KillingClassicalMusic

Over the weekend, Alex Ross shared the video above that highlights some of the misunderstanding much of the public has about music, non-profits, etc.  It’s funny, and fits well into the style that these new text-to-video clips seem to be developing.  Alex asks this question: “Why have so many people become resistant to the idea of paying for music, even as they unthinkingly drop bundles of money on overpriced coffee drinks?”  Let me propose a possible reason…

Unlike a cup of coffee or a pair of jeans, music is not a tangible item for people purchase, and thus it is more difficult for a consumer to assign a particular (and what she/he perceives to be accurate) value to it.  This creates a mental problem for the consumer who must determine - often with little information - whether or not the quoted price is indeed a good value.  The easiest choice (i.e. the choice with the lowest risk), is to relieve ourselves of this burden by simply choosing not to spend our money on music.  Now, walking away does seem to have a downside (i.e. we have no music), but this downside is significantly mitigated by the ready access we have to free music.

The availabiliy of free music also adds another element of psychological difficulty to the problem.  Music and much other media and entertainment has been available for free, in one form or another, for quite a while.  In recent years, the amount of consumable media/entertainment available for free has skyrocketed.  And with so much media/entertainment available for free, it becomes increasingly more difficult for people to justify paying for it.  I suspect the growing availability of free media/entertainment may significantly grow the psychological barrier to paying for music and other media/entertainment.

These two forces, then, work as the two sides of a clamp, squeezing more and more potential buyers out of the music market.

As a result, the dialogue in the video above can accurately reflect a typical experience for a non-profit music organization.  In a subsequent post, I’ll share some thoughts on how this situation might be addressed, and even capitalized on, by organizations that are willing to take risks and be different.

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