What is music's value? I had never thought much about it. Not having much of a connection to music through writing or singing, the work that went into it hadn't crossed my mind, the value of the music hadn't either. The person who creates the music owns it but how do you determine the value?
From a consumer’s standpoint, I’ve never had an issue with downloading music without paying for it. I don’t think that it is stealing, or harming the singer. Personally I think that it is a benefit to the singer, because more people are likely to listen to a free song for the first time than some random song they had to pay $1.29 for. I’m not downloading the music and claiming it as my own work, so it’s not stealing, and most of the time I share new songs that I really like with friends, which can encourage them to listen to the artist too. This broadens their fan base, and which will help them with concerts, promotions, and when new songs come out they know they have avid listeners.
As for how music is priced, I think that how the song was composed, should affect how much it costs to purchase the song. A song that was pre-recorded should not be held at the same value as a song that was composed and sung by the artist without the help of auto tune or pre-recorded sound track. The artist should be able to collect royalties on the song all of their life. They did create the song, and if people are still purchasing it five, ten, or even fifteen later, they should be able to reap the rewards of that. If their song was good, people can show that by continuing to pay for it. The family however shouldn’t be able to collect royalties. If the family didn’t help the song writing process, they shouldn’t be paid for the work of the artist. If the artist wanted to leave them money, that is fine, but I don’t think they should be able to collect on the song itself at all.
I think that music’s value can’t be determined. Music serves an extraordinary purpose to many people. It acts as a measure of release; people pour their thoughts and emotions into singing and song writing. People depend on music as a kind of get away as well. Having a rough day at school or work, or having a lot on your mind, can all be blotted out by a simple song. It can be an escape from reality. Music connects people around the world. The thought that you are listening to a song, and somewhere out in the world someone is probably listening to it too or the song you are listening to has been heard by so many others is amazing. It brings people together, a common ground for light conversation, and if you share an interest in the same genre of music, the conversation can continue on forever. Trying to slap a value on music is impossible, what it does for people is priceless.
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2 comments:
Your statement in the beginning of your blog post, has made me rethink my opinion on illegally downloading music. I had never thought before of the positive aspects of illegally downloading music such as the fact that it broadens the fan base at less of a cost for the listener.
I found it really interesting how you thought that a song should be priced differently based on how it was recorded. I never thought about this, but it totally makes sense. It takes a lot more work and genuine inspiration to create a song than to release a pre-recorded one.
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