The changing sounds: Are we getting the most out of our music?
As time has rolled by, music — rock and otherwise — has rolled with it. A lot has changed since the days of vinyl records and turntables, and a lot has been lost. It was 1948 when vinyl records were introduced to the music scene, and audiophiles everywhere ate them up. Thirty cm from side to side, 26 minutes per side, and album artwork like nothing else you had ever seen; not to mention that warm, live sound that could send chills down your spine.
“Vinyl was a direct and very real bond that you shared with your favourite band or artist,” explained the Odds front man, Craig Northey.
Every extra scratch, beep and moan that the record made; every breath that you heard in between notes, they all connected you to the music in a way that fine tuning and soundboards cannot.
Today, many music lovers have traded the hum of a turntable for the double click of a mouse. But what are we losing when we choose 33 megabytes over 33 and 1/3 revolutions per minute?
“What does a real letter that smells of a woman's perfume, or the food cooked in a house in Tangiers have to offer that an e-mail doesn't?” Northey asked, who is obviously passionate about the value of an LP.
Northey stated that his immediate feeling when CDs supplanted vinyl in late 1982 was depression.
“Put on a fresh album, on a great stereo. Then put on a CD. The width shrinks and the warmth disappears,” explained Northey.
Eighteen cm never seems as big as when it's the difference between a CD and a record. Perhaps there is a significant element to analog recordings wrapped up into those extra 18 cm that cannot be shrunk to fit 12 cm? Although you get that tangible product in your hand, and the artwork that completes the music itself, you still don't get that “warm” sound you get from vinyl. There is a certain nostalgic charm that exists deep in the grooves of a record that cannot be copied into digital data.
Now here we are. Vinyl records are a thing of the past, and even CDs are no longer king. Many record stores have become “entertainment stores,” as Grooves Records owner, Troy Hutchison put it. And what need do the average music consumers have for the traditional record store? Why spend minutes sorting through CD racks when you could spend seconds sorting through an iTunes library?
Meg Harkins, VP of Marketing at Blue Note Records says that she prefers the convenience of being able to “click and buy.”
There has been some serious downsizing in the music business over the years. From 30 cm, to 12 cm, to some odd megabytes that you can't even see, let alone hold. Even the music industry itself has shrunk in many areas - sales revenue being one of them.
Although iTunes is the number two music retailer in the US behind Wal-Mart, illegal downloading is still a big and growing trend. Since Napster was created as a venue for free downloading in 1999, and later shut down in 2001 following a lawsuit filed by Metallica and other artists, peer-to-peer file sharing has only become easier and more popular. So where does this leave the record companies? And for that matter, the artists?
Harkins admitted that the music industry had fumbled to catch the ball when it came down to the dramatic changes within the industry, and described the growing downloading trend with an ambitious attitude.
“[Illegal downloading is] an inevitable train bearing down on us for which we have to figure out a new business model,” explained Harkins.
Music downloading — illegal and otherwise — is nothing new to many North Americans, and it will only continue to get bigger and more prolific. Mary Levitan, Project Manager at Macklam Feldman Management in Vancouver, BC, understands that illegal downloading is now a “fact of life,” but emphasized that it is not something to be overlooked or ignored.
“Speaking from the business side of the table, I want to see artists and their work protected,” said Levitan.
As much as listeners may think that they are fighting the big, powerful record labels by getting their music for free, the financial ramifications are, first and foremost, affecting the very bands and artists that they admire.
Northey expressed the importance of royalties to artists and songwriters alike.
“We [artists] do not have retirement plans or benefits packages other than the revenue from the use of the music we have created.” Northey explained.
Royalties are the main source of income for artists, aside from air-play and live performances, and that source is slowly being cut-off by lack of album sales.
Even taking into account the CDs that are still purchased by North Americans who choose not to delve into the world of downloading, the percentage of the revenue going into an artist's pocket is less than stellar at approximately 20 per cent per unit.
If the industry continues as is with downloading supplanting its predecessor as all means of technology before it, those royalty cheques will only get smaller, and the math easier. As we all know, 20 per cent of zero is still zero. Telling, however, where the music industry will be in 10 years from now is somewhat less simple.
“All I know is that everything will be digital,” said Harkins. “The thing is, they're going to have to find new places to put their music. You won't make it big ‘til your song is in an Old Navy commercial!”
In all seriousness, the way in which music is distributed is vastly different than it was before, and the way that artists make their money has changed right along with it. Artists can no longer depend on record sales as a steady source of income. Instead, they are relying on the revenue from touring, which Levitan described as an artist's “bread and butter.”
Along with the Internet being used now as a musical venue, it has also made the artists themselves more accessible. Sites such as MySpace give you an inside look at a band or artist, and a taste of what they have to offer. It also gives small, unknown bands the opportunity to be heard, even if they don't have the cash to do it.
“It [the internet] is a great way to get your music out there,” said Hutchison, “and I think that's where P2P shines as well. Everything's so much easier for the fans now with the Internet.”
Sites like MySpace and playing gigs walk hand-in-hand. The growing number of people showing up to small, crowded clubs to see these indie bands probably would not otherwise be there (for the most part) had they not been given an opportunity to check the band out from the convenience of their own home. FSU's entertainment programmer and drummer for The Hoolie Snatch, Pat Maloney, knows all about the benefits of MySpace, and the importance of performing live.
“Play lots of shows,” advised Maloney. “Get some life experience so you actually have something to write about.”
Those live, perfectly imperfect, heartfelt shows in which every note drips with emotion is the closest you can get to that warm vinyl sound without overheating.
