The Value of Music

The Value of Music

With music so easily accessible today, the value in music is dwindling. I can’t help but notice, from my own experience, that more and more people just aren’t buying music anymore. They either illegally download it or burn a copy of the CD from a friend. How this helps the artist I couldn’t possibly tell you, other than it “gets the word out” about them. As great as that is, once the “word is out” and you know about that artist, it is your responsibility to then purchase that music if you like it. The problem is the majority of people don’t. Even if they only like one song, the amount of 99 cents seems to be too much of a sacrifice for a song they could listen to forever.

A prime example would be my song “Better With You.” This song was featured in an episode of Laguna Beach in late 2004. The song was not available on iTunes yet when the show aired, so fans of the show turned to Limewire in order to find the song. What they ended up finding was a rough acoustic version of the song, which I recorded in my bedroom in 2003. This version of the song leaked out and unofficially became the known version of the song. From the artist’s view point, I can’t stand that that’s the version of “Better With You” people know. It was unfinished, sounds terrible, and I was unconfident in the song at the time, which I had every right to be because it was a demo for my own reference. But alas, somebody leaked it out to Limewire. Now that version is used on peoples personal YouTube videos, I can tell when guitarists cover it because they do the same exact count in as I did on the bedroom demo, and I’ve even come across it on wedding photographer’s websites.

So why is this a problem? Shouldn’t I be happy that my music is “out there.” Well, for one, the version that is out there I don’t even approve of, so no. Second, when I find that somebody has used that version of the song in their video it only tells me that they didn’t buy it, they just wanted to illegally download my music because it’s free that way. So, you get what you pay for. But in lies a problem. By doing this you strip yourself from being a true fan of music because you give it no value. You just ripped it off and look at it as a disposable product.

Music makes you feel things you could have never felt before. It’s a connection you will not get anywhere else. It mends relationships, ends relationships, and creates memories you’ll never forget for the rest of your life. But for some reason, in today’s society, that sentimentality isn’t even worth a dollar to most people.

Again, back to my song “Better With You” for an example. I came across a woman’s wedding photography website which had the song playing on her front page. Normally when people write me and ask if they can use a song for something, I give them the okay, so long as they just buy the song off iTunes or get the CD. When I was at this woman’s website I noticed the version of “Better With You” was that old crummy bedroom demo I disapprove of. Obviously she had illegally downloaded it. I took it upon myself to write her and let her know that I have no problem with her using the song on her website, but asked that she at least purchase the album version if she use it. Her response was that she would just go ahead and take it down from her site. So instead of investing a measly 99 cents into her business, she chose to just take the song down. I only found it fair that if she was to use my music to promote her own business, that if anything, paying for that one song wasn’t too much to ask. But no.

But that’s the way most people are. They will take the song and make it their own. Live through it and share it with others. But the moment you ask them to support the artist they shut off and close down. The artist becomes the bad guy, trust me, it’s happened to me before several times.

I am so fortunate to have made it this far in the music business, especially on my own, without a major label. But as my career builds and more people know about me, it becomes a balancing act of trying to maintain this career so I can keep doing it, and trying to get those that know about Five Times August to willingly support it the right way. By purchasing the music, not illegally downloading it, or burning a copy from a friend.

It’s a shock to me how important music is to our lives, yet, so many people take it for granted. They think they are “owed” it for some reason. We’ll make movies blockbusters, and athletes champions, but for a musician to truly rely on their listeners to come out to a concert or buy their albums, it’s a difficult task.

I’ll use sports even more so as an example. Thousands of people will pay high-dollar tickets to see their favorite sports team. Stadiums fill in every major football, basketball, baseball game. For a $12 nosebleed seat, or $150 seat on the sidelines, no price is too much to support your favorite team, yet, in the end how does it really affect the people who watch it other than giving them some excitement for a few hours?

Switch to a musician, where Kelly Clarkson had to cancel a stadium tour last year because she couldn’t sell enough tickets. This is a superstar musician who has had the utmost exposure on America’s most popular television show. You’d think that’d make a difference somewhat, but not for music. Most of you would respond to this with “Yeah, she was popular 6 years ago, there have been a million other Idols since then,” And that’s my point. Most people’s attention span with music lasts maybe a year or two until it’s on to the next popular song.

Others might argue “She’s got a million dollars, she doesn’t need my money.” But it all adds up. The same goes for unsigned artists like myself. Most people assume I have millions of dollars. I willingly admit I am far from having a million dollars in my bank account. In fact, I willingly admit that once my next record comes out I will be on my knees praying people buy it because I have invested enough money into this record that could put me in debt for a long long time. And that’s the honest truth. If my next record doesn’t sell, Five Times August goes on hiatus and I find myself a desk job.

So when you say “It’s just 99 cents, they don’t need it.” You not only kill the value of that song, you’re quickly killing the career of the person that wrote the song. There are so many artists out there that might be “on their way up,” but so many people illegally download their music they are actually struggling to hold on.

With that said. I can’t tell you to spend your money. You work hard for it too. But just as easily as you won’t spend 99 cents on a song, or $15 on a CD you can listen to as much as you want, whenever you want, you will spend $5 on a cup of coffee that’ll be gone in 10 minutes, $9.50 for a ticket to a movie that will be over in 2 hours, or even $35 on a t-shirt from Urban Outfitters that you could probably get at a thrift store for ¼ the price.

Simply put, it’s a job. Just as whatever you do for living is your job. You can’t make a living doing it if you’re not getting paid for it. No ifs ands or buts about it.

I want to wrap up this entry with my feelings on Limewire, because there seems to be a lot of confusion as to what “illegal” downloading means. I want to clear this up for anyone wondering the answer. Limewire, the program itself, is NOT illegal. When you share a file on Limewire, whether it be a movie, a song, or a picture, and you did not make it yourself and are sharing it without the consent of it’s creator, THAT is illegal file sharing. So to narrow it down a little more, I never gave anyone the right to share my music on Limewire, so when you download it, you ARE indeed breaking the law. Not only that, you are hurting my career.

But you might say “Brad, you should be grateful, I wouldn’t have known about you if not for Limewire.” And in some rare cases you might be right. I’ve gained some great fans out of Limewire that ended up buying my music later on. But I reiterate, it’s rare. The majority of people look at it as a way to get music for free, and that’s why I do not like it. If you are one of the people that use it as a tool to figure out if you like an artist before buying their music, I can understand that. But then again, what with myspace, ilike.com, purevolume, and even the 30 second samples on iTunes, why use Limewire anyway? Not only that, if you’ve taken the time to look at the official Five Times August website, you might’ve noticed full streams of every song available for your listening pleasure. But I digress…

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this. I’m hoping it made a difference to some of you. And please, if you disagree with anything I said, go back and read it again because it should really make sense by now. There is no reason for illegal downloading and it’s killing the value of music, and killing the careers of those that make it. That’s my point and there’s no arguing against it. It’s coming straight from the artists mouth.

-Brad