Music Is None Of My Business

So I read the other day that Lily Allen has been moaning because she makes no money off her record sales. Also, over the weekend, me and Nat visited two seperate Zavvi stores to check out their closing down sales. Now I find out that Frank Turner's "Love Ire & Song" is being re-released. Maybe with Frank now starting to crack the states the label found this necessary. I have no idea.

It's just all a bit fucked up. I only buy music digitally now, so it's a bit rich coming from me, but I can't help but think of all the independent music shops that have shut over the years. Shops owned by people who generally LOVE music, and not some graduate dork who just sees the salary and bends over. Now, one of their conquerers, Zavvi (Virgin) are themselves shutting down. You would think that the clearance prices would render things cheap. Oh no. DVDs were still up to a tenner a time. This I have a huge problem with. The mark up on DVDs is extortionate, and always has been. Also, frequently, even with piracy, films have already made a killing at the cinema before they even reach the home viewing stage. So to ask people to pay up to £20 for a film, regardless of "special features", and then sometimes release a special edition, which some halfwits shell out again for, is just outrageous.

It's the same with HMV, whose days are numbered in my eyes. Think of all the music around today, all the great albums you want to hear. HMV STILL can be seen charging 16.99 for a fucking cd! Now, I'm no Peter Jones, but I thought the words "adapt" and "survive" were quite closely linked in the business world.

Back to the label/Lily Allen thing. This model is ancient, and I understand that in days gone by, labels were essential to some artists success. Not anymore. Yet the majors are still creaming as much as they can off other people's creations. Although shits like Allen aren't exactly innocent themselves. Look at all the fucking useless merch. Look at the ticket prices, even with all the sponsorship deals.

It seems Frank is going for it now, and whilst this makes me a little sad, I know he's still honest and in it for the music. So who am I to complain?

Having said that, Fat Mike said it best: "Dinosaurs will die". I can't FUCKING WAIT.