Credit Crunching

It is apparent that the music industry is becoming increasingly ruled by money. This is obvious, we know this is the case and we understand that music, like the rest, is after all a business. If it weren't there would be no Spice Girls, or other obvious bands made primarily on the basis of making money.

However, often a band or person will change this and we pretend that all music is made because of a love for music and nothing else. For instance Radiohead letting fans chose the price of the last album 'In Rainbows'. Many argued that this was demeaning, determining the value of music. Others however saw it as choosing the value you believe is acceptable. It's true Radiohead have millions of loyal fans but there was no promise that this album would make much money or as much as it could have if it had been put straight onto a CD. So Radiohead in theory handed the music back to its audience. That or created a very clever marketing strategy.

After this, Lily Allen branded Radiohead 'arrogant' and claimed: "They’ve got millions of pounds. It sends a weird message to younger bands who haven’t done as well. You don’t choose how to pay for eggs. Why should it be different for music?” I am not sure how valid that comparison is but I am not 100% convinced any opinion of Lily Allen about music can be encouraged. Reasons why this quote generally sucks:

• Radiohead have worked for their success and were once too a 'young band'
• Perhaps younger bands aren't doing so well because...well just because they aren't very good?
• Younger bands get their money from touring, gigs and merchandise sales where as Radioheads tours are very limited and merchandise is avaliable but not whored.
• They may very well have millions of pounds but they don't go flashing it around in private jets and ridiculous cars and designer labels. They actually do some good in the world.

Another one to jump on the bandwagon was Gene Simmons, protesting: "That’s not a business model that works. I open a store and say ‘Come on in and pay whatever you want.’ Are you on f******g crack? Do you really believe that’s a business model that works?”

Well obviously it did work but understandably one is probably used to affording a prositute and a line per album sale which wouldn't go down well with the minimum amount payable for 'In Rainbows' being 45p.

But it is not all about the anti-free music camp, Mcfly gave out their newest album 'radio:ACTIVE' in the Mail on Sunday (although it could be argued it was because it's the only possible way of them shifting any copies). Obviously before that we saw Prince do the same which in turn made sales of the paper go up by around 600,000 copies. Not only were these albums free (other than the small price of the paper) but also Prince and Mcfly circulated their work, reaching out to new people and audiences that may have been unaware of the it music. Which in hindsight is not necessarily a bad thing at all.

So can we really put a price on music? It's something we should all enjoy and love but how much is too much to pay? Especially in this so called Credit Crunch. With an ever decreasing amount of disposable income, we should celebrate the new free music. The economies downfall should not limit our (legal) avaliablity to music and chances like this mean that it wont.

One of the most iconic story in music history regarding money, I believe, is the story of Tony Wilson. For anyone who has not heard of Wilson he was, amongst many other things, a record label owner. His party owned label held bands such as Joy Division and Happy Mondays. Wilson nobelly chose not to use the usual contracts with his bands but more 'acknowledgements and gentlemans agreements'. To end is a beautiful quote from the film '24 Hour Party People' which is about Wilson's involvement in the music scene and Factory Records:

"Factory Records are not actually a company. We are an experiment in human nature. You're labouring under the misapprehension that we actually have a deal with, er, with our, our bands. That we have any kind of a contract, er, at all, and I'm afraid we, er, we don't.."