Of course effort without results does not equal satisfaction, but the lack of results, when ultimately met with success, makes the satisfaction all the more sweet.

And it’s for this reason, at least in part, that the album – and indeed the mystique of bands and musicians in general – has waned in recent times.

Back when the internet was called the World Wide Web and owning a CD player was still cutting edge, the music business looked much different.  Everyone purchased their music, and went to great lengths to do so.  Music piracy was a bunch of Tony Sopranos hijacking a truck and selling the discs and cassettes out the back.

There was a process to purchasing, one which ultimately led to the decision, “Is this worth my 20 bucks?”  Often times, in fact, you made the choice to buy based on a small handful of songs, the suggestions of others, and in the end lived with the ten or so tracks that absolutely sucked.  And you paid 20 bucks for a lot of stuff you didn’t particularly enjoy.

But when you scored, you scored big.  Remember how good you felt about Pearl Jam’s “Ten” after you listened through the whole thing the first time?  You found the Holy Grail.

Now the music listening process more closely resembles the ski resort than the surf spot.  You can sit at home, or on the phone, or in the car, or just about anywhere you want, while you sample tunes like lemon squares at a Sunday farmer’s market. 

The analogy that music has become a fast food business is even outdated.  Fast food, after all, requires a trip to the store, and money out of your pocket.  Music, in many ways, is easier to get than a rose from your garden.

And so with that lack of effort has come a disinterest in the entire vibe of the music business.  There’s something less satisfying about music purchases than there used to be, even when you purchase an entire album.  It’s strange that would be the case, given that a full album today costs, on average, half of what it did twenty years ago.  We’re so accustomed to prices going the other direction that you’d think we be elated to see a segment buck the trend.

But we’re not, because the effort we’re required to spend has nearly been cut to zero.  And tech companies will spend every day of every coming year figuring out how to make it even easier.

The death of the album and the music business is, perhaps, over exaggerated.  It could simply be that we, as consumers, have it far too easy.  Satisfaction is harder to find when you don’t have to work for it.

Scott Goldberg