Let’s get the obvious economics out of the way. Buying an album = $20. Download = $0. Doesn’t take a math major to get figure that one out.
I was having a convo about P2P with a Gen X friend who can’t bring herself to download music. It’s just something she can’t do; whenever she considers about doing it, guilt takes over and she feels that something is inherently wrong with it . It’s guess it’s like the feeling I get when I think about trying to watch Fox News.
To satisfy her music fix, an exchange of money has to take place. She has to go to a record store, Amazon or iTunes so she can sleep at night.
Not me. Here’s how music gets on my computer/iPod:
- I hear about music. The primary way I discover music is through friends who tell me that I have to listen to an artist. If I’m away from my laptop, I take a mental note or input it on my phone so I can follow up later.
- I sample it somewhere first. Even though all it takes is a couple of clicks to get an entire album (or in some cases, entire discographies), I still want to see if it’s worth my time. I’ll head to YouTube to check out a few tracks, or use a service like Songerize.
- P2P. If I like it enough, I’ll head over to the P2P site of choice and download.
If I’m already online when I hear about the artist, this process takes maybe 5-10 minutes from recommendation to download. I’m willing to bet a lot of Gen Y downloaders follow these three steps.
I miss the process of buying CDs. Downloading takes all the mystery and excitement out of stepping in a music store and thinking about the potential of awesomeness that awaits you. I miss swearing at the shrinkwrap that refused to come off, I miss playing the CD and hoping track one would blow me away and I miss the weird plastic smell of the album booklet.
In the time it took for my friend to hem and haw about how downloading music relates to her moral compass, I’ve already seen a few music videos, downloaded an album or two, and reminisced about the good old days.
