How the Record Industry Could Get Its Groove Back

Due to advances in technology in recent years, the record industry has undergone massive changes at super-sonic speed in a relatively short period of time. Is it any wonder there have been growing pains? It is understandable that there have been questions, doubts, and concerns for both the music industry and the music consumer.

Recently, the music industry has complained of lower sales and has been quick to place that blame on illegal file sharing. While it's true that there is some impact there, most definitely, I don't think they are looking deeply enough into the problem. I think there are questions and concerns on the part of the consumer which, if addressed effectively, would result in an increase in sales.

QUALITY: I believe there is a perception that with a CD there is a guarantee of a certain quality of sound. At the very least there is an implication that they consistently will find clarity, richness, and high-quality sound on their purchased CD. And I believe there is a high perception, however misguided it might be, that "electronic" files for purchased download will not be as consistent in their quality. I think if the music industry made a very big deal about delivering excellence in sound and guaranteeing the quality of the downloaded file, it would put a lot more consumers at ease and result in greater sales.

QUANTITY/VARIETY: 99 cents, which is the going rate for most single song downloads, is an excellent deal in my opinion. To obtain a single (meaning a 45-rpm record) in the mid-1980s you had to pay $1.49. But I think there is a huge piece of the "single" experience that the consumer is missing with this 99 cent deal, which very probably leads to fewer album sales. It's the B-Side.

In the past when I've heard a song on the radio I really liked, I would buy the single. And I would always listen to the B-Side in order to get a better feel for the band, if they were new. If I liked the B-Side I thought the chances were pretty good that I would like the album. So the purchase of a single often led to the purchase of an entire album, if the B-Side was any good. And I think this is a huge piece of the puzzle that the recording industry is missing right now.

How much would it really cost them to piggy-back a "B-Side" to the purchase of a downloaded single? And how many album sales might it lead to?

HANDS ON: I believe another piece of the puzzle has to do with getting something tangible for your money. I remember going to friends' homes and going through their record collections: Seeing what they had, being pulled in by certain album artwork, checking out what was good on a particular record, and all of that.

These days, what have people got that might generate a conversation or a chance word-of-mouth encounter like I just described? All of their music files are on their computer or their iPod. There is nothing to touch, look at, or reach out and grab you.

I think the answer for this is to redefine "hands on." These days, the way to share what you love and let someone "go through your album collection," is most likely going to be online. People love to put music on their profiles in places like MySpace. But it's not always with the proper license to do so.

Selling music and videos in an "album package" could contain rights to display the song (or songs) on one's MySpace page. It could be easily implemented, LEGAL playlists could be built and shared (because the rights to do so were purchased with the album), and album and band digital artwork could be included with the download. Thus whole MySpace themes could be built on the band's image and be promoted to the world.

These are just a few bigger issues that I think are hurting the music industry right now. And I think if they concentrated more on exploring and fixing these things, and perhaps not quite so much on the illegal file-sharing, they might start to rise again from the ashes.