I am resolving. I will no longer listen to a CD, or even a song, twice in a row. I think the reason that I listen to music on repeat is that it costs so much money – it is too much of an investment. Also, I don’t like thinking about an artist making something because they think that I will like the finished product, and not because they look at the market and determine that a certain “sound” sells. By listening over and over, I was trying to get the most bang for my buck before having to make a second investment on a second album. But now that is over, and the bucks won’t have to bang anymore.
I know, I know. I could always download music without the consent of the rights holder. I could find the newest Lil Wayne song and get it in a few seconds. But downloading is also an investment. Not an investment of money of course, but an investment of risk. Given the jury verdict in a recent file-sharing case, this can be quite risky, and therefore quite an investment. Therefore, investment is still a hurdle when downloading music without the consent of the rights holder.
In addition to the practical hurdle of investing in risk, I also see a problem with the incentives provided to many commercial musicians. That incentive is to make money – often a lot of money. The thought process of these musicians might go something like this: “I need to make an album that will sell. What will my listening audience like? I should try to make my album include music that they will like. To achieve this, I should see what is currently selling and emulate it.” Thus, the final product contains music that the artist thinks listeners will like, not necessarily music that the artist likes. I am more likely to enjoy music that the artist enjoyed making, rather than music that the artist made for pecuniary reasons.
Enter free music. When I say free, I mean truly free and not the music that some people label as “free” because it is available online. It sounds too good to be true, but some musicians have been releasing music for free. A lot of artists have been releasing their art for free – not just music. Musicians such as Radiohead, NIN, Girl Talk, Sage Francis, DJ Jester, Danger Mouse, and others, have released their music either for free or for a purchase price which can be determined by the downloader. Movies are also released for free online. Such films as Loose Change, Steal this Film, and others are available for free. Not to mention all of the user-created content for free viewing available on YOUTUBE. The software has been released for free for some time now; think of the free and open-source movements.
Free music does not present problems of risk or misaligned incentives. Instead, the artist makes music he loves, for the sole reason that he or she loves it, and not because of a monetary incentive. Some of them may ask downloaders to pay what they see fit, but $O is an option. So why not listen to this music instead? There is plenty of it, and there is no reason to listen to the same album over and over to get a bang for the buck when there is no buck.