On the Future of Music

Every so often, I like to peruse elbo.ws and see what the hip youngsters are listening to these days. It's surprising to see, for example, that The Raveonettes were in town tonight touring and I missed their show. Damn.

Maybe I should check elbo.ws more often.

In any event, I like to cull random bits of music from the site and get a taste of new sounds. I might not like the song, but I'm willing to give it a shot. It's the classic "try before you buy" dilemma. A potential consumer may listen to what you're selling and walk away without buying anything. Then again, he might like what he's heard and buy an album on the spot. He might not buy the album then and there, but he may listen to the song over and over again and buy the album later. He might talk about the song to his friends. There are a lot of things he might do if he hears your music for free and takes a shine to it.

On the other hand, you're never going to find him if you don't let anyone hear your music in the first place. I consider the number of concerts I've attended where I heard the group play, then bought their album after the fact. (Answer: one and a half. All were opening acts and I didn't pay to come see them play.) On the other hand, I consider the number of times I've heard a single through one channel or another and fell in love enough with the sound to get the album. (Answer: many.)

So I was very dismayed to find that every link to a particular track on elbo.ws had taken the song down by request of the band's label. In the music industry, there's a difference between "music you give away for free" and "music that is stolen from you". Only a lawyer could tell between them, I'm sure. I don't begrudge the record label for protecting the artists' intellectual property, and I don't begrudge the audiophiles for capitulating to that request.

The problem as I see it is that I've never heard of the band and don't know if I would like them or not. I was willing to give it a shot, and the label has decided to decline that possibility.

Now I will probably never hear the band, or buy the album. And the next time they're playing a gig in town? Well, it probably wouldn't even register enough in my synapses to make a note of it. Maybe an established band with tons of recognition and throngs of adoring fans could get away with enforcing strict control of their music online, but for an indie group this is definitely a step in the wrong direction.