Monday, November 28, 2005


SoundClick Now!


MP FREES... It seems that everyone is giving away free MP3 downloads of their music these days. To refuse and hold out for a punter willing to part with hard-earned cash has become a foolhardy faux-pas for an independent artist worth their salt.
"Nobody is buying CDs anymore" seems to be the phrase of the day. The implication is that it's better to give at least some of your music away, as a promotional tool, rather than just keep it under wraps. This way, more people are hearing your songs, possibly carrying them around on their iPods and hopefully turning a friend or two onto your music. Perhaps they may even be tempted to pay for a copy of your album, or visit iTunes down the road apiece, and pay for a download of another track or two ? Maybe not.
There is, of course, another school of thought that insists that giving away recordings that you've worked so hard on, does nothing but further devalue your music. I must admit that I do find it a little humorous that faced with the scenario of declining CD sales, the best idea we can come up with is to give away compressed audio versions of our songs, that don't sound quite as good as the originals.
The public's total acceptance of compromised audio quality as evidenced by the explosion of MP3 players, would seem to go hand in hand with the apathetic acceptance of the putrid morass that passes for popular music culture these days, but that's a subject for another day. And anyway,thinking about this stuff, and trying to predict the future about where this whole business is going, makes my brain hurt. So, let the chips fall where they may. I have songs to write, play and record, and I'll do it whether people end up buying, stealing or giving them away. Do your worst!

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