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| by feastoffools |
It’s no secret that Generation Y doesn’t blink when it comes to downloading music. The story of the day is not that teenagers and twentysomethings are loading their iPods with unpurchased music.
I consider myself a veteran digital native; I remember the internet as it was through a 14.4 modem. But I was astonished at the level of piracy that goes on today: a study concludes that 95% of Gen Y engage in piracy.
In the short-term, the music industry business model is nothing less than doomed. We all point and laugh, ridiculing the executives for their flat-footed ineptitude, but no one actually provides any solutions. Perhaps we’re all still angry at them for overpricing CDs and DVDs, so we smugly smile as the industry implodes. On a side note: Generation Y isn’t buying CDs either.
I encourage you to think about the consequences. At some point, artists will need to be compensated for their work; a concept I’m not sure youth understand when they hop on Limewire and download Miley Cyrus’ latest album.
The challenge for the music industry is more than thinking about how to monetize consumer behaviour. Another challenge lies as they argue for their own relevance; especially in these times where Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails continue to push for the industry’s obsolesence. There’s also a question of making consumers realize that someone has to pay these artists to produce music.
Until someone makes a compelling argument — be it Reznor or the RIAA — brokep and ThePirateBay have Gen Y’s attention.
April 9, 2008 on 11:12 am
This is spot on and I’m glad you took the time to write about it. I wish you could forward that to all music entities so they get it knocked into their heads.
April 9, 2008 on 11:47 am
Very true, and very obvious. I myself don’t pirate, as I’m fond of internet radio and, when I want a specific song, iTunes. However, almost everyone that I know does.
On the rare occasion that I buy a CD, it’s almost always directly from the artist’s own hand (I enjoy indie music), and NEVER through the RIAA.
I strongly look forward to the day when the RIAA finally gives its last, choked gasp and dissolves. They’re irrelevant, stodgy old-school mafia types that need to go the way of the dinosaurs.
April 9, 2008 on 1:43 pm
I wrote about the exact same thing today! I came over to Brazen and there you were with the same topic. Crazy! Anyway, you are spot on. What the majors need to realize is that there is a huge revenue opportunity out there that involves giving music away for free. They need to get eyeballs on their sites to start collecting ad revenue, get into fans emails and really conversate with the people. If they continue to sue all their fans, the half of the population that still buys music will spend their $20 elsewhere, like say on a movie and an ice cream cone!
http://gregrollett.blogspot.com/2008/04/yes-i-can-steal-your-songs-deal-with-it.html
April 9, 2008 on 4:37 pm
There are moves to battle this trend. Well.. it’s not a case of battling it, more embracing it. You’ve seen the innovative Radiohead offer their album for whatever price you want. The next step is going to be bands upping their live performances, more touring and more exciting events. They will become integral to their success. If you ask me, its only going to up their game and make music better.
April 9, 2008 on 6:21 pm
Most physical media formats are way overpriced and they add little more the collection value to the product itself (the product beying, of course, the media itself). I don’t think they found a equilibrium price. Consumers just don’t want to pay this much for stuff they can just get for free.
First they need to make the consumers feel that the price is fair. That it’s well diserved and that it’s not only going to the pocket of the big producers and CEOs.
Consumers (like me) just don’t think it’s worth it or even fair to pay this much for a piece of plastic with a pretty book attached to it.
April 12, 2008 on 10:21 pm
Haha, it sounds like everyone is on the same page about the RIAA.
Things are trending toward music being a commodity. Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Prince all experimented with giving away their music, and by most measures, those were met with success.
Granted, those artists had established fanbases, but that’s another discussion.
My fear is that musicians will be “doomed” to a life on the road, forever touring, because that’s the only way they can make money.
July 2, 2008 on 6:22 am
Funny how so many activity on the Net is still so much old-fashioned at times the Internet has made so many things obsolete (like RIAA today … and probably piratebay tomorrow) . If you want to see interesting alternatives, look at the Nokia free music scheme and Sony/Warner participating … What is their business model for giving away free music ? You get the (tangible, HW handset) sale closed by providing costless SW free. Very old-fashioned way as well, and it sells.
So, will some artists need to go on tour to make money ? Would that be the case, that’s good news, since they (the artists) like it and GenY still go to concerts if they don’t buy CDs, don’t they ? So it’s a win-win evolution.
In addition, it means music in the future will mean less Madonna (or yours here) and more local artists. Good for competition, and good for music.
But to come back and hopefully prove wrong all this debate on piracy versus payment to the artist, can you just cite one artist that really risks not to make a living because of piracy ? I’m sure there is none on earth, as it’s probably easy to demonstrate that all candidates to piracy are already upper-rich beforehand. So stop worrying about the life of rich people please. They don’t need you as advocate, since they can pay for better lawyers.