Intellectual Property and Music

The article entitled “The Problem With Music” by Steve Albini offers a very negative view of the music recording industry from a band’s aspect. Albini is under the impression that new bands are exploited and taken of advantage of in regards to contracts and money, but the simple fact is that every industry employs this strategy and he thinks that the music industry is the only industry that falters because of his specific knowledge of this field. Albini starts the article out by explaining how hard new bands have to work to succeed and how they supposedly have to subject themselves to unpleasant and unfair tasks, but this is a very close minded view of reality. When people break into any field it is very hard to receive recognition and thrive, that is just how American culture works. People are emotional and jealous and the majority of them love to see others fail, whether it’s just to see them fail or for their individual advancement. Some of the arguments Albini makes are completely valid, but at the same point stardom is not an easy thing to achieve and thus bands knowingly subject themselves to this type of treatment by entering the music industry. Record labels earn enormous amounts of money and because it is a business they have no incentive to be accommodating or generous to their clients, they just have to keep them satisfied so that the revenue streams continue. If the music industry has no incentive or mandate to lessen their exploitation of clients, then this trend will continue because money talks and there is much to be made in the current system. That being said, a successful band makes more money than they could spend in multiple lifetimes so they are very capable of beating the system if they are good enough and wise enough to endure a rough rise to fame.