People in the music industry are constantly bitching about declining sales. There are many factors at play here: competition for the consumer's dollar, inferior product, illegal downloads, etc. But if they'd like to take a step in the right direction to improve their relationship with their customers, here's a small suggestion:
Release an album.
Release an album. As in ONE album, not ninety-seven versions of the same damn thing.
I'm not talking about greatest hits compilations or re-releases. I realize companies repackage an artist's hits every few years to try to suck a few more bucks from the diehard fans. If the fans are dumb enough to pay another $12 for the same album they already own, go ahead and fleece those sheep.
I'm talking about new releases with different track listings.
Recently, Poison released a disc of cover songs. Customers who bought the disc at Wal-Mart were treated to a song not found anywhere else: a kickass version of Justin Timberlake's SexyBack. If you pre-ordered The Polyphonic Spree's The Fragile Army on iTunes, you received a Spree song you couldn't find anywhere else.
But the biggest offender of all time has to be the Smashing Pumpkins. Their new album, Zeitgeist, will be released on July 10th IN FOUR DIFFERENT FLAVORS.
There's the twelve-song standard version. Best Buy will have a version with an extra song. iTunes will have another version with a different extra song. Target will sell another version with yet another extra song (and the only version that actually contains the title track).
This is insane. You're screwing the consumer. The fans. The people who put money in your pockets. And yet you wonder why people download songs for free?
If I was a diehard Pumpkins fan (which I'm not, but I assume there are people out there somewhere who fall under this category because I know someone bought Zwan's disc and/or Corgan's solo album), I would have to buy THREE different versions of their new album just so I could hear three songs that I wouldn't be able to find on the copy sold at my local independent record store.
I'm not naive. I know record labels put extra tracks on the versions of the albums for the big stores (Best Buy, Target, etc.) in exchange for advertising in their circulars and prominent space on their floors. But these stores also sell these new releases as loss leaders, so they're making little to no money on these discs in their first week of release.
Here's an idea: instead of putting an extra track on the disc you distribute to Best Buy, why not knock twenty-five to fifty cents off the cost of the disc? Best Buy will still advertise your disc because they'll be making more money off the sales of your disc. And if I'd rather spend a little bit extra and buy it at my local store, I would be assured that I'm buying the same thing that's sold everywhere. It's a crazy idea, but it might just work.
Like I said, this is only a small reason for the decline in album sales. But the practice of putting bonus songs on discs for certain stores can easily be put to an end. Show your customers some respect. Build bridges, don't burn them.
Song of the day: 20th Century Boy by T. Rex
For Those About To Rock (We Will Screw You)
