In
some parts of the world, traditional music sales outlets
will disappear from the streets and bazaars completely
unless advertising executives help in thinking really
hard about innovative approaches and promotions to
get back customers into real music stores. There may
just be a little bit more time before this extinction
of music outlets happens because in selective parts
of the global economy e.g., India, a large amount
of existing physical media (CD & DVD) is still
bought and sold.
In
Sydney or San Francisco, who would have thought even
a year or so ago that one would be purchasing credits
for downloading music from Apple's iTunes from a computer
or office supplies shop (Officeworks in Australia)
or even buying a CD from a coffee shop (Starbucks)
rather than the traditional music outlet.
In
the US, "listening lounges" are being trialed
where shoppers can comfortably listen to music. Do
you remember when you first listened to the soundtrack
of the original Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai
or a Coleman Hawkins piece? If I am not mistaken,
you were probably listening to the music in a store
gently guided by someone who knows a lot about music
or a friend. On the Internet amongst online music
stores you learn very little. In spite of the march
of technology, the CD cannot get much smaller otherwise
a lot of ancillary, but very important information,
will be lost or not be legible. In online stores,
you are lucky if you get a thumbnail cover image.
Removing the information that helps listeners to understand
the wide network of people that developed the music
is a great threat to the culture of music everywhere,
future preservation and an obstruction to the education
of new listeners. |
