In the year 2010, only 13 albums distributed from major record labels were able to sell a million copies.  Of those 13, only 4 sold 2 million each, respectively.  I remember way back when just simply going gold was an extreme musical accolade.   In this day and age if your album goes gold, you face the omnipresent threat of going from musical artist to sandwich artist, hence getting dropped from your label.

With the invention of the now defunct peer-to-peer networks such as Napster, Limewire, Bearshare, and Frostwire you could download an entire album in the time it took you to brush your teeth.  With Yahoo! Music and Pandora, as long as you have a strong internet connection you can stream free music to your heart’s content if you can stomach a few annoying ads every once in a while. 

I’m sure like some of you; I fall guilty to have downloaded more than my fair share of music and computer software.  Every time the topic of bootlegging was brought up amongst my peers; I would always use the excuse, “$500 for Photoshop? $15 for a cd? Who has that type of dough lying around? I’m just a broke college student.”  But as soon as the words escaped my mouth I would feel guilty.  I started thinking about how I would feel to not get paid for the work that I did.  To pour all of my heart and soul into a project that I worked so diligent and hard on only to be relieved of my duties?  The thought scared me. 

From that moment on I made a pact with myself to never pirate another piece of music or software again…and I’ve been clean for 24 months.

For those who are watching the change in their pockets I recommend Vintage Vinyl, located in the historic Delmar Loop.  You will find hidden jewels from every era of music and not break the bank.

Jason

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