Because 2011, for me as a music fan, was a year of great change in how I consume music, it will go down in the books with:
1991: The year I transitioned from cassettes to CDs
2000: The year CD burning became the norm.
2002: The year I got high-speed internet, and thus discoved the illegal bliss of file-sharing, and
2005: The year I finally ditched my CD wallet for the combo of iTunes and iPods.
2011 was the year of music subscription.
It’s not that the concept of music subscription is brand new. Some of these services have existed for years, but it wasn’t until very recently, with the ubiquity of smartphone apps and decent wireless data speeds, that these services became a legitimate alternative to “owning” your music files for high-consumption music addicts like myself. This was the year that the major drawbacks of these services started vanishing for me.
The benefits of these subscription services are obvious: unlimited streaming of enormous music catalogs (including most new releases on the day of release), the ability to save music directly to your device (in case you are in an area where streaming is unavailable, such as on an airplane), and social networking features that allow you to share music with your friends. For these reasons and more, combined with the aforementioned exploding smartphone market, 2011 saw the rise and growth of the next generation of services like Rdio, MOG and Spotify.
Though Spotify’s well-funded and highly publicized US launch was responsible for bringing the spotlight onto music subscription services this year, it was Rdio that became the app to replace the stock “music” app in the bottom right-hand corner of my iPhone’s screen this summer. There’s something I like about the way the mobile Rdio app keeps the focus on albums, similar to the way that native music app does, rather than the way Spotify insists on promoting the “playlist agenda”. In addition, I love Rdio’s ability to browse through current new releases. It’s a tradition of mine to start every Tuesday morning by browsing through the new releases of the week on iTunes, and now I get to continue that tradition within this new streaming model. These are subtle, but, I think, powerful differentiators that make Rdio stand out.
So, how has this new model changed the way I consume music?
1 – I am no longer tethered to physical files. In the same way that the switch from CD to mp3 files liberated us from the necessity of having to carry around cumbersome plastic discs, I am now free of having to remember which music I am going to sync onto my phone to bring with me.In addition to Rdio, as an iTunes Match user (which probably deserves another whole post), I have constant access to even the most obscure music in my collection.
2 – I spent far less money on music in 2011 than in the years preceding it.
3 – I consumed far more music in 2011 than any other year so far.
Sounds great, right? Like crack for music addicts. Well, just like crack, I think music subscription services carry a few hidden dangers. Those dangers are rooted in the second two of those aforementioned changes in consumption, and are dangers both for me as an individual and for the music community as a whole.
As an artist, I have some mixed feelings about subscription music services. On one hand they represent an opportunity of distributing my music to a far broader audience than ever, due to the fact that I don’t have to convince subscribers to part with any hard-earned cash before they listen to the music I’ve created. On the other hand, they also represent a giant step in a trend that has been making recorded music far less valuable in most people’s minds. At one point, I felt that I was getting a deal if I found an album on sale for under $13. More recently that number has dropped to about $8. As it stands with the new economics of music subscription, paying for music outside of the subscription at all will be a rare occurrence.
As an artist, I recognize that I only end up seeing a small fraction of a PENNY each time someone streams one of my songs, as opposed to the 80-ish cents I get if they buy it on iTunes or the $8 I get if they purchase a full album. Really, as the growth of music subscription continues, it makes it even more important to rely on other sources to support my music making habits: playing shows, selling physical merch at those shows, and offering new and creative methods of distribution that provide a richer experience for music fans than a simple song download. Yes, it’s uncomfortable and new and different that what I’m used to – such is change.
Because I am aware of this economic shift, I am also making an effort to increase the amount of money I am spending on concerts and projects for other artists I love and believe in. If you are part of a community with a local music scene (which you probably are, even if you don’t know it), do your best to support artists in your community by frequenting their shows, wearing their t-shirts, buying their limited edition vinyl releases, etc. I know it may sometimes feel painful to part with a $10 cover charge to see your younger brother’s goofy friend from college play bass in his new band next Friday night, but please realize – this is the primary method in which the music community sustains itself in the coming years.
The other, and perhaps more dangerous result of this trend has to do with the vast amount of music I consumed this year. As I reflected on the music released these past 12 months I realized something quite frightening. Though there were some absolutely STELLAR releases this year, I’m not sure if as many of these albums will stand the test of time the way music of previous years has. This is not a commentary on the quality of music produced this year at all. This is a commentary on my own life and the way I consume new music. Due to the vast amount of music i am intaking on a daily and weekly basis, I recognize that the sheer number of albums encourages me not to simply sit with the music the way I have done so for years. It’s much easier to skip past an album that did not just make my wallet $10 thinner. My theory is that if this trend is happening to me (a self-admitted early-adopter), it will be happening to the music community en masse over the next several years.
So, as 2012 begins rolling a new slew of music our way, I‘m realizing it’s important for me to stop and reflect on the year past, whose calendar might be sitting atop a pile of trash in the garage from the holidays. The temptation would be to treat the music created during these months the same way I treat these paper calendars: like disposable commodities — good for a time, but not worth investing in long-term. Here’s my list of favorite music of 2011. Maybe there’s something in the mix you’ve overlooked. I encourage you to take the time to compose your own list, share it with some friends, and sit in the music for awhile.
(FWIW – if you’re an Rdio user follow me at www.rdio.com/#/people/Ben_Thomas)
Continue reading here for my Favorite Music of 2011.
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