MusicScribe BLOG

Gerald Wolfe discusses an ever present problem in Southern Gospel music…illegal file sharing. (via Coomer Cove)

Unfortunately, Wolfe’s analysis appears to be getting closer and closer to reality: “There is a very real possibility that we are just a few short years away from not being able to continue to record and produce music any longer.”

I believe the death of the traditional CD as a popular format for delivering music will be much longer than the death of the cassette, as I’ve discussed before. CDs were introduced in 1984. Record labels continued to offer releases on cassette for another 10-15 years. The MP3 format, believe it or not, was actually introduced in 1987. Of course, MP3 and other digital formats didn’t really take hold until the internet boom in the 1990s, but it could be argued that CDs have already endured much longer than cassettes in the face of a popular new technology.

The point is that now, digital delivery (legal and otherwise) is so popular that record labels are reaching a point where they can no longer continue business as usual and expect to survive.

Before the CD is dead, we are likely to see:
1. An ever decreasing quality from most groups as production budgets drop lower and lower. This could possibly be offset by continually improving sequencing software that replaces or reduces a reliance on live musicians.
2. Cheaper and cheaper graphic design
3. An endless parade of “greatest hits” and hymns collections

The key for artists and record labels is to adapt to the changing market. It won’t be easy, and I certainly don’t have all the answers. I’ve shared some ideas on the topic before. I just know enough about human nature to say the problem isn’t going to go away. The digital box has been open for too long.

I know what doesn’t work: DRM. DRM only serves to frustrate honest customers. There’s no DRM that can prevent sharing. If the purchased file has file protection, analog sounds can always be played “in the wild,” captured and converted to a non-DRM format that can be shared. Obviously, regardless of the format, music must be analog at some point in order to be heard. The only DRM that could eliminate sharing would be a DRM that prevents music from being played…and in fact, some DRM comes close by tying a format to a particular piece of hardware (like a cell phone) or a particular brand of music player (like an iPod).

Wolfe believes the key is to educate buyers about the law and appeal to their sense of Christian decency. While that can help, there’s a disconnect. The concept of intellectual property goes against the natural grain to a certain extent. To many people, convincing them that sharing music is wrong is just as difficult as convincing them that breathing air is wrong.

There’s a logical fork in the road when you simplify the issue, as Wolfe did, by comparing the theft of a rather expensive physical object like a new car to a very inexpensive, practically non-tangible item like 3-4 megabytes of random access memory data. Remember the old expression, “I got it for a song?”

Now, please don’t read this and think I’m trying to defend people who steal songs. I’m not. The law is clear enough that the majority of people should know they’re breaking it when they download music for free. The same can be said about people who buy items at flea markets that are clearly stolen goods due to the fact that the items are new and still have price stickers on them from the stores from which they were stolen…but that’s another ball of wax.

All I’m attempting to do here is explain why people perceive stealing physical property differently from stealing intellectual property. People don’t give their cars to total strangers with no restrictions. They do share their music, though, without restrictions. Why? The difference is because the car isn’t being duplicated. It goes with whoever uses it. With a song, the person using the copy (or the copy of a copy of a copy) isn’t depriving the owner of the original copy of listening to the song as well.

It’s fine to use the comparison if it convinces people to do the right thing, but that key issue is always going to present a problem. Wolfe is correct. All the signs indicate that the CD and big recording budgets are going away. Eventually, successful artists like Gaither and Haase will use recorded music as a loss leader to boost concert ticket prices while everyone else (artists who work venues ranging from free to $15/seat) will see their CD quality decline.

At the end of his article, Wolfe states: “Recorded music is one of the most effective tools available to spread the Gospel and encourage Christians. We have to work together to insure its availability for many years to come.” I don’t agree that a lack of music is going to be a problem. We will have just as much music as ever before if not more. It’s getting easier than ever to record music using inexpensive equipment in your living room. Even big name artists like Steven Curtis Chapman make use of their own personal recording studios.

I do share Wolfe’s concern, though, that Southern Gospel music, as we know it, may ultimately take a major hit in overall quality when it comes to recorded music. The larger labels in SG, despite their traditional baggage and methods, know how to cover all the bases…bases that sometimes get overlooked when an artist tries to do everything without the assistance of a label.

UPDATE: If you’ve read this far, it’s well worth your time to click the Comments link and read Mickey Gamble’s response. Mickey is one of the co-owners of Crossroads Music.