- There were more services like Spotify and Grooveshark, Netflix and Hulu (but I have some gripes with Hulu). I pay for Spotify, so I'm sure that on some level Universal, EMI, and Sony are benefiting from my vice, but I don't buy music. Other than the luxurious feeling of the cardboard or paper or plastic, what's the point of buying music these days? Nearly every artist these days makes next to nothing from every album purchased. If you really want to support your favorite bands buy a ticket to their concerts and get a shirt while you're there.
- DRM was abolished. I think Louis CK proved that if you offer a superior product to the public DRM free at a realistic price, people will buy it and you, as the artist, will benefit. Radiohead and Girl Talk have also proven this. Each of these artists have offered their works to the public at either a great price point (Louis offering his DRM-free special for five dollars) or at a flexible-price-point ("pay what you want"), and in each case it's worked out wonderfully for them. I don't know if I'm most people, but I'm willing to pay what I think the artist is worth. I'd pay four dollars for the next Katy Perry album and 500 for the next Death From Above 1979 album. I know the biggest flaw with this plan, though, and this is what the labels point to every time - there's a pocket of people who just love stealing. And there are people who will pay a penny for an indie bundle. But I think the indie bundles have proven that people are willing to pay more for a quality product. 20 bucks for an album? No. That's crazy labels, and you should feel horrible for trying that in the late 90s. But I'll pay a lot for an album from an artist that I love.
- Hulu (or similar, legal sites) offered their shows immediately after the show first aired. Most of the television I watch I watch the night it aired, but - since I don't have cable (I don't want to pay 60 bucks a month for the five channels that I'd watch) and digital antennas suck - I download it. If Hulu offered The Office immediately after it aired I'd watch it legally, with ads, and they'd make some money off of it. Can't websites tell which timezone you're in based on your IP address? Then they should know that I'm in the Eastern timezone and know that at 9:30 I want to get my Office on.
Even though I don't anymore. It's kind of a crummy show.
So yeah, tl; dr, I want artists to offer me DRM-free material as soon as possible. I feel like the artist-direct-to-consumer method is not only the best for consumers, but it's also becoming easier for the producers of this content via Youtube, Spotify, and other similar sites. I feel like labels have been obsoleted and they don't want to admit it.
Any input is appreciated. I might be totally flawed and if I am let me know.
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"SMOKEDOG42O taught me how to feel love, but fetus taught me how to make love." - Pablo Escobar