My current musical obsession as of late is Jhene Aiko, the ultra-cool, multi-ethnic songstress known for collaborating with many TDE artists. After downloading her only mixtape on a whim, Sailing Souls, I became hooked on her light vocal delivery and reserved romantic ideals (i.e. R&B music that’s not explicitly about fucking. I’m looking at you, Trey Songz!). Likewise, I got into Imagine Dragons due to a good friend’s recommendation. Their niche brand of electronica-infused alternative rock is not new, but it’s really good; good enough for me to want to buy it on CD even.
That’s where the dilemma lies. Due to my quite expansive musical tastes and desires, which I’m sure many people reading this article share, finding tunes without the Internet would be a completely miserable affair. In fact, regarding the fact that the first album I really got into was The Low End Theory, an album that was released before I was freaking born, I probably would never listen to anything but the one album that happened to catch my interest or a mix CD from a friend’s collection. I would have never discovered Jhene either, unless she got big or I lived in her hometown.
I posit this as I decided to pick up a copy of Imagine Dragons’ debut album, Night Visions, at Wal-Mart. Yeah, it’s a bad start, but hey, miracles happen because Christmas and unicorns right? Anywho, the first warning flag was simply eyeing their “New Releases” section. Excuse me, but didn’t Michael Jackson’s “Bad” come out in 1987? Sure, the artist takes huge precedence, but a re-release is a re-release. The other albums included in the category were in fact new, but not even pressing debuts or “hot” albums. Sorry, Brandy.
But I wasn’t expecting the album to be there. I expected it to nestle among the other important-to-noticeable releases from 2012 like Bob Dylan, Mumford And Sons, Green Day, Nicki Minaj, etc.
I was nearly foaming at the mouth at how deprived and understocked the section was. First of all, the music section cleaves sharply between “secular” and “gospel,” per Wal-Mart’s family-friendly guidelines. I’m OK with that, as long as I can get what I wa- Oh wait, the music that actually matters seems to take ten years to get here, seeing as how Destiny’s Child’s Survivor still gets stocked here in large quantities. The only way new major releases become sold, like Wiz’s new ONIFC or Kendrick’s m.A.A.d city, is if the songs are bowdlerized to oblivion and then given five bonus tracks. Needless to say, Night Visions was nowhere to be found.
I did find at least one copy at Best Buy, though. The major problem there was the small quantity and the fine-toothed comb one needs to actually search for certain releases they might actually have; even new (I found one copy of GKMC on its release day. And no, people don’t buy CDs from the hood Best Buy.). The other barrier “rock-blocking” avid music fans from their beloved tunes is the monopolistic price affixed to damn near everything.
Best Buy and Wal-Mart are actually a safe contenders in terms of value. Nothing ever gets past $11.88, although that is rather steep in my opinion. The most egregious offender is Cactus Records, a solid music haven roughly 10 miles from my house. It’s got an awesome collection of vinyl and CDs, ranging from the most glossy pop record to the more avant-garde, post-anthropological Scott Walker release. Yet every time I see something great, like a classic Ice Cube album or even a pristine copy of Dark Side Of The Moon, the price makes my wallet hurt. They sold last year’s 40-minute undun record for $14.99, a value that’s simply unwarranted.
There’s a lot of personal bias riding on this piece, being that I have a measly cash flow and the amount of music I really want to buy ranges from 2-3 albums every other week, but even the most casual listener will have a frustrating time trying to actually buy music nowadays. And simply saying “Well, that’s what iTunes and Amazon is for now. Stop being a hipster, you… hipster.” does not cut it. I completely agree and practice the purchase of mp3s, but having a CD of your favorite album has many merits that a digital file lacks in droves. I also enjoy vinyl, but for some reason car companies never got to installing LP players in their vehicles. Let’s not forget the fact that I kinda got ripped off trying to buy some.
And let’s not all ignore the fact that Apple sells their gift cards in some really shitty ways. Need to buy one album? Get the $15 card, so you don’t have enough to buy another! Oh, just need $10? Well then, get the $30 pack, ensuring that you’ll be forced to scour through our selection of “low-priced” $7.99 albums until you settle for the realy popular album you’ve been avoiding for years!
IDK, my ugly time trying to purchase music in the flesh only inflames the reason why so many choose to pirate nowadays. Whether it’s buying premium concert tickets or scoping out that one copy of their album in the only independent music store in town, supporting artists we love is a hassle.
Best buy isn’t always that bad…. I’ve often been surprised at what my local store offers in Orlando, Fl ….. It depends on demand I’m sure. If something always sells they’ll re stock. Thats when similar artists get stocked as well it seems. I also don’t hold my breath regarding certain artists music. But why does it seem they have every type of DVD? They couldn’t possibly sell all of them. Goes to show how much of a non money maker CD’s are these days. I remember that being one of Best Buys biggest sections. now down to a shell of it’s former self
Man I would love to be able to buy an album for $15. Where I live (Chile) my only option is to import, and that can go up to $30 or $40. It kinda sucks.
It’s even worse for fans overseas.
Oh yeah! From hearsay, I know that Japanese people barely even think of buying music, so whenever they do its at quadruple the price. And Brazilians have to pay through the nose as well. How is it where you live?
It’s not that extreme here in Germany but the problem comes in when you try to find music of the indie persuasion.
You can still find a great deal of independent music in major retailers but as the horizons are widened every day, you are sure to find yourself looking at prices on the internet, which believe me, are nowhere near the $15 you mentioned.
Yeah, you could get a turntable in a car….sort of….
http://musicandculture.blogspot.com/2011/07/turntable-in-car-sound-system.html
So … How much do you wanna pay for a CD, then ?
I can’t relate to a lot of what’s been said here, so now I’m just curious.
I would totally buy a car with a vinyl player. They could have, to make it easier, just create a vinyl-changer. Somehow I don’t see changing out a vinyl record driving 70 miles on the interstate as quite safe. Especially if the actual sleeve manages to land smack dab in the middle of your windshield making you think you’re in a bad version of Final Destination 9 on the Sci-Fi network. Not pretty.
Just imagine if mobile DJing was a thing… that would be awesome haha. But for the most par I agreet, it’s pretty impractical to have a vinyl changer in the car.
Physical music sales are such a small part of Best Buy’s and Wal-Mart’s sales so they obviously aren’t going to go out of their way to stock some obscure title that isn’t likely to get picked up. I wouldn’t have expected much walking in to either of those places.
A major reason for the low price is that they fail to place reasonable prices on the most recent music. Usually a new product is sold at a slight discount to entice buyers, then returns to an understood premium later on. CDs have been sold at an invert of that model for a long time now. And even worse, the advent of CDs and the proliferation of music technology should have actually lowered the cost of music, as it’s much less to produce. But that never happened because of corporate greed.