So. We all thought the “album” was dead. P2P networks and iTunes, we thought, had consented to the consumer preference for songs over albums. Now Apple and it’s major (secular) label partners are trying to walk it back.
For $10,000 per title, a major label can buy the opportunity to force consumers to buy album-only downloads on iTunes. (Indie labels, including SG, need not apply–this is only available to major releases on major labels.) Read more details here, here, and here.
See this for what it is. A brash attempt on the part of the major labels who are bankrupt of new marketing ideas to force consumers who are now used to “choice” to have to buy ten songs at once to get any of the songs on their favored new releases.
Methinks this attempt to return to the good old days will be rejected by consumers. Worse, it may drive those who have been actually purchasing song downloads back to their “free” P2P networks to, in effect, “steal” the songs they want.
The forcing of consumers to buy-songs-they-don’t-want cat is out of the bag. That cat will never be recaptured. This is a bad idea that can only hurt the companies and artists involved. On the other hand, it will probably hasten the resolve of all who are moving forward to create the strategies of the future.
But, since I’m always open to debate… suppose your two favorite SG artists had new releases and one of them was only available as a full album download while the other was available either way, individual songs or full album. What would be your first thought? Would your buying choice be affected?
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I’m not a album downloader, I still like to see the project. The graphics,players, producers and songwriters are interesting to me. I’m sure in the future I’ll have to google titles to find such info, but for now I’ll stick with the “old school” way. It’s still so funny that CDs are “old school”, never thought I would see that happen.
Your Gizmodo link now has an added note stating that Apple will be releasing their spec so that indies can create their own iTunes LP with no production fee.
I, too, prefer to have a hard copy with all the artwork, credits, photos, etc. I also am of the mindset of, “How do I know I won’t like it?”
Back in the “good old days,” we would hear a song we liked on the radio, go to the store, and pick up the CD that had that song. In the process, we would also find several more songs that we liked just as much (or, in some cases, DIDN’T like), but for me, it’s like a treasure chest – will the rest of the album be as good as that one song??
Now, mainstream artists have released singles for years. If someone only wanted that one song, they could go to the record store, buy the song on a 45 RPM (and later, cass-singles and CD singles). I can count on one hand the number of singles I ever bought because I wanted to hear the entire album. But how is this any different from iTunes’ selectibility? The only difference is that you can pick what singles you want rather than let the record company choose for you.
In fact, I know that many record companies would release songs on the B-sides of singles that weren’t even ON the regular album, driving up single sales. In essence, a complete project included 11 songs, but only 10 were on the album and one was on the back of the single, so you had to buy both.
One possible solution to this “buy the whole album” thing is to offer a bonus track that is only available with the full purchase. That way, people can still buy the regular album a song at a time, but the incentive is there with the “full album exclusive.” It also provides an added bonus to iTunes (or whoever the particular online retailer is). Stores like Wal-Mart and Target have been offering exclusive content for years, and to much success. Why can’t iTunes do the same thing, and kill two birds with one stone?
Yes, apple sources are quoted as saying
If this makes the practice more pervasive, it will just make the P2P networks more attractive. In that world, people get to “vote” on which songs they want AND which ones they don’t. This is a rather popular feature, alongside the “free (stolen)” thing.