John Abercrombie on digital downloads

[magiccarpetride]

Just read in the January 2010 issue of "Down Beat" that famous jazz guitarist John Abercrombie said that he cannot see viable financial future for himself in digital downloads. I'm not sure I fully understand where his issues are.

The entire article ("Catering To The Minority", you can read it here: http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2010/DB201001/_art/DB201001.pdf) revolves around the premise that CDs remain as the only viable container for delivering high quality jazz. Hence, the author appears skeptical that true jazz lovers would ever stoop to downloading jazz off the web.

Now, that's not strictly true. I've been downloading jazz off the web (the last piece I've purchased was Keith Jarrett's "Koln Concert" off the hdtracks.com). I actually prefer to pay for my music in high definition format, rather than in regular, red book CD format.

So what is then Abercrombie's beef? If he makes his catalog available as a high definition download, that certainly won't hurt his royalties now, would it? If anything, he may stand to substantiate higher profits, seeing how it's cheaper to distribute music as a stream of digital bits than as tangible discs that need to be printed and distributed across the globe (read: higher production and distribution costs, smaller profit margins).

Or am I missing something in this discussion?

[AlanS]

Have you ruled out contacting John Abercrombie himself and asking him? Here you go http://www.johnabercrombie.com/contact.htm
Makes more sense than expecting us to mind read/guess.

[Ergoline]

I can take a stab at this, but keep in mind it's just a loosely educated guess.

I'm sure that John Abercrombie isn't a fool; he probably knows HD downloads are available (or at least he'd better, since some of his music is distributed that way!). I'm guessing that most people who purchase John Abercrombie's music are older guys. Many people who are 50 plus have issues using computers, and want nothing to do with iTunes, Foobar2000, flac, etc. Most of these older guys have probably read in a magazine about the dangers of low-res downloads and how mpeg compression is ruining music. By distancing himself from this, Abercrombie is making himself more relatable to his target market. They can now be assured when they buy a John Abercrombie CD they are buying music from someone with the same expectations and values that they have. Just look at how popular CD transports still are. These consumers are behaviorally segmented from the rest of the population, and they most likely will be for the rest of their lives.

There's nothing wrong with any of this. John Abercrombie identified a niche with unfilled needs, and is providing what they demand. If I were in his shoes I'd do the same thing.

[Welder]

I don’t understand :scratch:
WGAF what John Abacrombie thinks?

[AlanS]

Of course the article is over 12 months old some people change their minds as markets mature. Best check with the man himself.

[magiccarpetride]

I can take a stab at this, but keep in mind it's just a loosely educated guess.

I'm sure that John Abercrombie isn't a fool; he probably knows HD downloads are available (or at least he'd better, since some of his music is distributed that way!). I'm guessing that most people who purchase John Abercrombie's music are older guys. Many people who are 50 plus have issues using computers, and want nothing to do with iTunes, Foobar2000, flac, etc. Most of these older guys have probably read in a magazine about the dangers of low-res downloads and how mpeg compression is ruining music. By distancing himself from this, Abercrombie is making himself more relatable to his target market. They can now be assured when they buy a John Abercrombie CD they are buying music from someone with the same expectations and values that they have. Just look at how popular CD transports still are. These consumers are behaviorally segmented from the rest of the population, and they most likely will be for the rest of their lives.

There's nothing wrong with any of this. John Abercrombie identified a niche with unfilled needs, and is providing what they demand. If I were in his shoes I'd do the same thing.

Sounds reasonable. Problem is, many of his albums that I'd like to have are hard to find nowadays. Some out of print, some available in few quantities (usually 1 CD per HMV store).

When the CD gets sold, it typically takes months for them to replenish the stock.

I was eyeing one John Surman CD which was a bit pricey. As I was waiting for HMV to put it up for sale, someone snatched it, and now it's not available anymore.