Subj : When everything is digital.. this happens..
To   : George Pope
From : August Abolins
Date : Thu Mar 02 2023 21:53:00

Hello George!

 GP> I have over 2,000 vinyl LPs & 50-odd 45s. . . All older/classic. . .

About 1200 LPs, and about 500 45s here.

 GP> I'd be interested in seeing a pie chart comparing sales of: LPs
 GP> Cassettes
 GP> CDs
 GP> MP3s

I'm sure those stats exist somewhere.


 GP> I have 25K+ MP3s, mostly in discography downloaded sets
 GP> for artists I already  have represented in physical media.

I've purchased far more CDs thatn I've purchased MP3 downloads.  
The record clubs such as Columbia House made it easy and  
somewhat inexpensive.


 GP> What we lost in losing LPs is the wonderful & creative
 GP> album art; like the  Moody Blues -- every album is a
 GP> wonder, with new delights every time you open  one fully &
 GP> gaze upon it. . .

Yes.. the album art and contents (foldouts, inserts, etc) added  
to a great listening experience.


 GP> They try with CD covers, but there's so much less space to
 GP> work with. . .

The "booklet" form isn't bad. But the print can be too small.   
Some CD covers would "fold out" to a larger size, but it tended  
to get annoying to get them back in place.


 GP> I liked having the lyrics printed o the back -- sometimes
 GP> it was the only way  to know what the lyrics were, for me!

I remember when user-posted lyrics were FORBIDDEN on the  
internet.  Now, there is no shortage of sites offering the full  
lyrics. And those sites even request user input for songs with  
missing lyrics.


 GP> The last physical new album I bought was a Frank Sinatra
 GP> Greatest Hits CD when  I first heard he died, trying to
 GP> best the jacking up of prices & potential  scarcity at the
 GP> old "record store"; now I grab everything digital (MP3s)
 GP> for  free. . .

I can't remember the last *NEW* LP I purchased. I gradually  
continued to acquire some used LPs from thrift shops from time  
to time.


 GP> It's my protest against the stupidity of music pricing,
 GP> nearly none of which  goes to the artist, in spite of the
 GP> lying ads saying that piracy hurts the  artists.

Not to worry. There is still plenty of money flowing in the  
biz.


 GP> I used to party with artists next door to me at a private
 GP> recording studio; one tried to give me a band tee, but the
 GP> promoter stopped him & they argued; the  band member said
 GP> he just wants a fan to be wearing their name so others
 GP> hear of them.

Seems short-sighted by the promoter. You were a clear candidate  
to be a walking billboard.


 GP> I have records spanning many years in some artists'
 GP> careers & can often hear  the album that marked the change
 GP> from being artists expressing their love of  their art, &
 GP> their becoming slaves of the corporate hegemony.

I haven't heard too many stories like that.  But I have heard  
of artists losing the rights to their own material due to some  
small print in their contracts.

-- 
  ../|ug

--- OpenXP 5.0.57
 * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)

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