If you read my first post on this attempt at a blog, you might have learnt that I have some distaste for the way the music industry is being run/understood/developed. I went to visit some musically inclined friends of mine the other morning; mates who I share, discuss and go to music with on a regular basis (if you saw 4 men dressed as The Beatles’ circa Sgt. Pepper at this year’s Splendour In the Grass, you might have a clearer picture of us).
After chatting with my dear friends about it, we came to reach a few common understandings that I may not have made clear.
My disdain with the current situation lies in the fact that there are still many holding onto a near extinct business model. While I’m not personally a downloader (anymore), I understand that the majority of music fans and enthusiasts are. That is the way the music industry is now. It is time we move forward together and roll with the changes.
Radiohead took this on with the digital release of In Rainbows and allowing people to pay whatever they felt fit. Major Lazer and La Roux teamed up to present the free mix album, Lazerproof via Twitter. The album was the two artist’s releases remixed into one full album, blending the tracks together.
Online sharing may have reduced profits but it has increased the amount of music on the market while new technologies have allowed for new sounds and ideas to develop. Online sharing has democratised music and forced an evolution of ideas to give us more than just sounds we haven’t heard before but creative process too. As someone who claims music to be their religion, I’m all for this.
Especially when it exposes the world to artists like this.
Dub FX – Made
Coming Soon: As Heard on Radio Soulwax
