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The Value of Music Today : Thanks To John Legend2010-09-20 09:52:42
Have you ever been on the internet just doing work and then
you ran across something that caught you by surprise – a good surprise? Of
course, you probably have because there is so much stuff that you run across on
the net by accident that it’s amazing.
I ran across an article on Billboard’s website about the new John Legend and The Roots CD. I did an Experience event with John Legend on his first CD. He was articulate, obviously educated and very interesting. Although I am not shocked by an answer he gave to a question in the Billboard Magazine interview I am elated by his answer. Here’s the question and the answer.
How do
you get your music these days? In that answer, John says what NEEDS to be said in a way that I hope will resonate with everyone who reads the interview and buys music. Piracy and the internet have totally devalued music. Those two elements factored in with big box retailers (Target, Best Buy, Walmart, etc.) selling music BELOW cost has put a nail in the coffin for the music industry. There are a lot of factors involved and maybe a lot of people to blame but bad choices were made in the industry and its too late to turn back now. We have a generation of people who have no respect or understanding of the true value of music. They have no idea of the value of music not only in terms of history but in terms of music being intellectual property. They don’t understand that if they are purchasing bootlegged music or burning music illegally, they are definitely not fans of the artists that the claim to love because that artist is not making any money for their intellectual property – the song. That is why it is getting harder and harder to find a store where you can purchase an actual CD - bootlegs and illegal burns have helped destroy music retail. But you need to add iTunes downloads as well. Its not that people don't want CDs (most music purchases are of physical CDs - not downloads), it is just a lot cheaper to download. A real “record store” is a place where you can talk to a salesperson about music, discover music and have someone play stuff that you may never hear on the radio. Do you know who Zo! is? Do you know that you can still by a lot of Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Phyllis Hyman, Prince and more on actual CDs? Do you now that you can buy the whole CD collection of Tribe Called Quest in one place? Did you know that if you shop for CDs at your big box stores you probably won’t be able to answer those questions. Whether you can answer them or not we would encourage you to find a place that can help you. A place that would enjoy helping you. A place that would tell you who Zo! is. A place that will sell you that new Elisabeth Withers – you know Elisabeth? She was the original Shug in the Broadway musical, The Color Purple. A place that will play Nas and Damien Marley or Talib and Hi-Tek for you because if you like hip-hop, you’ll like those CDs. That’s what we need now. Trust me, the CDs won’t cost $20 or $10 in the store. They will be somewhere in between and that’s when you will understand John’s answer. Check it out again… It's funny how undervalued music is right now. For people to balk at paying $10 for a great album is amazing to me. I think a good album is worth at least $20, compared to what you would spend $20 on for any other type of entertainment.
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