So thanks punk ass kid.

The availability of music online is going to render most music stores obsolete and that’s why I like Newbies going forward because of two reasons. First, they have a diversity in the store, just like Wal-Mart and Best Buy on a smaller scale. They have CDs, DVDs, some video games, some toys and clothes and gag gifts and collectibles. The second thing they have, which I can’t find in any major retailer, are vinyls. They always had a lot of hip-hop/club stuff for DJs but they are starting to expand their selection as more artists put out vinyls copies and labels are re-issuing old albums. I honestly believe that things are going to come full circle to like the 1940s and 50s, albeit more technologically inclined. Bands will continue to put out hard copies as vinyls but CDs will fade away because you basically can get the same quality as a CD on the internet for a fee or free. But for music collections and fans such as myself, there will stories like Newbury Comics that will be accurately described as record stores.

Elvis didn’t put out 14 song albums with a few singles on there, he would record a single and Sun Records released it as a 45 with that song and a B-Side. I think iTunes is going to replace that but keep that same production process alive. Rather than wasting money on extra songs and studio sessions, pop artists will record 3-4 songs and they will be released directly onto iTunes and maybe at the end of the year, if the artist has like 4-5 hit singles, MAYBE the label will compile them all onto an album. People who love music and want to hold onto something tangible or hear the music in a slightly different way will have their albums and people looking for a hit single or a club song can find it on iTunes. 20 years from now, that’s how I see things going down. I’m really excited to see how things shake out.

And let me tell you, I love my old hair bands but they balanced out some of their hits with some really awful stuff on their albums and we ended up paying for it.

should have said “openly sell illegal copies of US based artists…”

And another thing, I live in a country that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid and trade tax benefits, yet they openly sell US based artists and software on the street, in shops, etc.

Common place throughout the world? Yes, but what they don’t mention is that if they do the same to local artists and software companies, the police will come down on them hard. If my governemnt going to allow foreign government affiliated gangs make millions off of this illegal trade (and other things that are MUCH worse than illegal downloads) and give them hundreds of millions more, I’m not going to lose sleep from downloading a few songs and movies.

Even when I was in the US I’d never buy from record stores, I’d go to trade stores… I’d give them a cd or dvd I didn’t want anymore and get another one for free or no more than 1$.

Now I just download illegaly or buy from the artists themselves, most of the bands I listen to give away free stuff if you buy their single and is usually pretty cheap too.

I also have “morals” about what I’ll buy and download illegally. An up-and-coming artist or a genre or a Canadian artist, I’ll buy because I want to support it. I’ll pay for a Killers album because I want to support that type of music.

As for established artists (i.e., Rolling Stones) or embarrassing pop (i.e., Fergie, Britney), I’ll illegally download or just plain go without. The music isn’t classic, it’s only fun for the moment so if I can’t have it for free, I can live without it.

Every single Rolling Stone issue starts off with the plight of the record companies, they’ve been suffering for years.

Oh yeah, and Springsteen is God.

Now I download everything for free. There are so many options, if they take some down, others will pop up. Not too mention it’s much faster than actually going to the store.

I’ll pay for movies in the theatre and concerts but not for DVDs and CDs or most software (especially now that they’re putting commercials in there too).