The Value of Music

January 26, 2015 by Ray Morgan

The Value of Music

I read a horrible article on LinkedIn (the source of many terribly written 'thought pieces') entitled 'People Who Buy Music Are Losers'. This was about five clicks after I'd just ordered an album online. I felt stung. Some blogger in the US just called me a loser!

I grew up in a time when I would save my pocket money to spend up to £15 on an album either on cassette or CD, and when I got home from, say, Woolworths or Our Price (RIP) I would unfurl the sleeve notes and listen to the album, trying to decipher who the 'thankyous' were in reference to. This was pre-Google, so the bands mentioned in the thanks would go on my list of Next Band To Get Into, whether I'd heard them or not. This isn't misty-eyed nostalgia - this is what happened! You must remember!

Now, you can buy a song for 79p - or nick it and pay nothing at all. You can listen to an album (or 100 albums) on Spotify either for free or for £9.99 a month, which is less than we used to pay for 12 songs, never mind a whole month's worth of music. But I know I'm not the only one who still buys music. I'm lucky enough to live in an area where there are two wonderful record shops. Fives (Leigh Broadway) and South (Queen's Road, Southend) are my little havens of joy. Yes, I have a Spotify subscription (where I like to listen to my friends' records over and over again in the hope they will get paid their 0.001p royalties) but I also love flicking through stacks of vinyl on a Saturday. Fives - where I have a loyalty card, oh yes - has recently expanded its vinyl selection! And South is new. A NEW RECORD SHOP. This is good news (Take that, Mr. LinkedIn blogger!)

I had a clear out at the weekend. I have a huge Ikea Billy shelf (don't we all) that houses hundreds of CDs. CDs that cost me at least £10 each - imagine how much money I must have spent on them! Now, I don't even have a CD player. I either listen to vinyl, or my digital radio. This doesn't make me want to throw out a single CD though. I just can't bear to part with them.

I think buying music is an essential part of life. The moment when you listen to a new album and it takes you to another place - that's special. The instant fix of a download isn't as satisfying for me. As a person who grew up having to save up for an album, I still take pleasure in spending my hard-earned cash in a shop, over the counter, to a real person - who knows about the album and might take a few minutes to talk about it. It sounds old-fashioned, but that is what I like.

In fact I would rather spend £25 on a record on payday that listen to it for free on Spotify, even though I have a subscription. I want to own it. If Spotify disappeared overnight, or iTunes suffered a massive coronary and ceased to exist, where would my music go? I want it in my possession, to hold in my hand and read the liner notes. There are no liner notes in a download, no musician photoshoots or cryptic messages, and frankly where's the romance in that?

My top 5 music-related things:

1. RECORD FAIRS. The smell! The intrigue! The bargains! There is usually also watery tea and cake in clingfilm at these things. Love.
2. The documentary Sound It Out about an independent record shop. I want you to drop what you are doing and go and buy this film.
3. When people love a song or musician so much they are compelled to tattoo it (for me it's Rufus Wainwright. Don't worry it's not his face on my neck or anything. It's tasteful).
4. When you bond with a new friend over a band you love. There is nothing like it.
5. Picking great 'walking to work' music. Dolly Parton 9-5 ALWAYS wins this game.