Music Sharing: Hypermodern Library?

Recently, I began reading Seth Godin’s blog (largely focused on marketing and business), and I happened to find it very interesting. I noticed that he had become a prodigious author, having printed over ten books, with a number of e-books as well. Apparently, Seth had not yet earned enough of my attention or trust, because I wasn’t willing to purchase any of his books yet. I was content reading his blog.

However, when I went to my public library last Tuesday, I chanced upon two of Seth’s books while browsing. Naturally, Seth had done enough to persuade me to loan out his books from the library. While Seth hadn’t yet made much money off of me yet (whatever advertisement earnings he gained from me visiting his website), he had successfully gotten me to read two of his books. I had progressed from spending seconds at a time reading blog posts, to spending a few hours of my attention reading books.

Since in both cases I was impressed with the ideas (the real product here) in the books, I’m much more compelled to now purchase books from Seth. I plan to grab a copy of Purple Cow and Meatball Sundae after my next paycheck. How did this happen?! How did make the quantum transition from “oh yeah, I’ve heard of Seth Godin” to “I’m going to buy something from Seth Godin?”

Business owners everywhere know that it’s hard for people to make that jump. It requires a lot of “trust energy” to overcome suspicion, and concern over wasting resources (what if I buy this book and it’s terrible!?). There are pizza places I drive by multiple times per week that I’ll probably never, ever go to because I’m unwilling to take that risk, to make that jump.

So how did it happen? I never had to make that jump of course. I made a number of significantly smaller, safer jumps until not only was I unafraid of making the final leap, I couldn’t wait for it to happen (I’m anxious for that check…). Look at the process that occurred:

1. I heard of Seth Godin somewhere online, I can’t remember where. (No investment here).


2. I heard of Seth enough times that I decided to look at his blog. (Investment: about 2 minutes reading the most recent blog post.)


3. Enjoying that blog post, I read the next few as they were published. (Investment: about 2 minutes a day. Note that I could quit at any time with no future costs, and very little invested.)


4. Got hooked on blog and spent a few hours reading archived posts. (Investment: a few hours, and they went fast because I was enjoying the content).


5. I saw the books at the library, and loaned them out. (Investment: no money, a few hours to read).


6. NOW, I'm ready to buy books. (Investment: money and more time)

I’d say that the library was a significant step, in that I was unwilling to purchase from Seth until I saw first hand exactly what I’d get by purchasing from Seth. By minimizing my investment in “testing the waters” (by removing the monetary aspect, I’d imagine the time aspect can not be removed), trust was built in the product, and I now will purchase more products.

This paradigm is very similar to my experience in walking through a record CD MP3 store. Very rarely do I purchase a “new” (from a group I don’t already own product from) album based on the jewel casing, genre, and song titles (full disclosure: I did do it once, on a dare with a friend. Both of the albums we got were awful). Slightly less rarely, I’ll buy a CD after listening to a few snippets on headsets in the store (or 30-second previews on iTunes). Unfortunately, I listen to these albums just about as rarely, and doubt I’ll be back for more.

Far more often, I’ll buy an album from a group only after hearing a majority or entirety of the album itself, or another album by the same artist. My methodology for accomplishing this has ranged significantly (in terms of legal…ness). Let’s look at how I started listening to some of my favorite bands (from most to least legitimate):

• Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Got a nearly free (about 30 cents) CD from a sale from my school’s radio station. Subsequently bought older CD’s.


• Radiohead: Heard my friend play his Radiohead music all the time at college. By the time I got my own albums, I’d probably heard most of the discography.


• Paramore: Watched videos of a majority of their tracks on Youtube. Loved them, went out and purchased both albums and some merchandise (a rare move).


• Sonic Youth: Downloaded the entire discography because I heard they were good (university internet significantly decreased the investment here).

In all cases, I was impressed by the product enough that I’ve become an actual fan, one who’ll purchase the next effort of each group outright, without preview. The difference is what it took to get there.

The problem, as evidenced by my experience with Sonic Youth, is that downloadable music provides the opportunity to never stop “previewing.” When one can obtain all of an artist’s product with an investment so much smaller than purchasing albums, it’s hard not to say yes. There is nearly no drawback (except a possible RIAA suit) to downloading. The “biggest” I can come up with is that you don’t get the jewel case and physical CD. In today’s world, that might actually be a negative!

I’d say the public library is beneficial to author’s who produce multiple pieces of work. In my particular experience, I was able to read two of Seth Godin’s books, and am now compelled to purchase others (of course, the product must be good to reap the rewards). On the other hand, I was very impressed with the first twenty or so Sonic Youth albums, but don’t feel especially compelled to purchase the next.

Why? Libraries aren’t completely free! Sure, you get to read the books for free, but look at all the hidden negatives:

• Limited availability: I was only able to get two of Seth’s many books. Now, for the next three weeks, nobody will be able to get the two I checked out either. I would guess that the library doesn’t stock more than three total.


• Limited utility: I only get to keep the books for three weeks. I get no shelf value, and if I don’t have time to finish, tough cookies (barring my one renewal). Want to look up something inside later? No dice.


• Limited priority: Libraries don’t get books immediately, especially non-bestsellers. If I wanted to read Meatball Sundae, Seth’s newest book, I might have to wait years (or forever) for my library to stock it. This is a non-trivial investment of time.

Now, consider the music industry and how our ability to download affects those same principles:

• Availability: Once a CD goes on sale, for all but very obscure artists, it’s rarely difficult to find a downloadable free copy.


• Utility: In most cases, high-quality MP3 copies are available for download, which serve equally well as the album itself (minus jewel case).


• Priority: Downloads are often available hours after release, if not leaked before official release.

There’s no downside! This leaves musicians and the music industry a few options, not required by most authors fighting the treacherous library monster:

1. (The good one) Focus on cultivating ardent fans who will purchase product despite downloading.


2. Provide additional value only available to those who purchase physical albums, such as providing additional utility (through online content, posters, etc.). It would be difficult to add availability or priority.


3. Regulate downloading to provide a downside, either making only portions of songs or albums available (good luck), decreasing utility (Youtube does this by making it difficult to listen away from the computer), or enforcing priority (allowing downloads, only a certain period of time after release, again, good luck).


4. (The other good one) Use downloading to one’s advantage, remembering the decreased investment it requires. For example, in addition to recording an album, a band could record a few alternate versions, acoustic versions, or B-sides (even A-sides…) and release them for free via download before the album comes out to create “library-type” fan support.

Downloading isn’t quite the modern incarnation of the library, but with some effort and creativity, it doesn’t have to be the end of the musician (it won’t be).