I agree with the general sentiment that downloading entire albums of
anything that isn't out-of-print is not ethical or fair to the artists and
distributors. However, I think there is a backlash against apparent cases
of greed in the music business. At least for me there is a lot of
resentment at the number of groups that have taken the CDSingle/12" format
to new lows... I think Bjork was one of the first artists to play this
game, opting to spread a single over anywhere from 2-6 records. It used to
be that a CDsingle or 12" release was a CD or vinyl with 4-8 mixes, in
other words an EP with substantial amount of material on it. I used to love
picking up Depeche Mode CD singles because I always knew I would get a
variety of mixes. But then people got greedy and started putting spreading
6 mixes over three CDs and charging 9.99 or 10.99 a pop.(Bjork, Bjork,
Bjork!!!).. so if you want to get all the mixes of a song you may spend as
much as 35-40 dollars. I know the price tag that remixers get from artists
has gone up, but I think they are cutting their own throats because it's
just too much.
Even artists are doing the same thing. Take Squarepusher - Selection
Sixteen for instance, or the new Palmskin Production CD. Both productions
feature a few well thought-out songs and a ton of filler or short blurbs
that aren't even songs. They end up being able to stretch the material of
an EP out in order to charge a full length album price. I think they would
be better off to release an EP or just take the time to write enough to
give us 9-10 songs or whatever, but not come at us with this deception of
getting an album's worth when we really aren't. Is this the label or the
artist that perpetuates this deception?
I don't mind paying for music, because I think the artists and distributors
deserve to be paid for their creations. But please, no more CD-Single Part
1of 3!!!
Steve Brown
Pawtucket, RI
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