No Sugarcoating & No Bullshit: August
Written by Jo Hayes
Saturday, 30 August 2014 03:30
Hello again Uber Rockers, time again for some more nonsense, maybe a debate, a rant, or a ramble, or quite possibly a mixture of the three, we shall see.
This month I’ll be blogging about how we get our media, inspired by a recent conversation I had with a family member; we were talking about if it’s right or wrong to download a song or album which you would have to otherwise pay for.
Way before we had decent internet (even pre dial up), some people recorded their favourite songs off the radio (aside from me *cough*). I’m told this would be done to quench the thirst of their favourite song or sample a band, before buying the single, and then the album, so really, the songwriter and/or artist didn’t lose out.
I personally think downloading a song to sample, then buying the single (for the b-sides too), and possibly the album, is practically the same thing. With the advent of the likes of Spotify, you can search for tracks to sample a band, and then go and buy the album (if you don’t mind the occasional advertisement of course).
Some bands see their music as a hobby or want free publicity, so will publish some or all of their songs for free online, then make money from merchandise, which could arguably be more profitable than the music itself.
The thing I think is wrong, is when people copy CDs and sell them illegally – the quality of the item looks laughable, and those who download all of their music collection for free (unless their music collection consists of free to download songs, which is doubtful), as then the band or artist doesn’t see a penny from their fans. Although I hear it’s hard to always get royalties, even if you’re a PRS member, but I guess now it’s even harder to keep track of, due to bands self-releasing, etc. I appreciate that you might call me a hypocrite, as I think it is okay to download one song to sample, but this could be counteracted with being able to hear the full song online, before you buy (I know Amazon and iTunes you can sample part of a song).
This is the same with films and TV shows, but then again if these were released at the same time the world over, this wouldn’t be a problem, so again, I’m a hypocrite.
It seems to be the done thing with today’s teenagers, and to an extent I don’t blame them, if there is a system to be abused, it will be (otherwise they would probably resort to ancient methods like recording songs from the radio!)
I remember being a kid/teenager, and hearing a new song which I just had to listen to many times over, so I’d put the radio on in the off-chance it would come on. I’d then save up my pocket-money and go to my local “record” shop (but buy it on CD incidentally), sometimes I’d have to order it in, as they catered for the mass market, but when I finally got it home on my stereo, it felt quite satisfying to own it – and play it over and over and over (thankfully my parents liked similar music, so I’d rarely get shouted at for playing it too loud.)
I remember having a cleaning job when I was at college, and aside from cigarettes and JD, I’d buy a couple of new albums a month. I guess the difference between then and now is, there was no temptation back then – there was Napster, but dial-up was crap, and it didn’t seem appealing to me. If I was a teenager now, I might be tempted, especially if it seemed like everyone else was doing it, and I didn’t have much money, then maybe it wouldn’t seem wrong.
Another point could be thrown into the debate, is you don’t download illegally, but should you buy your CDs, Vinyl and MP3s from Amazon? I use Amazon regularly (mainly because I can’t get out of the house much, and it sells pretty much everything), so I’m a guilty culprit. Yes they’re cheap, but I heard that they pretty much sell at a loss – or at least they used to – just so they would get customers.
Aside from when they use Yodel, their next day delivery is fantastic, and their customer service if you’re a buyer is great (not so great if you’re a seller, I know from experience). However, because they’re so cheap, they undercut many retailers, making many of them go bust.
It is a vicious circle however, as you could refuse to use Amazon, and hunt around your local town/city for the item, maybe order it in, pay more, and support a business, or go for convenience and value for money, and order from Amazon.
If I had the money, I’d probably choose to be an ethical music lover and not get it from the aforementioned online retailer, but I’m skint, so whenever I have spare money and want to buy a CD, it might well have to be them…
Until next time…
Jo