I’m no economist (though I did make a B in my Macro class in college) but, as we all do, I have my own opinions on many economic topics. The recent recession is, of course, one of them. I have pondered and read about the causes and effects and I have come to realize that a down fall is necessary. It’s the economy’s way of weeding out the superfluous corporations and businesses to balance competition. Sure, it may take out some big players (for instance, Circuit City) that you wouldn’t expect to fall which will mean people lose jobs (making everything worse and perpetuating hard times) but, it has to happen from time to time. If you need a for instance, just look at the prices of electronics and how stores are having several days of “Black Friday” deals. The sudden need for real consumer awareness has made stores and manufacturers actually have to compete for business. At this moment, the general consumer seems to be both cautious and confident which is a beautiful combination.
The ebb and flow of the economy naturally keeps companies honest, so to speak.
The entertainment world is affected a little differently. While movie and marketing budgets may get cut, you will seldom see (save promotional “deals” at theaters) lowered cost to see a movie. In fact, documentaries such as “Micheal Jackson’s This Is It” had elevated ticket costs. God knows you won’t get a (real) break for theater concessions! They do give you choices now that make you think your getting a deal but you’re still paying five bucks for ten cents worth of soda.
As far as music, a CD used to cost twenty dollars or more until file sharing started to take off. Then the big cheeses decided to drop it down. They even released statements to get the word out (this was in the late ‘90s). However, with rising cost of fuel, labor, equipment and everything else, the cost of seeing live shows went up.
Here is where it gets weird for me. I was thinking about movies like “New Moon” and how much money it will generate when I thought “that’s something that NEEDS to be bootlegged.” Not to rip anyone off but just to calm it down. I’m sure someone has already snuck a video camera in and put it on DVD for street sales but that won’t do much in the way of ticket sales. It was then that I stumbled into a conundrum- Does illegal downloading actually help the music industry?
I know, this is heavy for me, too. Over the last couple weeks, I have come across a few blogs that suggested it but it didn’t stick to me. Perhaps, in the micro economy (a class I was not required to take) of the music industry kind of relies on the theft of music. Think about it, nobody gets paid for pirated music (except the P2P developers by the ads and the sales of the adless versions of their software). So, knowing people want as close to free music as possible, companies rise up to offer solutions. Giants like itunes who charge extra for DRM free files are being combated by streaming sites with purchase options (Rhapsody, Napster, last.fm, etc.) and straight purchase sites (like Amazon.com, Wal-mart, and, my fav, emusic). Without the competition of free music, the prices for downloads across the board might be a buck fifty or more and CDs might be pushing thirty by now.
Of course, you know I, in no way, condone the stealing of digital media (see my blog on Thieves) but I have to admit it might help keep the industry honest, so to speak.
Just sayin’.
