I’ve
mentioned before that when it comes to some of my favorite bands, I will always
go out and buy a physical copy of their CD. For the most part, these bands are
bands I’ve been a fan of for years and have the rest of their catalog on CD
already, but every once and while a new band will come around that I’m really
impressed with and for whatever reason has engaged me enough as a fan that I
decide to go out and buy a physical copy of their CD, rather than just download
it.
A band that
has recently joined the list of artists who’s CDs I will go out and buy is
Saskatoon’s One Bad Son. I have been aware of these guys for a long time and
right from the start I’ve always been impressed with their work ethic, passion
and drive for what they are doing. Recently I’ve been impressed with their
focus on getting their friends and fans excited about their new CD through
social media. Posting links to where new tracks could be streamed, sharing
images from the CD as soon as they received them and then ensuring they made
everyone aware of when the CD was available both online and at retailers like
HMV.
Being
completely engaged and genuinely excited about the release of One Bad Son’s new
CD “Black Buffalo”, the same day I saw the band’s post that the CD was now
available, I went to HMV on my lunch break to pick it up. Much to my
disappointment, the HMV did not have it out on the shelves. I asked one of the
staff if they had received it. She checked the computer and told me that they
still had a bunch of boxes in the back that hadn’t been received yet, so she
would go see if it was in one of those. 15 minutes later she returned and
informed me that there were too many boxes to check through, but if I wanted
she could call another store to see if they had processed their orders. I asked
when the order would be processed. She said tomorrow, so I told her I’d come
back then and I left the store disappointed that the HMV didn’t obviously
didn’t take “New Release Tuesday” very seriously anymore if they hadn’t even
processed their entire new release shipment. Back when I was a rep for one of
the major labels that would’ve been unacceptable. But a lot has changed in the
industry since those days, and this was possibly another example of how much
the industry didn’t seem to care about CD sales. At least I could pick up the CD tomorrow…
So I went
back the next day…
One Bad
Son’s “Black Buffalo” was nowhere to be found. The same HMV employee was
working again, so I asked her if the shipment had been processed yet. She
informed me that it had been “separated” and offered to go look for the CD
again. Another 15 minutes later she returned to inform me it was not part of
the shipment and that she checked with the other HMV’s in the city and none of
them had received it. She even took it a step further and said “for whatever
reason, Universal music is holding back the shipment…”
She then
asked if I would like to leave my name and they would call me once it’s in,
which I’ve done in the past but have never received a call when stock has
arrived, so I simply said “No thanks, I’ll just download it”
Now I know
CD sales are rapidly decreasing, but I think this is another great example of
the music industries own self-destructive behavior contributing to the rapid
decline. Yes, the internet and streaming options are also contribute to
decline, but we can’t just point our fingers at the online impact. I know I’m
not the only person who likes to still buy CDs. I know I’m not the only person
who misses the ‘record store’ shopping experience.
When the VCR
was first introduced the movie industry was worried about the impact renting
movies would have on movie theatres. There was an impact, but minimal because
what the movie industry soon discovered was that people still liked going to
the theatre. The big screen, the amazing sound system, the overpriced bucket of
popcorn were all part of the movie going experience that people still wanted.
Much like I make buying decisions like “I’ll download it” or “I’ll buy the CD”,
people did the same with movies. You often heard “I’ll wait till it comes out
on video” or “I NEED to see this in the theatre”
Yes, I know
over the past couple of years the movie theatres are starting to see a bigger
impact from changes in the industry. One of the bigger ones I believe is that
people are now building their own mini-theatres in their homes. Comfortable
seating, surround sound, big screen and a bucket of popcorn with the option to
go to the kitchen to get more. All those factors are having an impact on the
movie going experience.
That being
said though, it will be a long time before the internet can figure out a way to
take away the “record store” experience but if retailers and labels don’t
figure out pretty quickly that they need to focus on customer engagement and
start recreating the customer experience of buying music we will continue to
see a decline not only in CD sales, but music sales in general. It’s already
happening. Every Tuesday I used to go to
my local music retailer to see what new release came out. Now every Tuesday I
sit down at my computer and peruse through the new releases on iTunes. All I need now is that music elitist looking
at me in disgust for the albums I decide to purchase and my record store
experience will almost be complete.
Going back
to the original point of this rant, like I said one of the things I respect
about One Bad Son is their work ethic, passion and drive for what they are
doing. They are continuing to make an effort to engage their friends and fans,
creating excitement about their new CD. They spent most of the summer touring
all across Canada playing in front of some of the biggest crowds they have had
the opportunity to be in front of in their career. To add to this promotional
engagement machine, their current single is getting tons of airplay and
recently cracked the Top 5 on the Canadian Active Rock charts! In theory, all
the pieces should be falling into place. This band is doing what it’s supposed
to, even more than other bands I follow.
I’d like to
think this is an isolated incident, but sadly I have a feeling it’s not.
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