Downloading (Continued)

I have a friend who manages bands and musicians. He is one of the best managers in the business. And he hates downloading, even legal/paid downloading, because it encourages the consumption of singles and does not promote the purchase of albums. Its an economic issue for him and his artists, but its also a creative issue for him and his artists.

He wants Apple to take his artist's music in album-only format. Apple won't do that. So he keeps his artist's music off iTunes. That's bad for me and you because we like his artists.

So how does this issue get resolved? Well I think that albums at $9.99 and songs at $0.99 is a bad pricing model because you'd have to like 10 songs in order to justify buying the album. And I also think that you should get a credit towards an album if you buy the singles on the album. And finally, I think the hit singles should be priced at a premium.

Think about one of my favorite bands, Fountains of Wayne. They have a new album which is great. It's called Welcome Interstate Managers. If you like alternative rock music, you should go get this album. I love songs like Hackensack and Valley Winter Song. But they aren't the singles. The first single is Stacey's Mom. It turns out Stacey's Mom is the #1 downloaded song on iTunes. I bet it would still be popular at $2/download. My kids and their friends love this song. The Stacey's Mom video should also be available on iTunes for $3. It's available on Kazaa, so why not put it on iTunes? And there might be another single from this album, which should be priced at $2. But the songs I like which aren't going to be singles should be $0.99. And if you buy all of that stuff, you should get the rest of the album for free. That's the way it should work.

I've told my friend the manager this. He's not so sure. So I'd like someone, maybe Apple, to start doing it this way and show him and the rest of the music busines a new way to make money with music. And then we'll have all the music we want on these paid services and life will be great.

Comments

[deeje]

Now that you're using iTunes, you should put iTunes music store links to Fountains of Wayne! ;-)

[Fred Wilson]

you are totally right and i wanted to do that this morning when i wrote the post but i have to admit that i don't yet know how to do that.

[Scott Johnson]

The problem with requiring a download to be album-only instead of single is that *we* don't want that. The majority of the people that I know who download music, legal or otherwise, want a particular song. They're tired of buying albums only to find two or three good tracks. They'd much prefer to pay for only those 2-3 tracks.

Your friend's album might be better than the commercial crap we've been receiving from the industry lately, but it will take more than one album to allay our fears of full album purchases.

[Mike Merrill]

A friend of mine bought an iPod recently and used a friend's Mac to convert LPs and CDs to MP3s (he doesn'r have his own computer). Well, the computer owner was such a music zealot that he wouldn't let him put singles on! Ha ha! He only would put whole albums on. So my friend had to find someone else to eliminate the songs he didn't want and put singles on.

I think albums are important. I would say they are more important than "hits". But that is just a personal preference, and not an economic model.

[Chevsky]

I think some of the points that you have made are long overdue. But I think in part it comes down to the overall pricing model offered by iTunes (and the recording industry).

As a Canadian, I can go into a store and buy the CD for less money than I can buy an album on iTunes (ok, I'm considering the exchange rate and yes, it's true that I cannot yet buy from iTunes as a Canadian). Simply put, $0.99 for a song is too high, but it is nothing compared to the ridiculousness of $9.99 for an album. This is WAY too high.

I give kudos to Apple for the ground they've covered, but it still wreaks of the RIAA's inability to adjust to the market. For good or for bad, the masses will still file trade. It's here to stay. The industry needs to realize that the market is far bigger than the U.S., and the opportunities for economies of scale are their saviour.

If you make it a no brainer, they will come.

[scotty the body]

Don't forget: the album is a commercial construction, not an artistic one. It was made to squeeze more profits out of one or two good songs.

Of course, now that the album format is set, it's a legitimate art form, just as is the sonnet, symphony, or even the novel.

But if nobody wants it, it'll go away.

[Bennett Zucker]

Many good points and suggestions here.

Welcome Interstate Mgrs is Ftns of Wayne's 3rd commercial release (not including previous exposure via "That Thing You Do,") yet it took Heidi Klum & MTV to finally get them some notice. The miracle is that their label staid with them this long and rolled the dice on expensive video promotion. Usually new bands get one shot and out.

Indies need the web today the way new artists of the past depended on traveling palm-greasers to get them airplay. The combination of bribery *plus* the labels staying true to artists they believed in allowed tons of good music to reach us.

Low-priced singles and make-your-own albums will definitely help bring more good music out of basements and garages. It's in the recording industry's best interests to embrace ideas such as yours in order to get more good, affordable music to consumers, which will open doors for new artists and creativity and more sales.

[Fred Wilson]

Bennett - FOW's made their first two albums for Atlantic. Atlantic wasn't interested in a third album, so they moved on. Fortunately, they landed at S-Curve, run by my friend Steve Greenberg. It was S-Cruve that had the brains to spend the money on the Stacey's Mom video.

it sort of proves your "one shot and out" comment

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