This is a really hard question that continues to challenge many bands and musicians around the world!
The main problems seem to be:
Albums don't seem to sell either. It takes a lot for even a good artist to make an album that is extremely full and worth getting, but now even if there are good albums we think "single-mindedly". I admit that I tend to get singles, but I listen to whole albums and get all the songs I like even if they're not very popular. Artists do get a lot more substantial money from an album than they do a single unless it goes completely viral. I like iTunes and Amazon's idea to do "Album only" singles. I mean I understand that many people who download music don't wanna spend a lot of money, myself included, but when they offer a ten song album for 8 dollars, it's not gonna kill you!
Pirating is SUCH a big problem! It's amazing, because people feel so guiltless about stealing music from other people! As a musician I know how it would feel to have people stealing the music that keeps you going! The internet has made is so easy to steal entire albums without getting caught and it makes it hard for artists to stay alive, especially smaller bands, who don't have a huge fan following. Guvera is an amazing LEGAL music download site. It has most pop and urban albums from the most popular artists, with more being added all the time. You get credits from advertisers and Guvera itself (usually three credits a week), but it still pays the artists just as much as iTunes. It's great! The only annoying thing is that it doesn't have most small artists or any artists from certain record labels. Still! I've probably gotten 100 or more songs for free and also granted money to the artists. Noisetrade is also great! It has a lot of Indie and Singer/songwriter music and a lot of smaller bands, but it's entire albums (many being epic) for free! there is no limit on what you can get. Usually it's smaller artists, who put their stuff on there, but there are some big artists like Fun* and Owl City*. freechristianmusicblog.com is another way to find out about free Christian music :D
The main problems seem to be:
- People can listen to music for free on sites like YouTube, Spotify, and many others
- In the digital age albums don't sell, and it's hard to create single after single.
- In the digital age music pirating has become easy and fans don't seem to feel bad about stealing music.
Albums don't seem to sell either. It takes a lot for even a good artist to make an album that is extremely full and worth getting, but now even if there are good albums we think "single-mindedly". I admit that I tend to get singles, but I listen to whole albums and get all the songs I like even if they're not very popular. Artists do get a lot more substantial money from an album than they do a single unless it goes completely viral. I like iTunes and Amazon's idea to do "Album only" singles. I mean I understand that many people who download music don't wanna spend a lot of money, myself included, but when they offer a ten song album for 8 dollars, it's not gonna kill you!
Pirating is SUCH a big problem! It's amazing, because people feel so guiltless about stealing music from other people! As a musician I know how it would feel to have people stealing the music that keeps you going! The internet has made is so easy to steal entire albums without getting caught and it makes it hard for artists to stay alive, especially smaller bands, who don't have a huge fan following. Guvera is an amazing LEGAL music download site. It has most pop and urban albums from the most popular artists, with more being added all the time. You get credits from advertisers and Guvera itself (usually three credits a week), but it still pays the artists just as much as iTunes. It's great! The only annoying thing is that it doesn't have most small artists or any artists from certain record labels. Still! I've probably gotten 100 or more songs for free and also granted money to the artists. Noisetrade is also great! It has a lot of Indie and Singer/songwriter music and a lot of smaller bands, but it's entire albums (many being epic) for free! there is no limit on what you can get. Usually it's smaller artists, who put their stuff on there, but there are some big artists like Fun* and Owl City*. freechristianmusicblog.com is another way to find out about free Christian music :D
~Elijah
Elijah, do you know Noisetrade.com? Speaking of free Christian music to find new artists ...
ReplyDelete@ Dawn, yes I use noisetrade a lot! It's nice, because you're able to get your music out there and people around the world can find it!
ReplyDeleteI use spotify often and it is actually a great way to avoid music piracy. If you don't pay for spotify you have to use it only on your computer with an internet connection. If you pay for it monthly you can get the app and you can use it offline. Spotify pays the artists for their music and I know it has led to a lot less people pirating music and getting the subscription so they can listen to anything on there.
ReplyDeleteI use Spotify from time to time, but I make it a rule to purchase songs that I listen to over and over on Spotify. I agree! I don't think Spotify is a terrible app, but I think that the mindset now is kind of skewed. It is preventing some music pirating, but at the same time it's also a LEGAL way for good people to listen to music, instead of buying it. I'm certainly not opposed to Spotify, though. I mean you have to listen to an annoying add or two every 20 songs or so and you also can't take it with you on your smartphone or iPod touch without paying more.
Delete