The Industry of Music (part two)

As I discussed previously, the creation of the CD has changed how we get and use our music almost beyond the imagination...well certainly that of the original consumers of music - the people who bought vinyl records. The data held on the compact disc together with the rapid development of personal computers and software, has meant that we can both use and listen to our music in a huge variety of ways hitherto not possible. It has become portable and sturdy in ways that the LP record simply could never have been. Cassette tape was just tragedy. The biggest change of all is the ability to download those files, again, only possible through the rapid rise of technology and broadband connections.
Perspective time...How quickly?
Just three to four years ago, most of the UK was using a dial up connection to access the internet. That would not have been cost effective to be able to download some of the larger files available. As I said previously - the genie is out of the bottle now.
So, what does this mean for us Beatles fans?
Whilst it was possible to build up a reasonably decent collection of illicit goodies in the pre internet era on cassette tape and vinyl, new additions to such a library were a rare treat, usually bought in some slightly shifty manner at a fan convention from under the counter or perhaps even through the post. Whatever method one came across these "products" there was always a tendency to feel good about hearing something most people hadn't. Now whilst I loved the official catalogue, I was always on the look out for something I hadn't heard. There was always something you'd read in some book or other, alluding to the possibility that there was some secret stash of classic unreleased material held in the "long dark corridors" of Abbey Road Studios. Clues and snippets of information coupled together with the sometimes stark differences between the UK and US releases, or even the mono and stereo versions meant that it was highly likely that there was indeed a "secret vault" which might require say, Indiana Jones to release?
It was in the days when Beatle news was delivered by good old Johnny Dean at the Beatles Monthly that I came across something that really turned me on and clued me up - the first article unearthing the Beatles BBC archive written by the right royal Mr Lewishom. I just couldn't believe that there were all these tracks I hadn't heard. I wondered what Soldier of Love might be or what their version of Dream Baby would sound like. So, the scene is set then - for me it became a bit of an obsession to find out more about the outtakes, rare tracks etc and please bear in mind, that this is all pre internet so real progress was slow!
The first bootlegs I heard that I felt were of any real interest, were the quite stunning Unsurpassed Masters, which a friend had given me. I was blown away by the quality of these recordings even if they were on "mind expanding" cassette tape! These recordings were fascinating to me. As a musician even more so, as you could hear the band making mistakes, chatting and so on...can it be true?....the Beatles are human?
Cut to the present day. No longer does a friend somehow happen by these recordings because they are now widely available online. Of course, there are many sites out there offering a bewildering range of unofficial "products", many of which rival the official releases. These products are created by the demands of the hard core fans. Books like John C Winn's "Way Beyond Compare" publish lists that few completists could ignore. Some people are absolutely hell bent on trying to have a complete.... and I mean complete and total catalogue.
I admit it's not really for me to say, but I don't think these recordings threaten the Applelites, the Beatles or anyone else. It's not as if they were going to release the breakdown of take 7 of any of the tracks anyway is it? It's educational and more to the point just plain fascinating for the scholar, the serious fan or indeed the casual passer by. Stuff you'd read about for years is now suddenly VERY available. So, as I said before the internet is not ALL bad where music is concerned.
The Beatles, who have been at the fore front of many developements in the music industry through the years have missed the boat in a lot of respects. No doubt the official catalogue, all polished up and shiny, will make a big noise when it finally becomes available to the iPod generation. All indications are that the band's sales will go through the roof and that there will be dearth of new number ones sealing their position as THE band of bands once more. But, will it be enough to help save what is a crumbling industry? An industry that now has to consider it's business model, re think its strategy. Or is it pay back time from the consumer? The consumer who is genuinly hacked off and feeling ripped off? The consumer who reckons that music is free? It's a tough question and one which has no straight forward answers. Although I would say that while piracy was a problem before the internet, it just wasn't on the same scale as today - after all you couldn't send a vinyl record down a phone line could you? Going back to the beginning of this article in part one, I described the "tea ceremony" of going to buy a new record. That kind of process just doesn't exist anymore. I can't help but think that in a lot of ways, it's a bit of shame for the generation who miss out on that type of excitement. Then again, for the generation who DID do that, how many are complaining when all they really have to do is a spot of google-ing to find riches Way Beyond Compare?
The question is.... how can anyone compete now?