Label Complains That Amazon Devalues Artists By Making Music Cheap
from the you-got-it-backwards dept
This is unfortunate. Nearly two years ago, we wrote about the indie music label Asthmatic Kitty, which seemed to take a really forward looking attitude towards the new music market. In that interview, the label noted the reality of the new world, and why it was important to focus on reasons to buy, rather than assuming that people would just pay to hear music. This is what was said at the time:
I operate under the conviction that people buy records because they want to own them, not because they want to hear them. It is too easy these days to hear a record without having to buy it. I don't resent that fact, rather I feel we at Asthmatic Kitty embrace it through streaming albums and offering several free mp3s (even whole free albums). And why do they want to own it? They want it to illustrate to others their taste and identify who they are as a person. I also believe they want to be part of something bigger than themselves, they want to belong.
Our job is no longer to sell folks things they want to hear. They want an experience and to identify themselves as part of a community. Ownership then becomes a way of them supporting your community through investing in that community. Fostering that in an honest, transparent and "non-gross" way takes a combination of gracefulness, creativity and not taking oneself too seriously, while still taking art and music seriously.
Apparently, however, they do resent Amazon for making music available cheaply. Reader Colin points us to a recent article about how Asthmatic Kitty has sent out a letter to fans of artist Sufjan Stevens, complaining that Amazon's pricing is too low and asking people to go to Bandcamp and pay more instead. They do admit to being somewhat conflicted about this, at least:
"We have mixed feelings about discounted pricing," the label explained.
"Like we said, we love getting good music into the hands of good people, and when a price is low, more people buy. A low price will introduce a lot of people to Sufjan's music and to this wonderful album. For that, we're grateful.
But we also feel like the work that our artists produce is worth more than a cost of a latte. We value the skill, love, and time they've put into making their records. And we feel that our work too, in promotion and distribution, is also valuable and worthwhile."
While they're certainly not attacking Amazon or fans, the whole email does feel a little off. The simple fact is, if people want the music (as the label seemed to recognize last year), they can find it somewhere for free. Amazon's prices are meaningless when it comes to the "value" of the music. Price and value are not the same thing. Rather than complaining about the price that Amazon sets on the album, why not give people additional reasons to pay directly at Bandcamp -- such as providing valuable extras if they do. Or discounts on other merchandise. There are all sorts of positive ways to get people to find it worthwhile to spend money without making them feel guilty and bad for paying a price that is legitimately offered by a retailer.
47 Comments | Leave a Comment..
About a week ago, we noted that Verizon was gearing up to launch its own app store for Android phones. This app store, called V CAST Apps, would be completely separate from Android’s existing Market for apps. In other words, it’s Verizon kicking their partner Google in the man region.
Of course, we all knew neither side would spin it that way. And sure enough, today we have Verizon’s take. During their Verizon Developer Community Conference earlier this afternoon, the company took the time to respond to the charges that they were taking over control of Android devices with maneuvers such as this. Jkontherun has a good overview of what was said, but Verizon itself was tweeting key parts. Here’s my favorite:
V CAST Apps is NOT out to take over the phone. It’s about choice, and about simplicy – carrier-billing — and quality — great apps.
Oh Jesus. Here we go again. It’s not about control or money — no, of course not. It’s about “choice”. Excuse me while I vomit in my mouth.
Does anyone really believe that Verizon really cares about choice here? What they care about is not ”becoming a commodity connectivity provider,” as James Kendrick puts it. And that’s fair enough, there’s nothing wrong with a company wanting to be successful and maintain their success. But I’m sick of this spin that all of this is for the betterment of all. Verizon cares about making money just like every other company and that’s why they’re doing this.
But there are two main reasons I have a problem with all of this. First, Verizon has proven itself to be incapable of making a decent consumer experience. I’ll refer back to my experience with the Motorola RAZR which was delayed for many months so Verizon could load it up with their crap UI and V CAST junk. And now we’re seeing it with the Droid Verizon phones. They’re packed to the gills with garbage compliments of Verizon. There is no question that Google needs to improve the Android Market experience, but as the creators of Android, I have much more faith in them doing that than with Verizon circumventing it.
Second, here’s what really annoys me: believe it or not, I really like the idea of Android. I love the idea of an OS ecosystem that works across a range of carriers. In the U.S., Apple isn’t doing this, Android is. I like anything that gives the carriers less power. The problem is that Verizon is now using Android’s openness to ruin that approach.
