Does anybody in the music industry get it? I hear stories about artists that get it, but I’ve yet to actually meet one. Take Flick here, whose basic premise is:

“As consumers, we seem to feel entitled to have full access to music, and we wince at the thought of paying for it.”

To which one of his commentors responded:

“I like how you just pull numbers straight out of your motherfucking ass. For example, “Someone that received the promotional copy decided to place the album on a Torrent site. Now anyone can download your album for free and you won’t see a single penny.” That’s just bullshit and if you’re too mired in the glory days of ripping off the consumer, then you’re obviously on your way out.”

The emphasis above is mine. Of course Spencer there is a retard for putting it like a petulant child, but he picked up on the exact same sentence I did; a frankly stupid comment in an otherwise reasonable post. (Apart from that contract Flick signed of course; I mean, Jesus! :)

The idea that a “leak” to a torrent site will kill sales stone dead isn’t just illogical, it’s plain silly Michael Mooring. It suggests that everyone that visits torrent sites can be put in a single category, and let’s be honest, if you go down that road it’s not long before you’re pinning stars on people’s lapels.

If you really do feel the need to categorise, two particular philosophies will stand out, although they’ll have varying reasons for having them, varying levels of adherence, etc. One is very simple and fixed, the other breaks down into various subgroups:

a) Scroungers. People that’ll download everything in sight, often just because they can. Many won’t even listen to the tracks they download, and they won’t buy anything whether or which. These are the people in your skip, they don’t count anyway.

b) Tryers. And why shouldn’t they try? I can try things on in the clothes shop, I can take a car for a test drive, but you expect me to buy 12 tracks because I quite like one? Fuck off. I want to listen to at least 3 or 4 before I’ll commit, and even then I want to be impressed. And if I am? I’ll buy your album. Because I’m not a prick. Oddly enough, most people aren’t.

Of course there are other categories too. There are the scroungers that might not buy your music, but will tell all their mates – again, they won’t all be scroungers – about a track they liked. There are the triers that were impressed with one track but not by the album, and will check out your next album when it comes out. Et cetera.

I bought a Beirut album today after seeing them on Graham’s site – thanks for the reminder Graham – and listening to a few more tracks online. I also downloaded both Kill Bill soundtracks from Pirate Bay, because I couldn’t find anywhere online to listen to a decent bust of it. Guess what I’ll do tomorrow if I like them?