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Filed under Thoughts on June 18, 2007 by Kamni Khan

Mind the Gap

On Tuesday, will you run down to your local record shop to pick up the latest release by the White Stripes? It's more likely that you will click the "Buy Album" button from the iTunes interface without having to step outside the comforts of your air-conditioned home or office. Perhaps you will wait for a friend to burn you a copy. Or did you save your $9.99 and find a leaked version of Icky Thump weeks before the release date?

Advancements in technology have not only changed the music listening experience but the artist/consumer relationship has also been revolutionized. While you can download music at the click of a button, the instant gratification also removes several layers from the overall music experience.

A memorable moment from my youth dates back to January 1994, the day when Alice in Chains' Jar of Flies was released. I had to wait for my mom to drive me to the specialty music store so we could get the tape--I hadn't invested in a CD player at that time and it would be another three years until MP3 players were introduced to the general public. I still remember running up to my room, struggling with the wrapping tape on the way, to savor the first listen. There were countless afternoons spent listening to the tape and following Layne Stanley's words on the linear notes.

The music industry has certainly changed over the past thirteen years.

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that CD music sales are down 20% compared to the same time in 2006. It does not seem that the seven year decline in CD sales will turn around anytime soon. While legal music download sales are increasing by 50% or so a year, overall industry revenue is still down 25% from a year ago by some estimates.

Some bands and record labels are using their own means to attempt to control their music before the general release date. When a Chicago radio station played Icky Thump in its entirety, the White Stripes' Jack White personally called the D.J. to yell at her. Until Interpol's Our Love to Admire is released on July 10th, even music reviewers can't give it a second listen. The Mission Impossible-style MP3s self-destruct after the first listen. Instead of previewing the new material at concerts, both bands are also playing a limited number of songs to live audiences.

On the other hand, Blonde Redhead's latest release, 23, was available for streaming in its entirety several weeks before the release date on the band's Myspace page.

Of course, the web also allows users to sample new material. I often test out an opening band's Myspace page to see if it's worth getting there early for the show. AOL's Full CD Listening Parties allows listeners to stream new releases every Tuesday. You can sample a CD for a week, at your own leisure--instead of wearing gigantic headphones while standing at Virgin Megastore--before making a purchasing decision.

If you are a music enthusiast living in New York, there probably isn't enough room in your apartment to house an entire music collection. While all of my music is on my iPod and backed up on my external hard drive, most of the actual CDs are living in storage. It may be wiser to download if you are space conscious but you are also losing out on a both the booklet's lyrics and artwork. Cold War Kids' in-house artist is bassist Matt Maust. The artwork from Robbers and Cowards work has been displayed in galleries in L.A., New York and London; you can't really appreciate it when you view the booklet from iTunes.

Artists are rewarding fans who purchase the actual CD by including extra goods in the packaging. Pearl Jam kicked it off with 1996's No Code, which included nine replica Polaroids with lyrics printed on the back of each. Last year, Beck let fans design the cover for The Information by including a blank sleeve, a booklet and four different stacks of stickers. The CD was eventually disqualified from the U.K.'s album chart since it was seen as having an unfair selling advantage. The deluxe version of Arcade Fire's Neon Bible included two 32-page flip books designed by the band.

It is highly unlikely that the music purchasing trends in the industry will change in the near future; instant gratification will remain the trend across most entertainment media for years to come. While the divide between musicians and fans will grow further apart in coming years, it is the artists who have the ability to monitor size of the gap.

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