Buying Music Because I Heard It on the Internet First
Y’all are probably familiar with the debates between the record companies, people who distribute music on the Internet, artists who, um, borrow melodies and pieces from other artists (sometimes called sampling), copyright law, and a bunch of other related issues. Here’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
I (finally) bought a copy of Jay-Z’s The Black Album because I heard bits of it on DJ Dangermouse’s The Gray Album. (I’ve owned The Beatles’ The White Album–even as a record–for years, so I don’t need to purchase it.) I doubt I would have otherwise bought, heard, or even been remotely interested in The Black Album. HipHop, rap, whatever you call the genres into which The Black Album fits, is just not music I seek out on my own. There’s nothing wrong with it. It just doesn’t usually suit me.
So see, recording industry: distributing music on the Internet and sampling can help record sales.
The first song I listened to? 99 Problems, of course.