Verizon is essentially making Verizon Android phones different from all other Android phones. Say I buy an app through the V CAST app store then a year down the line I buy another Android device on Sprint. Guess what? It won’t work on the new device. This was supposed to be an open ecosystem — instead, it’s turning out to be very, very fragmented. We’re seeing now that a Verizon Android phone and a Sprint Android phone will soon only share a bit of branding in common. The harmonious ecosystem is being razed.
And all of this doesn’t seem to bode well for the prospects of a Verizon iPhone. Does anyone believe for a second that Apple is going to let Verizon open their own app store on the iPhone? Not a chance. They’ll be lucky if they get a V Cast content app pre-loaded on there — you can bet Apple doesn’t even want that. So why would Verizon want to have anything to do with a device that will turn them into the “commodity connectivity provider” when Google is giving them the keys to the castle?
And so, despite the best efforts of Apple and Google over the past few years, the carriers are now striking back. And it’s us, the consumers, who will lose as a result. How’s that for “choice”?
[image: Warner Bros.]
<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce Just This Summer <b>...</b>
News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...
College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info
College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: September 30 <b>...</b>
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Koala Chlamydia; Coal protests around the world; New Rules for offshore drilling; PLUS: The Governator slams Big Oil and corporate campaign cash ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! ...
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bench craft company rip off
<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce Just This Summer <b>...</b>
News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...
College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info
College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: September 30 <b>...</b>
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Koala Chlamydia; Coal protests around the world; New Rules for offshore drilling; PLUS: The Governator slams Big Oil and corporate campaign cash ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! ...
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Label Complains That Amazon Devalues Artists By Making Music Cheap
from the you-got-it-backwards dept
This is unfortunate. Nearly two years ago, we wrote about the indie music label Asthmatic Kitty, which seemed to take a really forward looking attitude towards the new music market. In that interview, the label noted the reality of the new world, and why it was important to focus on reasons to buy, rather than assuming that people would just pay to hear music. This is what was said at the time:
I operate under the conviction that people buy records because they want to own them, not because they want to hear them. It is too easy these days to hear a record without having to buy it. I don't resent that fact, rather I feel we at Asthmatic Kitty embrace it through streaming albums and offering several free mp3s (even whole free albums). And why do they want to own it? They want it to illustrate to others their taste and identify who they are as a person. I also believe they want to be part of something bigger than themselves, they want to belong.
Our job is no longer to sell folks things they want to hear. They want an experience and to identify themselves as part of a community. Ownership then becomes a way of them supporting your community through investing in that community. Fostering that in an honest, transparent and "non-gross" way takes a combination of gracefulness, creativity and not taking oneself too seriously, while still taking art and music seriously.
Apparently, however, they do resent Amazon for making music available cheaply. Reader Colin points us to a recent article about how Asthmatic Kitty has sent out a letter to fans of artist Sufjan Stevens, complaining that Amazon's pricing is too low and asking people to go to Bandcamp and pay more instead. They do admit to being somewhat conflicted about this, at least:
"We have mixed feelings about discounted pricing," the label explained.
"Like we said, we love getting good music into the hands of good people, and when a price is low, more people buy. A low price will introduce a lot of people to Sufjan's music and to this wonderful album. For that, we're grateful.
But we also feel like the work that our artists produce is worth more than a cost of a latte. We value the skill, love, and time they've put into making their records. And we feel that our work too, in promotion and distribution, is also valuable and worthwhile."
While they're certainly not attacking Amazon or fans, the whole email does feel a little off. The simple fact is, if people want the music (as the label seemed to recognize last year), they can find it somewhere for free. Amazon's prices are meaningless when it comes to the "value" of the music. Price and value are not the same thing. Rather than complaining about the price that Amazon sets on the album, why not give people additional reasons to pay directly at Bandcamp -- such as providing valuable extras if they do. Or discounts on other merchandise. There are all sorts of positive ways to get people to find it worthwhile to spend money without making them feel guilty and bad for paying a price that is legitimately offered by a retailer.
47 Comments | Leave a Comment..
About a week ago, we noted that Verizon was gearing up to launch its own app store for Android phones. This app store, called V CAST Apps, would be completely separate from Android’s existing Market for apps. In other words, it’s Verizon kicking their partner Google in the man region.
