Often while stuck in the big city traffic, I find myself listening to NPR. On one recent morning, they showcased a short story that I found quite interesting, with a completely different way to think about music leaks via the internet. NPR pointed out that record labels and artists both sometimes leak music on purpose.
Most of the time, we think about illegal file sharing being done in ways that hurt the record companies. Therefore, to read about a record label purposefully giving music out in the hopes that it be shared is a rare thing.
It makes sense though, doesn't it?
We already know that the old fashioned way of selling music on a CD is just that, old fashioned. There is absolutely no reason to sell music that way.
CD's are made from materials that are harmful to the environment. Their manufacture and distribution pollute the environment with a huge carbon footprint as music is hauled around on semi trucks. They are sold in stores that take up space and also leave a carbon footprint. We have no need for CD's any longer. music files are easily transmitted through the air wirelessly or via cables, over the internet. In ones car, music can be played via an ipod or a jump drive. CD's are an incredibly inefficient way to store music, and CD stores are an incredibly inefficient way to sell music. If our country knew what was good for it, it would outlaw the inefficient way of doing music distribution.
In a similar manner, old fashioned ways of marketing music are also inefficient. Leaking a track is a great way to market new music. Music can be shared easily online, and reach a huge number of people, for literally $0. All you have to do is get one person to post the song in a YouTube video, or put it on MySpace, a process which takes only a few minutes with a high speed internet connection. The song will soon show up in searches on search engines, and some avid fans will start blogging about it. Within hours, or days, the song is being talked about by fans around the globe.
NPR highlighted a case where an artist leaked his own music to convince a record label to produce his album. He faced a system that felt his music was not worth producing. His own marketing efforts lead them to change their minds. What this shows is, "socialistic" styles of music production where a label executive decides what will be produced, similar to how dictators or central planners in a socialistic society plan their country's production, falls far short of predicting actual consumer demand.
The music industry will struggle to stop illegal sharing and downloading of music. They will need to find some way to make money from music sales. Congress will never be able to beat technology and black markets will always exist. However, if firms do not realize the vast potential of the internet, the markets will continue to become more and more inefficient.
There is no simple answer to the piracy problem, but it is good to know that some firms realize the file sharing methods are not only about piracy, and are not necessarily bad. When the firms embrace the technology, we can move forward in an efficient system.
I agree that it is important to consider the benefits of a data leak. Just as an efficient business will build consumer demand by offering trial versions of their product, artists and record labels alike must utilize mass distribution systems in order to effectively market their product to the global audience.
ReplyDeleteAs our world population grows, I believe that the sheer quantity of musically talented individuals marketing themselves grows. Thus, in a market constantly saturating itself even further, artists must learn to use all of the distribution tools at their disposal. Businesses have popped up due to the demand for distribution channels of this sort.
I believe also that the record label and the artist leak this music on purpose, to get more audience, they have seen it to be a better means to getting the songs out to the right audience and making easy fame. I believe the artist and the record label get there money through the various consents and road tour that they go for, so the more people know them the better for them, so the issue of their album selling would be a problem because they can substitute for the losses through their consent and road tours. But the issue of the pirating of the album have reduce to a minimum because of this single act of sharing their music on Youtube, facebook, yahoomessanger and the rest of the places in which you could share music. And to problem of file sharing would be on for a long while but the issue of piracy have stated reducing at least in usa.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on how inefficient it is to buy a CD from a retail store and that it adds to the overall human carbon footprint. But, physically copies of something give people the feeling of possessing it, and some would argue that sound quality is noticeably better on CD than the lower bitrate MP3s.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the market potential of the Internet for budding artists, you are absolutely right. There is a lot of progress to be made on the record labels part in this market.