iTunes Losing Favor Among Artists?

by Tim Stevens on September 1, 2008 at 10:30 AM

It used to be that if you liked a single track from an artist, you were stuck either paying for the full album or buying a woefully overpriced single. In the age of iTunes, a single track is just $.99; it's about the same price whether you buy the whole album at once or individual tracks. This means fans can more easily pick and choose, but it also means a lot less money for artists who tend to only have a handful of popular tracks per album. Are performers responding by working to include more consistently good tracks on their albums? No, they're starting to boycott iTunes, turning to other online services that enable album-only sales.

Kid Rock is the latest to realize that the per-track pricing scheme is costing him money. He didn't use iTunes for the release of his latest album, modestly titled 'Rock 'n' Roll Jesus,' and neither are Jay-Z or AC/DC turning to Apple with their albums. So the question is: are the artists at fault here for not producing better music, or are the fans ruining music by not taking an album as a whole, only buying tracks with catchy beats? The truth surely lies somewhere between the two -- maybe a little more toward the former option in the case of Kid. [From: arstechnica.com]

Tags: album, apple, itunes, kid rock, KidRock, music, tracks

Comments

cloudman4utodaySep 1st 2008 11:05AM

Neutral

Whichever artist decides to boycott iTunes I'll be sure to boycott as a consumer and not purchase any of their over priced CDs. What a joke; People finally have a way to purchase music they enjoy and the money-grubbing artists don't like it.

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Jo TSep 1st 2008 12:02PM

Neutral

Until you see that Apple are going to REINVENT THE ALBUM....

http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1035333&c=1

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NJSniperSep 1st 2008 6:15PM

Neutral

Greed and mediocrity killed the record business. Sounds like they never learn.

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FrankSep 1st 2008 7:06PM

Neutral

If an artist truly wants to sell their album and make good profits, then they need to produce albums with consistantly re-listenable tracks instead of putting 2-3 meaty ones and the rest being just filler.

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EmmaSep 1st 2008 10:26PM

Neutral

I have to agree that the artists are just being greedy. I mean, iTunes does have an album only feature but people (me included) hate it. The whole point of iTunes was to be able to buy the tracks that you like and not the whole album. I don't buy regular cds anymore, anyway. All the ones I have are in iTunes.

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SouetteSep 1st 2008 11:22PM

Neutral

The writer nailed it! Each album now days only has 2 or 3 "good" songs worth listening to over and over. Used to be you could lay in bed with your headphones on and listen to the newest LP over and over for days while reading the entire album cover inch for inch. I you were really lucky, the album came in a double cover which opened up and you were in heaven with all the photos and words. Now, it's a blessing if you can actually read the #4 font on the 5 x 5 inch CD cover. C'mon you 21st Century music artist....put out some REAL work in choosing your music. Most of you have been flacid in your attempts to put a real album together yet you still over-charge for the weak albums/music to support your "BLING!" You're going to be a "Behind the Music" episode before to long if you remain greedy.

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BradSep 2nd 2008 12:19AM

Neutral

Well, I guess it's a good thing that I don't listen to these bands and their so-called "music" anyway. When will these record companies learn to change with the times and technology? The bands should be happy that people who use iTunes are still PAYING for the songs when there are millions of people who illegally download entire albums with sites like Limewire. It's all about greed and especially coming from artists who have millions of dollars (has Metallica boycotted iTunes yet?). Most of these people make their money going on tour. It's been almost a year since I've purchased a cd and I don't plan on buying another one now that I can buy the music online and download it to my ipod.

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AnthonyTSep 2nd 2008 8:40AM

Neutral

Fans of an artist will always want to buy and have their whole album where as casual listeners want to just have the popular tracks. iTunes is a great way for people like me to listen to new bands without having to drop $15 on an album. I guess these artists would rather make no money (boycotting iTunes or having their songs downloaded from file sharing sites) than some money. Now that they got most of the file sharing sites either out of business or legal it sounds like an attempted money grab. Sorry guys, I'll pass on your new "music" and listen to Tom Petty's Greatest Hits on my ipod. Jackasses!

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