Nedko

After Radiohead’s new album announcement that their new album called In Rainbows will only be available on http://www.radiohead.com/ and followed by a server crash due to the high demand comes the following on Nine Inch Nail’s website: “Hello everyone. I’ve waited a LONG time to be able to make the following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label”.
Without doubt we are witnessing a new phenomenon with the explosion of the digital age. The winds of change are bringing new ways of user interaction and along with that comes an abundance of digital media. Different formats for audio, video, podcasts, e-books have all become part of everyday vocabulary and not just simple buzzwords. This time the internet has changed the physical world and as music stores are closed every day industry profits soar.

Of course the notoriety of digital media is often associated with piracy and copyright infringement. Although digital media brings the content creator closer to the consumer it is a fact that it bring a little more, less preferred intellectual property issues. And while new digital content is here to stay its adoption by the recording industry whose sales are dropping by the hour has been rather slow. The resistance of the industry to adopt the new standard originated from the scare that this will cut the middle man and as everybody knows middle man means higher cost. On top of that we can point out the underestimated prediction for digital media adoption by consumers which was set to be 7 to 9 years.

A Divorce or temporary separation?

Are the tensions between musicians and the industry a divorce or a simply a search for common ground?! While the recording industry’s profits from music sales sum up to roughly 95% of the profits there are other things angering musicians. The ruthless way in which illegal music downloads are being prosecuted and people are being threatened with jail for simply listening to their favorite musicians has the potential of distancing the artists from their fans. The whole point of using digital content is to bridge that gap and make fans feel closer, be more involved and more enthusiastic about the art. Prominent musicians like Prince and Radiohead have already taken matters in their own hands and promote their new albums independently. Thus instead of “punishing” their fans they promote their music and encourage everybody to obtain legal content at a price they can afford and consider reasonable. The other side of the coin is that the music industry can do a lot for an artist especially when they are young and not very famous. There are countless examples of overnight superstars promoted by the recording industry.

Why buy the cow?

As the old saying says: who will buy the cow if they can get the milk for free? Are consumers increasingly going to cease purchasing in favor of illegally obtained content? Are musicians doomed to less and less money and get ripped by the recording industry? I don’t think so. We are simply witnessing a new frontier which as everything new needs some adjustment and getting used to but at the same time hides countless possibilities. Artists can get fair deals for their music and get closer to their fans, the recording industry can cut some distribution costs, better promote artists and find new ways of making sales. Where does the little guy fit in this picture? Well, the little guy will learn that intellectual property is important and get more access to content the less he abuses it. After all freedom is a responsibility. Responsibility to choose wisely.

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General by Nedko