An audience of two

Friday September 17, 2004

Music and the Internet - Who is stealing from whom?
Last Friday I went to see Keane play at Bimbo's. Great gig; I've never been to Bimbo's before. I just wish they'd played longer. But I digress.

I hadn't bought the album yet; I'd checked it out and planned to get a copy on the night and try to get it signed by the band. (Which I did). That CD cost me just $10 (total). A bargain; I think I paid about $15 when I saw Starsailor. Ten bucks. Eleven tracks. A pressed, uncompressed CD. Liner notes. Pictures. Jewel case. Shipping. Warehousing. Profits all round. TEN BUCKS.

Now on certain legal music download sites, compressed versions of those same 11 tracks would have cost me $10.89. And yet I still hear that MP3 traders are killing the industry, that music download sites aren't making money, that iTunes is basically there to boost iPod sales. So where the hell is the money going? Because I'm prepared to bet that the artist doesn't get a higher percentage.

Let's take a closer look at that CD. Eleven tracks I said. As the boys in the band pointed out, the UK release has 12 tracks - On A Day Like Today being the extra track. They apologised as they played it (and even advised the audience to go and download it). But why is it missing? Is it because the UK retailers charge £9.99 ($18) for the same CDs? And how about Japan - How much do consumers there get charged for their extended 14+ track version? $58!? Sheesh.

Anyway, go see Keane and pick up a copy of Hopes and Fears. Then go download the tracks like On A Day Like Today and Snowed Under that should have been on it, but aren't.

Footnote: Thanks Raj for the tip on how to get rid of the accented A when I type £! Permalink | | | | Comments [0]
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