Executioner’s Mask: Much more cheery in person than on record, evidently.
One of our chin-stroking big topic episodes is coming your way this week, as we discuss the thorny question of the cost of digital releases within the culture of the darker music scenes. What shapes artists’ decisions regarding price points? What impact do people’s motivations with their music play in how they try to distribute it? And what goes through the head of the budget-conscious music purchaser as they’re browsing through slews of releases on Bandcamp? All these questions and more on the latest episode of We Have A Technical. As always, you can rate and subscribe on iTunes, Google Play Music, or download directly or listen through the widget down below.
Good discussion. I would have liked more naming and shaming…but I understand the sensitive nature of that. Also, I would have liked to have heard some reference to the EU digital tax that EU residents have to suffer. In summary, EU residents pay the price you see on Bandcamp, plus the VAT rate of the country they reside in. On average, that’s about 22%. So basically all the issues you mentioned are compounded for those living in the EU. Additionally, GDP per capita is higher in the US than in the EU, so i don’t think your analysis explains higher download pricing in the EU. You could be better off looking at buying tends and preferences in the EU and specifically in the countries where the labels are based. I’m sure you looked at a lot of German labels – traditionally, Germany has had some unfavourable tendencies towards the consumption of digital media and quite often pushes tangible media instead. Food for thought – thanks again for the interesting discussion.