Reversed Consumerism

One of the interesting ideals behind our society is that everyone will get paid incredible amounts of money for everything they do, and never have to pay for what they want later.

I think of the music industry as a wild representation of this ideal. And the reality of it, as well.

Music is saturated with idiots who produce a generic product in the pursuit of your dollar, and because the industry that supports this model believes that the only way to maintain profitability is to find a bunch of acts that all look and sound like each other, or in Nickleback's case, like themselves, we're stuck with this as a mainstream product.

Several attempts have been made at producing a more marketable way of taking independent artists and bringing them to the public, but nothing works without some sort of airplay or exposure.

That, and everyone wants good, free music.

The problem with the statement above is interesting. The thing is, I like paying for music. I like knowing that an artist who produces quality material is getting paid because I enjoyed his product and I purchased it. The problem is that good albums are really few and far between. Thank Steve Jobs for iTunes. Not that everyone uses it.

But the idea is just the same.

Today, hip hop is infused with the idea that money can be made quickly if you follow the instructions.

First, you write and record and album. Then, you ditch 3 tracks off that album and you replace them with 3 standard tracks: The Guest Producer song (where Timbaland or Just Blaze create a great sounding and original beat with a hook that disguises your substandard rap ability), the Slow Jam (optional, but the ladies love a slow jam), and finally, the collaboration track. You start the track, but everyone in the middle make the song (right now, it'd be Akon, Kanye, T-Pain, Ne-Yo, Jay-Z, Chris Brown and/or Trey Songs).

This guarantees the album will sell 200,000 copies, even if you spend the last 45 minutes of the album humming.

And since hip hop is the antithesis of rock, the formula there is significantly different. You write an album, everything must sound the same, and be catchy. Then you release your first album and the single in the same 8 weeks, then you release another single at the end of 3 months from the release of your single. Then that's it. Wait for your sales, or not. It's much more hit and miss, which is why you get so many more hip hop artists on the top 40 than rock.

And yet, knowing all this, I paid 5 dollars for an album without listening to it. Without a middle man. No brick and mortar store. No ad campaign. Just hype. I heard it from someone. And Trent Reznor was involved.

If you haven't purchased the album, you can download it for free, but I think you'll agree that it's worth the $5, at least to support the idea that suing your customers isn't the best way to make money.

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust

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