The subject of illegally downloading music has been in the news for many years now, and it looks like a story that won’t go away quickly…but does the music industry help itself at all?
Fair enough, no one likes to lose money.
This issue has been brought back to life due to the recent release of the Spotify iPhone app and how you are able to listen to almost any song for free (minus the £10 a month subscription fee). Once again, the music industry has stated that every year they are losing billions of pounds due to members of the public downloading music illegally.
Fair enough, no one likes to lose money.
What gets me is that the very same music industry allowed Radio 1 to have the “first play” of Leona Lewis’ new single “Happy” on September 6th….when the song is not available to buy until November 9th.
That is over two months.
So for over two months, Simon Cowell and his record label expect Leona fans (I’m sure there’s some out there) to listen to the new single only when the radio stations decide to play it. That doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.
Let’s break this down, research shows (1) that more than 60% of all people who download music illegally are aged between 14-24. Compare that to the fact that Leona Lewis, and more widely the X Factor, is targeted mainly at teenagers, and it doesn’t take a genius to work out what the likely result is.
I understand the need to build up demand of a song, or any product, before the date of release…but surely two months is pushing it? People will find a way to get their hands on the song, and it will end up in the music industry losing out.
It also means that by the time the song is available to buy, it will be overplayed, people will be bored of it and won’t buy it anyway!
Surely a much better idea is to build publicity around the artist and the upcoming release of their single, with the first play coming the week before the release?
I understand that the music industry is losing a lot of money thanks to the power of the internet, but they could also make their lives a lot easier by using the internet to their advantage to launch the product, rather than alienating their listeners and forcing them into downloading illegally just to get their hands on their new favourite song.
I understand that the music industry is losing a lot of money thanks to the power of the internet, but they could also make their lives a lot easier by using the internet to their advantage to launch the product, rather than alienating their listeners and forcing them into downloading illegally just to get their hands on their new favourite song.
