Joanna Glasner Needs An Education

I came across this Wired.com column yesterday entitled "Digital Music Biz Ain't Booming" at work and thought "wow, Ms. Glasner is to the music biz as a vegetarian is to the cattle industry." Now I should disclaim that I work in the industry she loves to discount. Do I have problems with the music biz? Yeah, a lot of them. But those are all sitting as Blogger drafts so nothing substantial is really posted yet. But I must protest her commentary about a business she has no real appreciation for.

At any rate, Dear Ms. Glasner:

Here's the deal. Records do cost money. All your friends that think they're finding 1 in a million artists are likely attached to some label (independent or Big Guys). That means there's an entire network of people working behind the music. This costs money, whether you're a staff of 5 or a couple hundred.

Now don't get me wrong. Maybe the economics aren't there to have the staffing that is currently required. But even so it still costs a lot of money to get artists and their latest works into the public. Buzz, even by word of mouth, is oftentimes started by people working in the business (whether they work at a label, concert venue, or publication). How else are you going to hear about the great new artists, even if their contracts aren't equitable? If you want to really get a living from music, you can't just expect MySpace to get you there without blood, sweat, and tears. Plus the agents who also think you're talented and want a million people to buy your CD.

Again, this costs real dollars. I'm not rich by any means but I do really love my job. I won't even consider another place to be. But I also want to get paid because I'm an IT guy, not a starving musician. You might think it's selfish, but my efforts help sell millions of records and everyone that helps make that magic happen deserve their share.

Remember that you may not be a lover of music but I can't imagine life without it. For many people, music is a drug and those artists who inspire us should be patronized. Those artists who comprise your life's soundtrack, conveniently in your iPod-sized palms, should be able to pay their rent, taxes, and get white picket fences too. Again, these dreams cost real dollars.

In short, while it's really easy to beat up on the music business because of bonehead RIAA lawsuits and SonyBMG's DRM-turned-virus debacle, there are many good hard working people who dedicate their lives to selling music. Just because the moral relativists successfully convinced the public (who didn't really need too much help) that music should be free doesn't mean it costs nothing.

Ms. Glasner, I appreciate some of your arguments but you really need to take a larger look at how music gets from the artist's mind to the public's hands. Even if you personally don't value music, there are very real costs of production involved. Perhaps an overview economics class would have been in order before writing such misinformation on a rather respected publication.