Of course, we all knew neither side would spin it that way. And sure enough, today we have Verizon’s take. During their Verizon Developer Community Conference earlier this afternoon, the company took the time to respond to the charges that they were taking over control of Android devices with maneuvers such as this. Jkontherun has a good overview of what was said, but Verizon itself was tweeting key parts. Here’s my favorite:
V CAST Apps is NOT out to take over the phone. It’s about choice, and about simplicy – carrier-billing — and quality — great apps.
Oh Jesus. Here we go again. It’s not about control or money — no, of course not. It’s about “choice”. Excuse me while I vomit in my mouth.
Does anyone really believe that Verizon really cares about choice here? What they care about is not ”becoming a commodity connectivity provider,” as James Kendrick puts it. And that’s fair enough, there’s nothing wrong with a company wanting to be successful and maintain their success. But I’m sick of this spin that all of this is for the betterment of all. Verizon cares about making money just like every other company and that’s why they’re doing this.
But there are two main reasons I have a problem with all of this. First, Verizon has proven itself to be incapable of making a decent consumer experience. I’ll refer back to my experience with the Motorola RAZR which was delayed for many months so Verizon could load it up with their crap UI and V CAST junk. And now we’re seeing it with the Droid Verizon phones. They’re packed to the gills with garbage compliments of Verizon. There is no question that Google needs to improve the Android Market experience, but as the creators of Android, I have much more faith in them doing that than with Verizon circumventing it.
Second, here’s what really annoys me: believe it or not, I really like the idea of Android. I love the idea of an OS ecosystem that works across a range of carriers. In the U.S., Apple isn’t doing this, Android is. I like anything that gives the carriers less power. The problem is that Verizon is now using Android’s openness to ruin that approach.
Verizon is essentially making Verizon Android phones different from all other Android phones. Say I buy an app through the V CAST app store then a year down the line I buy another Android device on Sprint. Guess what? It won’t work on the new device. This was supposed to be an open ecosystem — instead, it’s turning out to be very, very fragmented. We’re seeing now that a Verizon Android phone and a Sprint Android phone will soon only share a bit of branding in common. The harmonious ecosystem is being razed.
And all of this doesn’t seem to bode well for the prospects of a Verizon iPhone. Does anyone believe for a second that Apple is going to let Verizon open their own app store on the iPhone? Not a chance. They’ll be lucky if they get a V Cast content app pre-loaded on there — you can bet Apple doesn’t even want that. So why would Verizon want to have anything to do with a device that will turn them into the “commodity connectivity provider” when Google is giving them the keys to the castle?
And so, despite the best efforts of Apple and Google over the past few years, the carriers are now striking back. And it’s us, the consumers, who will lose as a result. How’s that for “choice”?
[image: Warner Bros.]
bench craft company rip off
<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce Just This Summer <b>...</b>
News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...
College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info
College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: September 30 <b>...</b>
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Koala Chlamydia; Coal protests around the world; New Rules for offshore drilling; PLUS: The Governator slams Big Oil and corporate campaign cash ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! ...
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<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce Just This Summer <b>...</b>
News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...
College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info
College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: September 30 <b>...</b>
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Koala Chlamydia; Coal protests around the world; New Rules for offshore drilling; PLUS: The Governator slams Big Oil and corporate campaign cash ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! ...
bench craft company rip off bench craft company rip off
<b>News</b> Corp Gave $1 Million To Chamber Of Commerce Just This Summer <b>...</b>
News Corp., the parent company of Fox News, contributed $1 million this summer to the US Chamber of Commerce, the business lobby that has been running an aggressive campaign in support of the Republican effort to retake Congress, ...
College Football <b>News</b> | <b>News</b> Media Generation - GenMedia.Info
College Football Returns; Today's TV Schedule | News One: and#13;and#13;College Football schedule.and#13;and#13;Saturday Games of Note on College Football Schedule (Ranked Teams)and#13;and#13;*San Jose State vs. No. ...
Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: September 30 <b>...</b>
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Koala Chlamydia; Coal protests around the world; New Rules for offshore drilling; PLUS: The Governator slams Big Oil and corporate campaign cash ... All that and more in today's Green News Report! ...
bench craft company rip off
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