I'm writing this in response to "Why go Legit?" the article that Jamie Lynn Perna wrote in the Friday, Sept.19 issue about the RIAA and music downloading. While I agree with many of Jamie's comments and opinions, I feel there are a few things that should be considered and pointed out.
I wouldn't necessarily say that the RIAA and the recording industry in general brought upon the loss of sales themselves. By artificially inflating the price of their product, they made a lot more money. Can we fault them? As consumers yes, but in reality, isn't that what capitalism is all about?
The RIAA is quick to point the finger of blame at all of us darn kids who go and "illegally download" music. They are quite right about one thing - it is illegal. These are copyrighted works, which means they cannot be reproduced or used for their non-intended purpose without written consent, if I'm not mistaken. However, I don't think they're pointing the finger in the right direction.
Here are some things the music industry can do to encourage buyers to go to stores again.
No. 1: Discount the music. Come on, everyone knows that the costs going into an album do not even come close to approaching $18, and therefore we shouldn't have to pay that. The music industry is on the right track so far, discounting new artists they're trying to promote and discounting new releases, but they need to cut the price of ALL CDs, not just some.
No. 2: Increase the overall value of the music. And I'm not talking about quality (though certainly an entire column could be written about that). Several high-profile - and very successful - albums have included a DVD along with the CD, either featuring music videos, or live performances. Clearly, this increases the value of what the public is buying. And it can't be expensive to add in - the footage would have been shot either way, so just add the DVD in and you can charge and extra $1 or something. But people will buy it. Fans like seeing artists backstage, or after a show, or even during a show. Give the fans what they want. This will make music a more competitive component of the entertainment market.
No. 3: The music industry needs to grow up - literally. There is a large population of music buyers who would be willing to pay (though not $18 a disc) for music if it was actually targeted to them.
No. 4: Knock off the pissing and moaning about lost profits and these lawsuits against children. Let's be serious for a minute here. Tommy Mattola is going to get paid his countless millions of dollars every year regardless, and I think the temporary loss in profits might make them wake up and see what's going on. Well, maybe not.
While I think the music industry deserves what it's getting, I don't think that illegally downloading the music is the way to go. A boycott of buying music is what I suggest, and what I'm doing. I haven't purchased a CD since May, and I don't plan to for a very long time (except for those ones I ordered to fulfill my club commitment - Blast you, Columbia House!)
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
