Piracy and Australian independent music: Q+A with Nick Crocker
| 2010-09-22 16:30 | Written By:
Just how is music piracy - wherein consumers download artists' music without paying for it - affecting the Australian independent music industry? It's an important question.
We broached the topic with Nick Crocker [pictured right], co-founder of the real-time online music chart We Are Hunted.
What's your opinion on music piracy, Nick?
It happens a lot and I think even the worst case scenarios don't quite capture just how far the music consuming public has moved away from paid product. It's very hard to police or stop. It's clearly not something that rewards artists or the teams around them, and so at some point, something has to give. I don't know where all this ends up, but I do know that people are consuming more music now than ever before, so there's demand, there's just not a clear way for most artists to turn that demand into something tangible.
Do you see it as a positive or negative thing for artists?
Negative. Definitely.
What - if anything - should we do to combat this mentality?
Embrace it. You're in a mad grab for people's attention, so if you have a choice between paid and no attention and free and some, you have to go for free. I think diversifying the products you sell is important, I think understanding what it is your fans want also helps.
Should such acts be accepted as the norm, or should industry bodies and labels continue to push against the tide through lawsuits and fear-mongering? Is there a better way?
Labels are corporations, they should be maximising value for their shareholders. I don't know if we're there yet, but we have to be close to a point where litigation is working against rather than for major labels. But I understand why they do it. My view is that the ship has sailed and energies are better focussed on what's next, not what was. It may be another decade before the incentives for litigation are so small that it stops, but I think the music industry will move slower than we anticipate. There is still a huge amount of fat in those organisations, especially internationally.
Should the onus be on the artists to try harder for fans' financial support in the face of technological evolution?
Artists should make music. If they are also the management, then yes, they should be connecting directly with fans. But it's a slog, there's no doubt. We are at a weird place where someone will pay $500 for a weekend of live music, but not see enough value in the digital product to pay a few bucks for an album.
Finally, has piracy helped create a level playing field between the independent music industry and the majors?
No. I think it's smashed everyone.
Thanks for your time, Nick.
Nick Crocker is a Product Manager at Boxee in New York. He remains a Director at Native Digital – a digital agency he founded in 2008, and a strategic consultant to We Are Hunted – a site co-founded with Wotnews.
For more info on AIR and Australian independent music, visit http://www.ausindies.com.au/
