It seems that the current singles chart simply needs getting rid of. The ever-increasing popularity of p2p music sharing is wiping out the need to spend up to £4 for one song, when the chart songs are played all the time on radio stations, music video TV, and can be bulk-bought in compilation albums. If the purpose of singles is accepted as the marketing of albums, then in the current climate music industry money should be directed more toward supporting dedicated artists that are trying to make a living out of their passions, by making albums and performing live.
Investments into making money out of one-hit wonders, though creating many timeless classics, should be directed more to compilation sales, and thus made popular by aforementioned media, not to forget the live medium (both djing in clubs and actual live performances). Since the amount of royalties a particular artist receives from single sales is low, especially when bearing in mind that the proportion of cover-based records is currently high, it is therefore in artists best interests to create their own music and credibility. Atomic kitten and many of the other boy/girl groups allow covers to define themselves as musical artists. Use of covers as a platform from which original material can be inspired, a system used by many bands and artists, seems fair enough though.
From a personal perspective, the method of purchasing music is usually thus:-
1.Come into contact with a particular song or artist via the media:
a.By listening to the radio
b.By watching music TV
c.Adverts on the TV (album adverts and backing music to adverts, most prominently levi commercials)
d.Word of mouth, i.e. recommendations.
e.Other routes, e.g. gigs and being in a club
2.Acquire the music I’ve been exposed to:
a.By downloading a particular song or songs of a particular artist using p2p software
b.Obtaining a CD/MD and making a backup copy of the desired songs on my own PC, leaving out songs I dislike.
3.Where the media is of a decent integrity and/or quality (i.e. tracks I can listen to with clarity and that I like), it is copied to portable media players (CD/MD/Mp3 player).
4.If I think the artist is good enough, I’ll start collecting their albums, often using online music stores or specialist music shops.
For a several years now, there has also been a well-established setup in use of connecting a hi-fi system to a PC sound card, meaning that a lot of downloaded music can be listened to without even burning a CD-R/RW or copying music onto Minidisc.
I believe that these steps are repeated by most people that use p2p software to acquire music. Thus decline in album sales since the increase in use of p2p software is more due to a consumer selection process that allows music lovers to purchase only music they have already tried and tested, often creating a respect for artists by being able to sample a wide variety of their work from different albums, and then deciding which albums justify spending up to £15 a time on (sometimes more). Do online store sales effect the music industry album chart positions? Personally I rarely use music stores that don’t take NUS discount, and even if they do the prices for albums when purchased online are generally better than many high street sale prices.
On a related issue, the climate of seeing music and other arts as non-essential in society is quite frankly ridiculous. From a purely economic perspective, musical arts should be more respected as a type of employment, seeing the amount of money the UK gains annually from music sales at home and abroad. Being supportive of artists trying to break through shouldn’t be limited to Radio 1/XFM and publications like NME and Q, or to classical music and opera. Accepting that music is of huge importance in society seems daft to avoid. The huge positive effect that a well chosen track can have on a group or persons’ mood and productivity should never be ignored.
This statement has its flaws, though is intended as a clarification of the current situation and an acknowledgement of the need to change the current system.
doph May 2003