Quote:
Originally Posted by lockdown  not to play devil's advocate, but digital distribution isn't killing anything. at this point it's the direction the industry is taking, and labels/artists are just adapting to the changing marketplace. if you don't want to release mp3s, more power to you. but if you do, i don't see how it's harming the marketplace.
i don't miss lugging around those heavy record crates that's for sure. there are plenty of DJs who spin digital and this isn't a direct indicator of their skills. i've seen plenty of DJs who equally suck regardless of their chosen medium to deliver the music. |
here's an example of how its harming the marketplace:
someone buys a track on beatport (wav) $3.49
They then take it and post it on a file sharing server and distrubte the link to anyone in the world who knows that site. That is literally hundreds of throusands of people who will download that track illegally in the next few days. Now keep in mind that that copy is the same quality as the person who bought it. Now picture if that track was purchased by all those people.
99% of DJs are playing digital now. But the majority of them (not those who rely on software and would not be able to spin without it) are still buying Vinyl, and then digitize it. That is a skill to do it right, and you need pre's, compression, limiting, just like you would record a track. People who will take the time to do all that, will not be the ones to share that file on the net with anybody. Those who will, will be the ones who use low-end software like LAME encoder, and vinyl rip sounds like crap, and will not be played in the club.
And now think about all those DJs who get that top quality .wav or mp3 from a file sharing place (from someone who bought it on Beatport) and then just play it no problem, because the sound quality is perfect to play at a club. They are playing a producer's track who put hours and hours into their music, probably spent a fortune on equipment, and they did not pay a penny to play it to the crowd, when they LOVE that track. How is that for the 21st century?? Not just people at home downloading music for their pleasure, but playing illegal tracks to a crowd!!!
Those who want KILLER music will pay the price for vinyl, if they cant find that track on digital downloads. DJs all over the world are still buying records weekly, both inside the store and online, and then take the time to properly turn them into digital that will be th best quality possible.
I dont believe in digital downloads, period. Vinyl all the way. If DJs choose to turn them into digital, that is their choice, but distributing digital is a whole other story.
But for those who really suffer from digital downloads, there is only one thing left to do, and that is ban all file sharing servers. If that happens, people will begin to buy more music and the whole situation will stabilize. If not, and the music continues the way it is now, well, there will be no music soon enough. Music is passion no doubt; but you still need to make money. There will always be piracy out there, just like there was piracy 10 years ago. But in todays levels it is just ridicolous beyong belief.