So it's time again for everyone's half way to the end of the year round up. On my part, I wanted to a write a little about spending money on music aka buying albums. I've been doing it. Yes, that's right. I made a pact around February somewhat randomly to start paying for albums; specifically digital albums. I used to have a certain moral objection to paying for digital music (we're talking naivete's). Itunes, rhapsody, amazon et al. These multi-million-dollar conglomerates provided lazy people seeking instant gratification ghostly, decaying outlines of an artwork created for physical appreciation, all-the-while, profiting on absentee-packaged middle-school grade rips; the Kindle of music consumption. I guess this same argument could be made against illegal (i.e. not paid for) digital music, but at least, in this case, you're paying what the content is worth (nothing). [edit - I forgot to mention this:] I guess, just maybe, this moral objection blossomed out of my inability to stay away from these multi-million dollar conglomerates; it's hard to stray from instant gratification. I often found myself using these huge services, like most people. I was angry with myself.
My sudden change of heart came about out of both necessity and idealism. SOPA and PIPA did not in fact, as you all know, pass in our Government's grand decision making arena. Like it shouldn't have. But, for those of you who haven't been google-searching “[insert artist/album title here] mediafire” or some other mass-storage website may not have realized, it basically passed. The SOPA/PIPA ordeal coupled with the extremely dramatic takedown of KIM.com's Megaupload empire scared (maybe bullied) these similarly-minded hosting sites into the removal of illegal material. Those of you who have been searching these “mediafire” extensions know quite well that the illegal market has dried up, at least for in the direct-download sector. For the last several months, these types of searches resulted in numerous “this link has been removed by google's blah blah blah”, which meant: shit. Now, there's not even a reminder that they used to be there – they just don't show up.
I'll backtrack here and say that I've never successfully used bitorrent, but God did I want to. I used to like to think that I was relatively computer-savvy, but until my computer died and I started using Linux, I never figured it out. When I finally did figure it out, another force was hindering my illegal music consumption: terror, or anxiety – one of the two. The fact that google was now monitoring it's searches (obviously from their internal removal of prohibited results) scared the shit out of me. Remember when that middle-aged Minnesota woman was fined $1.9 million for downloading 24 songs two-years ago? When google wasn't monitoring their search results, it seemed ok; illegal stuff came up, meaning other people were doing it too. Like, probably at least one-thousand if “PJ Harvey let england shake zip” was the second suggested search result when I started typing in PJ Harvey.... I can take my chances with one in a thousand. But Google removing links? Then they definitely had the power to remove me from all the money I will ever make in my life. So, yeah, necessity.
The other kind of startling truth about all of this is that I had been illegally downloading music for a couple years. The amount was never superfluous – maybe an album or two every couple weeks. I always justified it by saying something like, “I'm going to buy it on vinyl”, or “I don't like really like the band, I just want to measure the hype.” Working at a radio station also helped... But, I would download an album here or there, just to see what it was about. Ultimately, I felt I had no other choice. I was in school, didn't have a job, no money, no record store within walking distance. And with the pure mass of music gaining coverage by our music bibles, what is one to do? Just not get that album? So I did it.
Two things just really hit me a couple months ago. I was at Chipotle for the third time that week, dropping $8 for some tacos, when I realized that I had already spent three times what 1 digital album costs in three days. Fuck dude. What the hell was I doing with my money? I was throwing it (continuously) at of something that kept me satisfied for an hour, all the while stealing music from musicians who put months, sometimes years, into making a piece of artwork that could provide years of satisfaction. Jesus, man. My priorities were fucked. Also, how the fuck could I expect anyone to pay for something that I might/will/am creating when I'm stealing the shit out of it? That's the second thing, but it's not as romantic as the Chipotle realization.
I do, however, think that illegal downloading and the culture of music consumption in general today has a lot to say about the music industry, specifically, musicians and the way in which consumers/appreciators connect with them. Quite frankly, it's the music industry's fault that the majority of music lovers acquire music via quote-unquote illegal sources. Only because the way in which a majority of music-lovers acquire music is still considered illegal. The music corporations (read Warner, EMI, Atlantic, et al) are still trying to gonna party like its 1999. And while the 21st century has seen the emergence of an entirely rabid breed of young people craving “new” music, these corporations assume their old-guard system will function the same, or rather, needed to function the same; instead of adapting to a new and (begrudgingly) profitable culture of hyper-collecting and digital hoarding, they decided to throw millions at politicians and fuck-over the women of Minnesota!
The solution to the whole music-industry issue is out there. There's money to be made in music, if not entirely because of the fans. If people just hated music today, it'd be a lot easier to understand why the big record companies are struggling like they are. It'd be easier to understand why SOPA was actually an issue and pirates were fined millions: protecting the glory I'm sure these companies once felt they bathed in. But in a culture when no one knows enough, and even people who think they know everything don't know enough, I can't help feeling no pity for these record companies. And it's terrible that the musicians (the letter-writers) signed to these companies are the ones that are ultimately suffering. Or, at least, that's what they'd like you to think. But it's hard to pity the 99million Nicki Minaj or LMFAO are making. For some reason, these one-percenters get a break from criticism, cause they make art.
Really, I think the fact that most people (myself included) find it easier and essentially more satisfying to get a digital album for free in our current state rather than pay for it is startling; this should be the issue labels are looking at. Prohibition doesn't work, so congress and corporations, stop trying to utilize it. Record labels – make it easy for us to pay for your shit. Make it easy to support the musicians you promote. Sadly, that's what hoarders want. If any of us have to go out of our way to buy something, we're not going to if we can go out of our to get it for free. Change your system, you might be surprised.
What triggered my shift from free music acquisition to economic music acquisition, besides the irrationally mounting terror associated with millions of dollars in fines/rape fees (whichever you prefer), was ultimately the promise I saw in several labels. A story I read about Stone Throw's decision to join the extremely progressive drip.fm spurred my interest in actually paying for digital music. I mean, they basically give it to you, like, hand it to you for a convenience charge. I guaranty you people would pay for music if it cost $0 with a $10 shipping and handling fee, which is basically what drip.fm is. From there, I searched around and found other sites that might, at least, offer music I couldn't get on itunes. After my list of half-year favorites, I've listed several websites. Also – I love 2012 so far.
- Fiona Apple – Idler Wheel
- Liars – WIXIW
- Spiritualized – Sweet Heart, Sweet Light
- Grimes – Visions
- Burial – Kindred
- Wolfgang Voigt – EP
- Earth – Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
- Big Krit – Return to 4eva
- Julia Holter -Ekstasis
- Demdike Stare - Elemental
