Do We Value New Music Enough?
Are we placing enough value on new music, and is old music over-valued? Maybe the video game industry holds the answer.
I was reading an article about video games the other day and it got me thinking - do we place enough value on new music? And conversely: Do we over-value old music?
The article in question was about how to build a retro gaming computer from a Raspberry Pi device - but it also went into detail on how to load it with classic games, and how to find these.
Console games were always ‘locked’ to the console in question. You couldn’t put a SNES cartridge in a Mega Drive, or a Playstation disc into an Xbox. Music doesn’t have this problem, a cassette will play on a Sony Walkman, or a Sanyo one, or a Technics tape deck or a stereo in any brand of car with a tape deck. Likewise the CD would play on any CD player, portable, fixed, in a car, PC, Laptop or console. PC games were a little different, in that they’d generally play on any PC with the same operating system regardless of who made it, but you couldn’t easily play Windows games on a Mac and vice versa.
Once a computer game has been out for a while it’s generally replaced with a sequel or an updated version, and the previous game tends to become obsolete. Some will hold value as a physical object, but only to a smaller hardcore of collectors. Most will be relegated to the bargain racks in CEX or donated to charity shops and resold for a couple of quid or less.
The copyright in the game however remains, and here lays the issue - it’s easy enough to find copies of classic games online, but downloading them is technically illegal even though the game is all but worthless. FIFA 2001 holds little appeal for anyone any more, but it’s still in copyright even though it’s value is pretty much nil. I imagine you’d have to be very, very unlucky to be sued for downloading a copy of an old game or sharing it with friends.
With music it doesn’t necessarily ‘age’ in the same way as computer games. Obviously certain records sound very of their time and don’t feature the latest instruments or technology, but they’re as emotional as they are technical - few games hold that repeat emotional appeal that draws people back (even if they can afford the space and expense of maintaining a console old enough to play them).
All the music in the world, from tracks over 100 years old to those released this morning is available on streaming platforms for a tenner a month, and that’s long been a bone of contention for artists and record labels. The fractions of a penny each stream earns takes a long time to pay back a significant advance, especially if there’s no physical product available too.
So here’s my thought. Let’s appreciate that old music - digitally at least - holds little value. It’s out there, it’s basically free to listen to. The collectors market is there for physical products and always will be. But let’s value new music higher than putting it straight on to streaming services. Let’s make a new album more expensive, even digitally, and only sell it via platforms that offer a decent payback. Why isn’t there a platform that allows labels to offer streams of an album for a few quid a time? Bandcamp offer a stream to buy option, why not build in a ‘three streams for £5’ type thing, then another £5 upsell to unlimited streaming once you’ve had your initial streams, during the first couple of months of release. That way it gives artists a better payback at first, it might make the charts more exciting again (can you tell me what’s number one at the moment?). Accept that you don’t need to reach everyone, most users won’t spend more than £10 here and there, but for the right offering - a stream and download option, a PDF of sleeve notes, photos, behind the scenes videos, whatever extra stuff you want to bundle with it - people will buy the odd release. HMV is still going, based not on the traditionally “£50 man” who buys five new CD’s a week, but on artist fans buying a new CD once or twice a year.
I’m not daft, I know that there’s risks involved with charging people for music again. Music piracy is basically all but dead now because of streaming. You’d need to get the biggest artists involved to even begin to move the dial on this. But music is only going to become worth something again if we make it worth something again. DSP’s won’t like it but they’ll be forced to adapt. Spotify is only going to get worse as it fills up with AI generated shit, a super-premium HQ audio offering isn’t going to be the thing to save it, not when Apple offer Dolby Atmos as part of their standard offering.
Let someone build this, and when they do, license them your new releases at a fair price. They won’t need catalogue. It’ll probably fail, but it’s surely a more useful thing for the industry to be spending it’s time on than bloody NFT’s.
Temptation
On to this weeks new tunes then…
Geordie Greep - Holy, Holy [Rough Trade]
Of all that era of shouty, slightly odd UK rock bands (Black Country New Road, Squid etc.) Black Midi were probably the best of the lot. Now split up, former frontman Geordie Greep has come back with this solo effort which sounds like a funkier version of Scott Walker’s Jacky.
CS + Kreme - Corey [The Trilogy Tapes]
Just announced this week, a new CS + Kreme release always gets the attention. This sounds like it’s threatening to break into a flamenco tune at any minute, but stays just the right side of beautiful and heart-rending. Really looking forward to hearing the rest of the album when it drops.
Caribou - Volume [City Slang]
90’s dance music is a well that will never run dry is it? At least there seems to be some sincerity from Caribou in the story behind this one, having been wowed by MARRS’ Pump Up The Volume as a youngster.
GAS - GAS [Kompakt]
I’ve written enough on GAS to last a lifetime - but the first 1996 GAS release is now on streaming services so I couldn’t let the occasion go unmarked.
Fennesz - Venice 20 [Touch]
It’s hard to believe this record is 20 years old. An album that’s influenced so much and showed that experimental digital music could be somewhat accessible. Remastered, and with a bunch of additional tracks that didn’t make the first cut it’s well worth revisiting.
Holy Tongue Meets Shackleton - The Tumbling Psychic Joy of Now [AD93]
Deep, mystical dub gear here from Shackleton and Valentina Magaletti, Al Wootton & Susumu Mutai’s Holy Tongue project here. Lay back, light up, and let this guide you on to a higher plane.
That’s all for this week. Thankyou to everyone that’s read, shared or commented on In Strict Tempo, I really appreciate it.