I think it’s safe to say no one likes to pay money for things when we can get them for free, but when does paying money for something such as music become necessary? Nowadays, many people look for inexpensive or free sources of music, whether it be Pandora, Youtube, “legal” music downloading websites, or Spotify. Recently, I’ve been looking at some of my older playlists on Spotify and found that many of my music is no longer there. Delving further into this, I found that many musicians are removing their music from a once free music website. Why? In an article, “Taylor Swift Explains Why She’s Not On Spotify: Music Shouldn’t Be Free,” she explains why she did what she did. She says,
“Music is art, and art is important and rare. Important, rare things are valuable. Valuable things should be paid for. It’s my opinion that music should not be free, and my prediction is that individual artists and their labels will someday decide what an album’s price point is. I hope they don’t underestimate themselves or undervalue their art.”
For a moment after I read this, I understood. An artist creates art, and art should be appreciated to the fullest and highest regard. However after a second, I realized I disagree. I may not be an artist, but I do believe that art can be appreciated by everyone. It’s frustrating to see a struggling artist not able to afford museum fare. Or a poor musician who doesn’t have money for a concert ticket. Art should be free to anyone who has enough respect for it. That being said, I realized how lucky we are to have free music available to us. I admit I have fallen under the spell of consumerism and spent a fair amount of money on Itunes gift cards numerous times, but I realize my mistake in all of this. Art should be free, as should music. Music is powerful, with its words and melodies embedding themselves in our heads and distracting us from our bustling, busy lifestyle. So why shouldn’t everyone be able to enjoy it? As for the artists, I understand how an album’s price point could affect their self-efficacy in music. To some, the value of a song is how much it’s actually worth. The music should speak for itself, not how much money it makes.
The article: http://hollywoodlife.com/2014/11/07/taylor-swift-pulling-music-from-spotify-not-free/
