Part three of my analysis of music marketing in the digital age looks into the implications of modern music consumers lust for instant gratification in the age of the internet.
Adding Value: We want it and we want it now.
I have mentioned that the digital age has brought with it a culture of instant gratification, where savvy consumers have come to expect to get what they want, when they want. The implications of this dictate if the music is not made easily accessible, consumers will go elsewhere and they will probably blog about their negative customer service experience in the process. Clair Chamberlain expanded upon this in our interview; ‘The whole timing issue of which way round things need to happen and the idea that people have to wait is also really archaic because everyone wants something right now.’[1]
A problem which has arisen as a consequence of the rise in illegal downloads is the leaking of albums prior to their official release. A recent example of this is the third album by pop-punk artists “Billy Talent”. The album was leaked illegally via “torrent” networks months prior to its official release on July 13th 2009 after previews of the album had been sent journalists to review. The leak was made apparent by fans, who had begun writing reviews on blogs and forums and singing the lyrics at “warm up” shows. It is only natural that upon reading reviews, curiosity grew amongst fans as to how the new album would sound and they particularly wanted to be familiar with the songs prior to attending concerts by the band. The album was unavailable through the official channels so they procured it another way, albeit illegally.
I propose instead of cursing those who leaked it, Billy Talent should have embraced it. They could have allowed fans to stream or download some of the album songs before the album’s official release. That way fans would have heard the album and they wouldn’t have lost out on sales because fans would have been able to pre-order a physical copy in advance. If they are going to play songs live fans are going to want to listen to the tracks and if they can get a copy they will.
A further example of artists missing opportunities and not allowing fans instant access to music comes from UK rock band Muse’s release of their latest single “Uprising”. The band sent a message out to all fans on their mailing list to say the new single was available to download now. However, as you scroll down to download, it becomes apparent that the single is available for download everywhere in the world, except for the UK, whose fans have to wait a further month until it will become available for download. The band are practically encouraging their native fans to download illegally as they are given no other option. Why should they have to wait when their friends around the world do not have to?
[1] Chamberlain, C (2009) Interview 5, 22/07/09 in person. (Qu2) Appendix C (p2)
Really nice read, bookmarked.