Want Music To Be Special Again? Invest In It.
I came to a musical consciousness just before the streaming era began. In elementary school, my parents bought me a few CDs for Christmas. I put them in our CD player in the living room, laid on the floor, and listened to them all the way through. This was the first time music ever felt like “my music.”
In 7th grade, I saved up my allowances, and pooled some birthday money to buy a 2nd generation 2GB iPod nano. I was over the moon. At this time, I only had a half a dozen CDs, so I put all of them on my iPod, and listened to them non-stop. Then, my older brother introduced me to the magic of the iTunes store.
Every Christmas and birthday after this, I hoped I would get iTunes gift cards. When I was lucky enough to get one, I asked my friends for album recommendations. I got the older albums from bands I already liked. I browsed the iTunes store homepage for recommendations.
I high school, I dove headfirst into music. I borrowed CDs from my friends, I listened to pop radio constantly, I bought iTunes gift cards for myself, and I always picked up new CDs to expand my collection. Then, later in high school, I started scanning YouTube to hear new releases from artists and watch their music videos.
I graduated high school in 2012, and went straight to college. That’s when I first heard about Spotify. At first it sounded too good to be true. Millions of songs, available to stream on the internet for free. I immediately downloaded the program, and started listening to all the albums I couldn’t buy.
We can fast froward the next nine years, as I completely converted to streaming services, made the switch to Apple Music (I like to see indie artists get paid nearly twice as much), and virtually ceased purchasing albums.
Over this period of time, I saw two very strange things happen to my music listening experience. First, my palate for different genres grew exponentially. I was now listening to hip hop, electronic, southern rock, metal, and acoustic music. Second, my consumption of music also grew exponentially. I was listening to more albums than I ever had before, and spending less time with each album. In high school, I saved up my money and bought a CD that I had my eyes on for weeks or months. When I finally got it, I listened to it dozens of times, studying the lyrics and musical arrangements of each song. But when I got on Spotify, it became a common thing for me to listen to an album one time, and then never hear it again. I didn’t pour over the lyrics, I didn’t remember the song names, and I quickly forgot about many of them.
There wasn’t any investment.
Maybe this is a familiar story to you. Recently, new album releases haven’t been making me feel like they used to when I was in high school. They seem dry, and uninspired. Because I listen to so much music now, it has started to seem like so many songs sound the same.
A month ago, my friend texted me and asked if I wanted to go see an artist called Dayglow in concert this September. Since the pandemic began, I hadn’t seen live music. Even though I had never listened to or even heard of Dayglow before, I decided to buy the tickets. Why not.
Now, a very interesting thing is happening again. I’m loving Dayglow. I’m pouring over his lyrics. I’m appreciating his arrangements. I’m imagining how he will perform these songs live. His music is special to me, in a time when not much music is.
If you’re a marketer, and you want a better anecdote for the importance of consumer investment, you might not find one. The amount of money and time we spend on products and experiences directly correlates with our perception of them. This is why Ikea can get away with selling low-quality furniture made with particle board–we feel invested in the products after we spend 45 minutes putting them together.
I’m not exactly sure how you can apply this to your daily life, but I wanted to share it because it feels important. Maybe we should invest more into artists. Buy the concert tickets. Buy the record. Open up the lyrics and read along. If we want to get more out of art, maybe we should invest a little more into it.
P.S. Here’s a great documentary about someone who invested in an indie artist, and created an unforgettable experience for hundreds of his neighbors. Check it out.
