Monday, September 12, 2005
wither the cd
OK, enough rhetoric. I was speaking with an exec at a major corporation today at work and our conversation was about the new iPod (the conversation spurred by my walking in with my new 60 GB iPod) and downloads. I raised the point that as a kid, I could afford to listen to a lot of different music, some good, some not as good, because records were often very inexpensive. This gave me the opportunity to take a chance on an album. Were it not for the record and its fairly affordable pricing, I'd probably never have known music by Alvin Lucier, Robert Ashley, Lubomyr Melnyk, Tom Johnson, etc, all of which could be had very easily at the New Music Distribution Service in SoHo (are they even still around?).
But now we have CDs, and they're pricey. This hurts new music in many ways, not the least of which is the fact that fewer people will explore music they are uncertain about. In economic terms, the uncertain marginal benefit of the music is outweighed by the certain marginal cost.
The larger labels realize that they have a good thing going---potentially nice profit margins and willing buyers, even though CD sales are taking a downturn. Most importantly, they have established distribution channels.
But small independent labels don't have such an easy time getting their products distributed. Some are already turning to downloadable releases rather than producing CDs. This is not that different from the publishing world, as many print deliverables are now produced entirely for download on the Web.
I think this is the next wave, once the public votes sufficiently with their wallets in favor of downloads vs CDs. Once I rip a CD to my iPod (yes, there are other MP3 players, but they are becoming of historical importance only), I have no real use for the CD except as a backup. I'd prefer to just get my dose of new music as a digital download.
Now, I'm blessed with not having record companies beating down my door to distribute my music on CD 8-) . Here's what I think would work well for many composers, certainly better than CD distribution:
- Web-based digital audio downloads
- Podcasting (? "newmusiccasting")
- Web radio
- Satellite radio
I predict that within five years, the CD will be relegated to the same status as the LP. Actually, i really think it will take less time than that. And unlike the LP, there will be few stores carrying CDs for the audiophile, as they do not have the same fidelity in some people's minds as the largely defunct LP.
posted by David Toub
2:42 PM
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