Instead of trying to write that hit song and sell a million CDs, bands and artists are writing and playing music because it is what they love doing. According to Levitan, that old-school mindset could not be more in-tune.
“If you're making great music and playing shows, the industry will find you.”
“Vinyl was a direct and very real bond that you shared with your favourite band or artist,” explained the Odds front man, Craig Northey.
Every extra scratch, beep and moan that the record made; every breath that you heard in between notes, they all connected you to the music in a way that fine tuning and soundboards cannot.
Today, many music lovers have traded the hum of a turntable for the double click of a mouse. But what are we losing when we choose 33 megabytes over 33 and 1/3 revolutions per minute?
“What does a real letter that smells of a woman's perfume, or the food cooked in a house in Tangiers have to offer that an e-mail doesn't?” Northey asked, who is obviously passionate about the value of an LP.
Northey stated that his immediate feeling when CDs supplanted vinyl in late 1982 was depression.
“Put on a fresh album, on a great stereo. Then put on a CD. The width shrinks and the warmth disappears,” explained Northey.
Eighteen cm never seems as big as when it's the difference between a CD and a record. Perhaps there is a significant element to analog recordings wrapped up into those extra 18 cm that cannot be shrunk to fit 12 cm? Although you get that tangible product in your hand, and the artwork that completes the music itself, you still don't get that “warm” sound you get from vinyl. There is a certain nostalgic charm that exists deep in the grooves of a record that cannot be copied into digital data.
Now here we are. Vinyl records are a thing of the past, and even CDs are no longer king. Many record stores have become “entertainment stores,” as Grooves Records owner, Troy Hutchison put it. And what need do the average music consumers have for the traditional record store? Why spend minutes sorting through CD racks when you could spend seconds sorting through an iTunes library?
Meg Harkins, VP of Marketing at Blue Note Records says that she prefers the convenience of being able to “click and buy.”
There has been some serious downsizing in the music business over the years. From 30 cm, to 12 cm, to some odd megabytes that you can't even see, let alone hold. Even the music industry itself has shrunk in many areas - sales revenue being one of them.
Although iTunes is the number two music retailer in the US behind Wal-Mart, illegal downloading is still a big and growing trend. Since Napster was created as a venue for free downloading in 1999, and later shut down in 2001 following a lawsuit filed by Metallica and other artists, peer-to-peer file sharing has only become easier and more popular. So where does this leave the record companies? And for that matter, the artists?
Harkins admitted that the music industry had fumbled to catch the ball when it came down to the dramatic changes within the industry, and described the growing downloading trend with an ambitious attitude.
“[Illegal downloading is] an inevitable train bearing down on us for which we have to figure out a new business model,” explained Harkins.
Music downloading — illegal and otherwise — is nothing new to many North Americans, and it will only continue to get bigger and more prolific. Mary Levitan, Project Manager at Macklam Feldman Management in Vancouver, BC, understands that illegal downloading is now a “fact of life,” but emphasized that it is not something to be overlooked or ignored.
“Speaking from the business side of the table, I want to see artists and their work protected,” said Levitan.
As much as listeners may think that they are fighting the big, powerful record labels by getting their music for free, the financial ramifications are, first and foremost, affecting the very bands and artists that they admire.
Northey expressed the importance of royalties to artists and songwriters alike.
“We [artists] do not have retirement plans or benefits packages other than the revenue from the use of the music we have created.” Northey explained.
Royalties are the main source of income for artists, aside from air-play and live performances, and that source is slowly being cut-off by lack of album sales.
Even taking into account the CDs that are still purchased by North Americans who choose not to delve into the world of downloading, the percentage of the revenue going into an artist's pocket is less than stellar at approximately 20 per cent per unit.
If the industry continues as is with downloading supplanting its predecessor as all means of technology before it, those royalty cheques will only get smaller, and the math easier. As we all know, 20 per cent of zero is still zero. Telling, however, where the music industry will be in 10 years from now is somewhat less simple.
“All I know is that everything will be digital,” said Harkins. “The thing is, they're going to have to find new places to put their music. You won't make it big ‘til your song is in an Old Navy commercial!”
In all seriousness, the way in which music is distributed is vastly different than it was before, and the way that artists make their money has changed right along with it. Artists can no longer depend on record sales as a steady source of income. Instead, they are relying on the revenue from touring, which Levitan described as an artist's “bread and butter.”
Along with the Internet being used now as a musical venue, it has also made the artists themselves more accessible. Sites such as MySpace give you an inside look at a band or artist, and a taste of what they have to offer. It also gives small, unknown bands the opportunity to be heard, even if they don't have the cash to do it.
“It [the internet] is a great way to get your music out there,” said Hutchison, “and I think that's where P2P shines as well. Everything's so much easier for the fans now with the Internet.”
Sites like MySpace and playing gigs walk hand-in-hand. The growing number of people showing up to small, crowded clubs to see these indie bands probably would not otherwise be there (for the most part) had they not been given an opportunity to check the band out from the convenience of their own home. FSU's entertainment programmer and drummer for The Hoolie Snatch, Pat Maloney, knows all about the benefits of MySpace, and the importance of performing live.
“Play lots of shows,” advised Maloney. “Get some life experience so you actually have something to write about.”
Those live, perfectly imperfect, heartfelt shows in which every note drips with emotion is the closest you can get to that warm vinyl sound without overheating.
Instead of trying to write that hit song and sell a million CDs, bands and artists are writing and playing music because it is what they love doing. According to Levitan, that old-school mindset could not be more in-tune.
“If you're making great music and playing shows, the industry will find you.”
