Every record store and record chain has folded; they don’t exist. They do not exist. And the only two outlets that would still sell CDs were Best Buy and Wal-Mart. They now have stopped selling it. There’s nowhere you can go into a store and buy a CD in America. That’s how it is.
I had my own label, Rising Force Records, and made records, but had them distributed to the chains, to the retailers, but the retailers are gone – there’s no physical sales anymore – so I’m not gonna make the CDs and have ’em put into trucks to go nowhere.
The business has changed dramatically from what it was even just a few years ago. Music isn’t even distributed the same way anymore. Even CDs are becoming a thing of the past. The Internet has made it easier to get my music out to anyone who wants it, but at the same time, I feel like we’re losing the mystique.
Let’s hope I never end up on a deserted island, because I could never make a decision on which three CDs to take with me.
I was in Paris for nine years, starting in ’98. One of the great things when I was first there were these wonderful CD collections, selling for almost nothing. For ten euros, you’d get three CDs of all the Gershwin songs.
Basically, the Internet is just the way now. It’s the end-all, be-all of self-promotion. It’s not like you got to burn CDs and pass them out or sell them. The Internet is a tool that reaches billions and billions of people. It’s like a no-brainer to tie it in with self-promotion, or even label promotion.
Technology has long been the driver of growth in the music business from the invention of lacquers, eight-track players, vinyl, cassettes and CDs.
Pretty much all the programming on our CDs is done by me personally, so I’ve kind of been able to have complete control of what sounds I’m looking for to complete a song.
When I was about 14 I remember thinking when it came to proposing to my future girlfriend, I’d make a CD with all her favourite songs and a message that said, ‘Will you marry me?’ Shows you what a romantic I was. No one listens to CDs any more. It’s all about iTunes.
In the course of transferring all my CDs to my iPod, I have found myself wandering the musical hallways of my past and reacquainting myself with music I haven’t listened to in years.
Cash – in savings accounts, short-term CDs or money market deposits – is great for an emergency fund. But to fulfill a long-term investment goal like funding your retirement, consider buying stocks. The more distant your financial target, the longer inflation will gnaw at the purchasing power of your money.
Whether such socialism is foolish naivety or heroic idealism is a matter of opinion, but what is certain is that, however many CDs are sold or tours sold out, the sound waves themselves are free.
I loved Fugazi, the D.C. hardcore band, because they always did everything themselves. They had their own label, and the CDs always cost nine dollars, the T-shirts always cost eight dollars, the shows always cost five dollars, no major label.
Look at music for what it’s worth around the world and not just America. In other countries, people are still buying CDs and going to record stores. But in America, it’s all about digital. The game is breaking down. But, look at me, you need to know how to play the game the right way.
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