CD Burning & The Human ChoiceThis something that I need to address and haven't so far. I know that lot's of people are taking advantage of CD burning these days. Hell, they include a burner in most newly purchased PC's. If you don't have much money (I'm sure the main reason) or live in places where you can't buy the music in stores from artists that you like (again usually about money) than a CD burner is what you use. Friends exchange music in this way. I've even seen TLH burned CD's in cities that I gig that were copied from the promo CD I sent to get the gig in the first place! In the recent past Cd's have cost a lot of money. If you don't know someone's music personally or hadn't had it recommended to you, than it was hard to justify buying a copy. Hey, $18 and up for a CD is a lot of money to chance losing. (I recently paid 23€ for the new Placebo!).
Burning hurts all artists that make and sell Cd's. The difference though is the amount of hurt. A 50% drop in sales (!!) certainly hurts me a lot more than it does Metallica (for example). Then again, Metallica's costs are a lot more than mine AND besides; it is rightfully their money. CD burning has certainly been a major factor now in the disappearance of the independent record companies. I'm not laying all the problems of recent years on the little CD burner either. High CD prices, lot's of mediocre music, DVD's and video games, the huge sensory overload and on and on are just some of the reasons. I just don't think the world is as enamored with music anymore. In an increasingly selfish world, music is too personally of an experience perhaps? Hell, people are not even buying books anymore as is evidenced by the disappearances of bookstores.
The record companies and musicians are fighting back. Most everyone has lowered his or her prices drastically and of course this was the most important thing to do. Excuse me but new CD's for less than 15, $ or €, is a good and fair price. You don't even have to leave your home to get the cd either. I mean how easy can it get??
Personally speaking I can say that my sales figures are down drastically for "Celebration What For". I don't lie all of this as the cause of CD burning but it is one area where I can perhaps make an effort to remedy. Making CD's affordable will help. If you can't absolutely afford a Terry Lee Hale CD and need one then by all means download it. I DO understand. Otherwise please know that you buying my music, either online or hard copy, directly supports me and my ability to continue to make recordings, tour and indeed, pay the rent and buy food. If you do indeed enjoy the music made by real live people then please, DON'T BURN! Buy their CD's! It's the human choice!
