Idealism, Pragmatism, and The Music Industry

This week, while browing from the news, I came across a rather interesting article. Entitled, "NiN’s Donation Model Doesn’t Work for Most Artists”, the article explored how this innovative method of album releases does not work for all musical artists. It’s very possible you have no idea what I’m talking about. Well, to explain: recently, two famous bands, Nine Inch Nails (NiN) and Radiohead released their newest albums on the internet, free for download. Fans were not required to pay anything for the download, but were free to make a donation; essentially pay as much for the album as they thought it was worth. This approach was hugely sucessful. According to the article: “NiN made $1.6 million in the first week their album was available for download, and Radiohead said it made more money online than with all of their other albums combined.” Wow! Not bad for a “free” release!

So many were impressed by these results that some believed that this would be the future of the music industry. Every album release from now on free for download? Could this goal be too idealistic to work?

Well, turns out, maybe. The article goes into depth as to how the “donation model” doesn’t work for all, if not most, artists. For starters, NiN and Radiohead were already hugely popular bands and had a very solid fanbase. And yet, as many know, amid the massive music industry, only a few ever make it to the top. For the millions of “undiscovered” artists out there, such a method generally doesn’t work.

The article uses the website Jamendo as an example. Jamendo is based on the very same principles as the donation method; artists upload their music on the site, and users download their music for free, with the ablity to make donations. To be blunt: “Of the 423968 users, 1650 have donated something, little under 0.5%. In total, these users were good for 2712 donations adding up to just over $36,000.” The top grossing artist on the site has made just over $1000 in three years.

So unfortunately for both eager music fans and artists alike, this donation method isn’t the new face of the music industry. And yet, does that mean that this idealistic goal is merely a dream, a giant “what-if” that exists only in musical utopia?

I would argue no. As the article is quick to bring up, Jamendo is not a failure. While the donation method has not raked in profit like artists would have wished, for many, getting their music out is the best they could have hoped for.
“The people who download their music for free, and like it, are potentially the people who visit their gigs, buy merchandising, and tell their friends about this great band they discovered. Lesser known artists will never be able to generate a decent income from donations, but making their music available for free sure is part of a viable business model.”