Blog 2.1

The RIAA says we should be thankful that the price of CDs has gone down; they claim that based on the price of CDs in 1983, albums should now cost $33. This seems to ignore the fact that advancements in technology have decreased the cost of production at every step of the process… except marketing. Among other costs, the RIAA “key facts” page bemoans the expense of paying radio stations to play new music (which makes me wonder why if radio stations are getting paid for much of the music they play that I still have to hear three minutes of commercials between every couple of songs).

A statement on the page that stuck out in particular to me was:

“For many artists, a costly concert tour is essential to promote their recordings.”

Interesting. It was always my understanding that, for many artists, a costly recording is essential to promote their concert tour. After all, I only shell out $12 for a CD, but often pay $20 - $50 for a concert ticket.

In short, don’t believe the RIAA’s cries of distress. Albums are in many ways advertising for concerts - where the real money is made (with the exception of pop superstars who sell 10 million copies of a single album). This is why less than 9 out of 10 recordings are not profitable.

Musicians (and their labels) make money from touring. To ease their worries, the record industry needs to re-think how they market and distribute music instead of angering their consumer base with claims that DRM-crippled albums are a bargain at anything less than $33.