Why You Should (Gladly) Pay $15 for My CD

I'm releasing my fifth recording today. I picked up 1000 copies of this disc on Tuesday and as I stare at the 10 boxes of CDs I wonder "Will I ever get rid of these?"

Every recording I've made has sold out of its initial pressing of 1000 within a couple years, but times have changed. CD sales are down generally for corporate labels and small independents alike. Downloading music, legally and illegally, seems to be the trend for those in search of recorded music. While I understand the appeal, I believe that folks are missing the point that those of us who create music are trying to get across. Even worse, folks who illegally burn discs for others or illegally download music are, intentionally or not, stating that the contributions of musicians have no value.

When I ask folks why they download music, most say because they can do so for free. When I point out that they are denying income to the artist who created the recording, responses range from "Everyone does it," to "Most CDs only have one or two good songs on them, why should I spend $15 or $20 when all I want is a couple of songs." As for the argument "Everyone does it," the only response is the same one your mother gave you whenever you tried to justify your stupidity by saying "Johnny does it all the time." That response is, "If Johnny jumped off a bridge would you do it, too?" Stealing is stealing and expediency doesn't make it right.

The argument "Why should I pay for the whole thing when all I want is one or two," is trickier. Corporate labels do seem to put out one or two hits and fill albums with forgettable filler cuts. However, I don't think that's true of most independent artists. Speaking for myself, I'm proud of every cut I've put on record and have cut 5 recordings since 1991. I have not churned out product just to turn a buck and all my recordings have an hour or more of quality music. Most independent artists spend a lot of time choosing, writing and arranging material and pacing it on the CD, to make an artistic statement that those who cherry pick miss out on.

Another argument I hear for not ponying up the money for a CD is because they are so inexpensive to make, artists should charge less. It is true that with a reasonably small investment in a computer program and a couple of good microphones, musicians are capable of creating a disc and packaging it for a dollar or two, generally those folks sell their discs for $5 or so. Those of us that spend $50 to $100 an hour to record in a professional studio, pay professional musicians to accompany us, and pay for professional graphics, duplication and licensing, have to sell product at market value to make it viable. After I back out all costs and discs sent to venues and radio stations, I'm only making a few bucks a disc. If I factor in my time at the hourly rate I paid my fellow local musicians on the project, I'm losing money. Discs have marketing value and are necessary to develop and sustain a music career. They are by no means a cash cow.

What's outrageous is when people justify illegally downloading or burning music because it is too expensive to purchase a CD, yet they think nothing of spending $3 to $5 on a coffee drink that costs pennies to make, or spending $25+ on a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt that costs a few dollars to make.

I doubt that illegal downloads affect major label artists much. They certainly seem to be making it up in merchandise (t-shirts, etc), and ticket sales to there performances. For independent artists, however, a couple of CD sales can mean the difference between sleeping in their car or sleeping in a cheap motel after the show.

Sooner or later I'll figure out how to make my music available one song at a time for a fair price. Until then, I appreciate the support from those of you willing to spend 15 bucks on my artistic statement (or self-indulgent promotional product, you decide). For those of you who will enjoy my work through an illegally downloaded or burned disc, I hope you spill your overpriced coffee drink on your expensive designer t-shirt!