wommusic
Key Master
Hello Everybody,
We have an opinion about Amazon's new strategy of selling tracks for $0.69 - and you can read it here:
http://www.wommusic.com/2011/05/amazons-new-digital-pricing-is-unfair-to-artists/
We would love for you to share your opinion about this issue by leaving a comment on the post. And thanks in advance for your time in reading it in the first place!
Best regards,
Anders Chan-Tidemann
Kurt's manager
http://www.wommusic.com
Basile865
Member
Anders,
Does the majority of Kurt's CD sales come from Amazon? I wonder also what percentage of Kurt's fans discovered him through Amazon while viewing another artist. If those numbers are high then theres reason to fight this, if they're not too significant then tell Amazon you simply wont offer Kurt's music for sale with them anymore.
I'm assuming you guys have a set profit margin per track sold that you want to make. Lets say its 50 cents a track. If Amazon wants to cut into their own margin to gain market share then let them go ahead. If its a percentage per track and it hurts you guys then thats unacceptable.
In my head it wouldn't hurt to pull Kurt off Amazon and sell directly from his website or other .com's. This isn't some Pop star who just played on a talk show in the afternoon and said go grab my CD off Amazon.com! This is Kurt. I found out about him through word of mouth by a fellow guitarist who loves pushing the envelope of music. He is a figurehead in modern jazz. If he wants to sell music without Amazon I don't think its going to make it any more difficult for his fans.
Thats just my thoughts on it anyway.......I could be wrong! Just depends on your numbers I guess.
wommusic
Key Master
Thanks for your feedback Basile865. This goes beyond our own self-interest and ability to profit to the max. We are not that exposed to the whims of Amazon, luckily, and we do as a matter of fact sell directly from our websites here:http://www.kurtrosenwinkel.com/shop/
However, our comment is more based on what does this do overall to the industry, to artists and to other producers of music - even to the fans. If Amazon could demonstrate that more people would purchase more tracks to make up for the reduction in price, then we would be all for it. Our aim is to spread this music as far as it can go. So in our view a strategy like this has to have a global, positive effect for it to not just be selfish on Amazon's part. It's our hypothesis that this is just what it is - selfish and shortsighted - because it won't work (at least we don't think) even for Amazon.
JorgeRubiales
Member
A short-sighted move from amazon indeed. In addition to your post, I would like to know who was naive enough to think that people would switch platforms just for 0.30 less.... I mean, not a lot of them.
Let aside the issue on producer's money. Jazz players must become ace studio players, because if everyone sells at that price we'll only have 1 take per song, at most! Yeah, I wonder how would an album that was mixed in 7 hours because of budget constraints...
Basile865
Member
I may have mis-worded a sentence - I know you already sell directly - I meant to say it shouldn't hurt to pull Kurt from Amazon and just sell from here and other .com's.
Of course we all take concern for the well being of the entire community of musicians who sell their music on Amazon and I'm sure many will raise hell. If it were me and they were trying to cut into my profits just for them to gain a bigger market share of mp3 sales I'd pull my music from their site.
The reason so many people use itunes is because its simple. Apple provides the hardware that links to a software. You buy the track and it goes directly into your ipod and off you go. Of course you can do this with other mp3 player brands and use Amazon but I guess the majority of people like how streamlined the itunes system is.
In relation to spreading Kurt's music as far as it can go - I think it would be an interesting study to start a thread here called how did you hear about Kurt? That could shed some light on how to target more fans. Rarely have I ever became a fan of a musician or group because an mp3 selling website said if you like "x" you also might like "z". I found out about Kurt through a guitarist from Sweden and then followed up through watching youtube videos to the point where I was overwhelmed by this great talent. From there I bought the music and told 20+ other people about it and inspired some nothern friends to catch him in person at some NYC shows. Id definitely say the majority of my friends who really caught on and loved it were fellow musicians.
I dont want to come off as thinking profit to the max, but Kurt is definitely a musical mind I want to see supported to make a comfortable living and be able to study and compose without limitation. My parents aren't major music heads, but they do know who Pat Metheny is and John Scofield. One could argue that they know about those artists because they've been doing it longer - but I think its largely due to the fact that Pat toured with Joni Mitchell, and John worked with Miles Davis. Those sorts of opportunities pushed them beyond a guitar players circle so to speak.
So basically what I'm envisioning is Kurt Rosenwinkel and Justin Beiber summer tour 2011 Extravaganza!!!! Just kidding. I'm sorry I'm probably rambling, but on a more serious note I know Kurts genius will surpass any companies short sighted method to increase mp3 sales and I wish you guys all the luck.
gleepglop
Member
This is a drag, because I actually like Amazon a lot more than iTunes. They went with higher bitrates and DRM-free tunes first, and their search engine and browsing is more efficient. I only buy from iTunes if no one else has it. That said, I agree that this is a bad move.
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