http://www.forbes.com/2006/01/11/music-passion-sales-cx_rr_0111passion.html
I was greatly intrigued by the title of this article (“Where has music’s passion gone?”) but as usual was disappointed by the content. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof. Witness:
Consumers listen to more music now than ever before, but it doesn’t mean they’re passionate about what they’re hearing, warns a new study from the University of Leicester.
It’s the prevalence of digital music–whether purchased from the Yahoo!, Apple Computer , Napster and RealNetworks online stores, or downloaded illegally–that has dulled listeners’ senses and instilled in them a sense of music apathy.
They don’t explain what they mean by “dulled listeners’ senses” nor does “music apathy” make any sense, especially in an article that charts the explosion of digital music sales. A paragraph or so down, reference is made to listeners preferring single song sales instead of full-album sales – could this be the apathy they were describing? If so, I disagree – sorting wheat from chaff is an exercise for those who care about isolating the good songs from the filler that often pads out even the best albums. I can’t think of a single case in my music library where an entire album warrants keeping my finger off the fast-forward button. Perhaps the apathy they should be investigating is more journalistic in nature. Or maybe that’s more accurately described as laziness?