misses the point. FINE. Tell you what I'll do, I'll sell you all the blank CD's you want with my name and artwork on it for just $1 too. Yep... cause CD's only cost a buck after all. So here you go... one blank CD for $1! Oh... you mean you want CONTENT on that CD??? You mean you can't go to Fry's and buy a spindle of 50 CD's that have music on them for $12???



Nevermind... venting.

[FMiguelez]

.

I am annoyed beyond belief now!

James, most non-creative people (the HUGE and overwhelming majority of beings in this world) have NO idea of what it takes to conceive, create, produce and finish a work of art.
These people, since all they create in their lifetime is only more carbon dioxide by breathing, have NO idea of what it takes to create art. They are absolutely insensitive and ignorant!

How can you explain to them the process of creating something that didn't exist but in your mind? I really wonder how they think music (or any other art) is created. They probably think you just press a few buttons in a computer and that's it (thank you, Garage Band).

The only answer is to try to educate your fans. But HOW? What you told them should've been more than enough, but they seem to still be like... Huuuuuh??? What is he talking about?

Maybe if you create a blog where you describe the process at every stage, with pictures and everything, it would help them appreciate it a little more.

This reality is really very sad

[Phil O]

The whole situation makes me sick. I feel like I was born just a little to late to make good in the music field. Dunno.

My son-in-law, who thinks musicians should give their music away and make their money on live performances and selling merchandise, is writing a book. He's been working on it for about a year and it's nearly finished. I can't wait for him to tell me it's done so I can tell him to give it away and make all his money selling T-shirts at book signings. You know, the kind of book signing where you just have thousands of books that you give away for nothing. Don't worry, you'll recoup your initial outlay somehow. T-shirts, that's the ticket, yeah T-shirts!

Phil

[FMiguelez]

My son-in-law, who thinks musicians should give their music away and make their money on live performances and selling merchandise, is writing a book. He's been working on it for about a year and it's nearly finished. I can't wait for him to tell me it's done so I can tell him to give it away and make all his money selling T-shirts at book signings. You know, the kind of book signing where you just have thousands of books that you give away for nothing. Don't worry, you'll recoup your initial outlay somehow. T-shirts, that's the ticket, yeah T-shirts!

Man, you will ENJOY that moment. I know I would...

Please tell him to send me a FREE copy as well. Or tell him that you will make PDFs of his book and upload them for the rest of the world to download for free

Maybe that's when he will finally understand!

[billf]

The whole situation makes me sick. I feel like I was born just a little to late to make good in the music field. Dunno.

My son-in-law, who thinks musicians should give their music away and make their money on live performances and selling merchandise, is writing a book. He's been working on it for about a year and it's nearly finished. I can't wait for him to tell me it's done so I can tell him to give it away and make all his money selling T-shirts at book signings. You know, the kind of book signing where you just have thousands of books that you give away for nothing. Don't worry, you'll recoup your initial outlay somehow. T-shirts, that's the ticket, yeah T-shirts!

Phil

Wait until he puts the book out on the Kindle only to find it gets cracked and lose in the wild. I bet he changes his tune.

[FutureLegends]

For some reason this made me think of the final lines of Oscar Wilde's preface to The Picture Of Dorian Gray:
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless.

[bayswater]

long before there was iTunes, we called them deadbeats.

[Phil O]

..Or tell him that you will make PDFs of his book and upload them for the rest of the world to download for free

Good one! I'll have to add that to my monologue.

Actually, he's a real good kid. It's just this one area where we butt heads.

Phil

[Guitar Gaz]

People seem to expect all "content" for free now. And this has de-valued recorded music, films on DVD, software, and it will happen to books. Anything that is easy to reproduce/copy is now seen as common property. Its difficult to know where this is heading - it is heading somewhere and there will be some resolution in the future - some new media or way of protecting content. But for current artists producing content in media that is able to be reproduced, it is really tough. The question of morality seems to be dispensed easily - hey you've bought the computer/smart phone - I should have content for free right?

I go back to pricing - the old pricing models don't apply as all the technological advances mean that content is generally much cheaper to produce. Profit margins need to be realistic. People will pay £5 or more for a pint of tasteless lager (I'm a real ale man myself but you know what I mean) but they won't pay for their mp3's. So it's not just pricing - it's expectations of consumers. There has to be a way of meeting halfway.

My view is if I'm not prepared to pay for something, then I can't really want it that much. Opening Pandora's box let out all the evils in the world but people forget that the box also contained hope. I hope this is a phase that will have a resolution.

[Kurt Cowling]

I can relate. I spent 6 months writing a book/CD package for Hal Leonard. Now I find the thing available all over the net "for free". I'm in the process of writing another, but wonder if it's going to be worth it...

--Kurt Cowling

[David Polich]

The whole problem with the music business now is that music has been
devalued, and I don't think it will ever regain its value.

We can decry this as much as we want, but that won't change the reality.
It's better to try and find another business model. Months ago, I saw
Erikah Badu being interviewd on the Wanda Sykes show and she said that
there basically wasn't any money in selling CD's anymore. When a high-profile
(and, at least formerly, high-selling) artist says this, that pretty much
nails the coffin on the old music business. It's dead.

The trick is to find the audience that will pay for your music and come
see you play. A male singer-songwriter I've been working with has plans
to make his CD a very big package - with fold-outs and pop-ups inside the
multi-page booklet, a sleeve with the CD and another sleeve containing a
DVD of a video he shot that was directed by a very successful Australian
film director (and who just happened to run into him at an exercise club).
The point is, my singer-songwriter friend is planning to market his CD
to people who actually want to own an attractively packaged physical product (generally speaking, older consumers).

There are people who value music and owning tracks and paying to see shows.
The good thing is that they are generally die-hard and, well, rabid about
the artists they support. But just putting something out on i-Tunes isn't
going to bring them to you. If you can find the angle that they are seeking,
you can connect and provide them with that.

[daniel.sneed]

That's where I'm glad my main job is still playing live music. No piracy there, only people meeting each other. Hard work for little money, yes, but no cheater, no betrayer, just pleasure.

[James Steele]

But just putting something out on i-Tunes isn't
going to bring them to you.

Never thought it would.

[funkyfreddy]

I would like to add a quote from Gurdjieff to this discussion "people don't value what they don't pay for".

I find our culture has devalued music to a large extent and we could argue /discuss the cause of this, but music certainly doesn't drive our culture now as it did in the past.... personally I think TV has contributed across the board to shortened attention spans..... and good music requires active attention in order to be truly appreciated IMHO.

[SixStringGeek]

The attitude of the under-30 crowd on the internet can be summed up in three words. "Copyright is dead". That's their operating premise. Movies, music, books, if it can be reproduced digitally at zero expense then it should rightfully be free to all takers.

You can argue this with them for days, they are unwavering in their belief.