There's an interesting article on the BBC website this morning about 'On Air, On Sale', basically where tracks are released for download at the same time as they get air-play and whether this is good or bad for the music industry and good or bad for the artists.
My opinion of it is that it's great for me as a music fan and part-time radio DJ; it means I have access to the latest tracks at the same time as major radio stations and can hear songs from my favourite bands quickly. Equally, though, it's bad news for radio as the average fan in the street can download the music and not have to wait until they appear on the radio.
I fully understand the comments in the articles about publicity though. It was only thanks to Facebook that I knew the Kaisers had released a new album; it was only on reading this article that I realised that Coldplay have a new single out. It also seems that Lady GaGa's label is having a fit in releasing more singles than Rihanna does in a month.
Overall I think it's a great idea for fans but maybe not for the artists as the downloads don't add up to a good chart position which, at the end of the day, is key. If the single doesn't chart well then people aren't going to know about it and aren't going to download it, the reverse snowball effect.
And as for combatting piracy? Those who download music illegally will continue to do so, continuing to justify their reasons with more and more obscure reasons, so let's just drop that reasoning now.
Friday 10 June 2011
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