The digital age combined with the internet is a perfect vehicle to get music to fans quickly and with very little overhead which, for the artist, presents an opportunity to directly connect with their fan base, so why has it all gone so wrong? Well, one compelling factor is illegally downloaded music.
In my opinion, The Record Companies are to blame for the free download dilemma that is rife within the cyber world - they should have seen this coming and rallied together to prepare themselves,the industry and their label artists for it.
Napster was a slap in their faces and presented them with a very bitter reality pill to swallow but they were too busy wanking themselves over the next "big" thing to concentrate on events that were unfolding before them, the very events that could potentially cripple the very heart of what keeps them in business - the punters/fan $$$.
Its only recently that the big labels are trying to figure out the correct and most beneficial "model" for the sale and distribution of digital music - despite this being well over 10 years after Napster bent them over and shoved a big G Major up where the sun don't shine.
One main component on trying to rectify the free downloading situation starts with education - the average punter doesn't realise the ramification of downloading music for free - I guess in that aspect the artist is almost faceless - it doesn't occur to the fans that artists are also trying to sustain a living - but how do you educate a teenager (the majority of culprits practicing free downloading) about economics when they probably don't understand the concept of money? What excuse does the older generation have, knowing full well how hard it can be to make ends meet in day to day life?
Then other end of the spectrum are the Internet Service Providers(ISP's) - they need to play a role in thwarting illegal downloading but there would have to be some form of incentive presented to compensate their current business model, for the ISP's file downloads are the basis of their current revenue stream - so why would they implement a mechanism to cut off their own revenue supply?
The main issue is that while music fans can download music without paying for it, all other viable models for that revolve around a "pay for what you use" basis are doomed from the onset - why would anyone pay for music they can download for free?
There are various sites, which I eluded to in my previous blog, that allow users to download music for free (www.guvera.com) while the artist is duly compensated. These sites will however take time to evolve further and expand their musical libraries, make their sites easier to use and provide quicker search facilities. Unfortunately these sites are fighting a losing battle against their formidable "download almost any song you can think of for free" opponents.
One important point of note that needs to be stressed is that some artists choose to allow their music to be downloaded for free but this is at their own discretion, they can control how long the "free" period lasts and what song(s) they will release for consumer consumption without charge - this form of promotion brings them closer to their fan base. It's also true, major artists such as Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have established their own independent channel for the distribution of their music but this is the exception to the norm.
What the fans (especially the indie/alternate ones) need to realise is that if this continues, their access to this genre of music will rapidly be depleted over time - they will be stuck with mainstream mindless music - the only music that the major labels will hang onto and keep funding - its a matter of economics. When this happens, well - that's the day that music will truly die.
