There’s been a lot in the news lately about the issue of downloading music off the internet and what it’s supposedly doing to the music business. Some, mostly those in the industry and a few artists are very much against the practice calling it an illegal act and an infringement of copyright. But I get the sense that the vast majority don’t agree and feel the industry is getting its just rewards for ignoring the real interests of the buying public. The larger question of course is can downloading be stopped? The quote above from an insider as respected as White should give all in the industry pause for thought.

As a non-downloader, hey I’m still on a 56K dialup modem; I’ve been following this situation with a certain amount of glee. I’m first and foremost a fan of Progressive Rock which the last time I checked is primarily an independent label genre. How many prog bands have you seen on major labels? But I thought I’d weight in on this subject and offer my two-cents worth.

To me this whole downloading question is all about control. For years, since the mid sixties for sure, the music industry has been tightly controlled by the major labels. From 1976 to 1986 I was involved with programming a couple radio stations and it was over this time that the label’s control-noose was slowly tightened on a willing, I might add radio industry. Our little independent station used to fight the major labels all the time because they wanted us to play certain artists or tracks and we wouldn’t choosing instead to play some lesser known but equally deserving bands. For this we would draw the labels ire.

Today most stations don’t even have that flexibility. The majors simply send out monthly compilation discs of the tracks they’d like aired. This is combined with radio formats and music directors who have less and less flexibility or control over what is allowed on the air.

Now, all of a sudden, the major labels see their control slipping and it’s driving them into a state of panic. So much so they’ve taken to suing their own potential customers.

So back to that big question…is downloading killing music? I’d have to say, based on all the independent research that’s now coming out, absolutely not. It is however putting quite a few nails in the music label coffin. A recent Harvard study on downloading clearly demonstrated there is simply no correlation between an increase in a certain artist downloads and a decline in that artists CD sales. Further to that the study said that it would take approximately 5000 downloads to affect the sales of ONE CD and they concluded their report by saying the overall impact of downloading seems to be close to zero.

Add to this how more than one university business professor studying the current state of the music business has pointed out how the labels seem to be in about the third year of denial as to their impending death. All the signs are there of an industry’s demise. Anyone want to open up a blacksmith shop? The major labels have been living pretty high on the hog, keeping CD prices artificially high, getting you and me to re-purchase the same records over and over again and keeping the artist roster as thin as humanly possible.

You knew something was up, when the first thing the majors did when they recognized they had a problem was lower the prices on their product. That was easy and after gouging us for so many years it was a relief. But there is a larger question they refuse to tackle and that’s the artist depth of their product. Sure a lot of current stuff is downloaded but most of it tends to be artists or tracks that are simply not available on disc. Not available because the majors have chosen to keep the stuff unreleased. Not available because the majors would sooner invest hundred’s of thousands of dollars into a new video for Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera rather than sign and develop more new talent. That’s not sour grapes folks that’s just the way it is.

I’ve come to the conclusion that it will be a great day for music when the major labels fold up their tents and go home. The fact is there was music created before the major labels took control and there will be music created after they’re gone. And now with easy access to the world by and on the internet we simply don’t need the traditional dusty music industry-controlled distribution networks. There are other ways to get the music out to fans and these new channels are getting more efficient and more effective every day. In this debate it’s important to keep in mid there is a difference between the music and the music business. The music will always be there because that’s all about the artists, but the music business is all about the labels. So the music business will have to change and adapt to the new realities of the music.

The demise of the majors will also mean greater creativity at the local radio station level as well. No longer will stations rely on being spoon fed music to play. Stations will have to adapt to the old way of finding and playing music. It’ll be a very creative time as more and more stations begin to take on a more unique, less cookie-cutter sound. The great thing is that now artists will be compared on a level playing field. No longer will a stations music director’s eyes be forced to see only the nice shiny packaging of the majors and ignore the local artists struggling to get exposure.

In fact I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that the quicker those major labels just stop trying to control what I listen to and close their doors the better off the whole music industry will be.

I can’t wait. What about you?

About the Author:
Jerry Lucky is the author of the book The Progressive Rock Files, now entering its 5th edition. Please feel free to send feedback to Jerry at www.jerrylucky.com.