2:59

CBC news is reporting that HMV, the largest chain music retailer in Canada, will cut prices from 20 to 33 percent on music across the board, with back catalogues from popular artists potentially shedding $10 dollars a disc. Of course CRIA is blaming piracy for this apparently tragic bout of consumer friendly adjustment, but as the apparently last young digitally savvy human being that pirates nothing, let’s look at this situation: I own hundreds of CDs, granted many arrived at on my doorstep for review purposes, but I still far outspend the average Canadian on legitimate physical music product yearly.

Recently I saw the light. I tended to purchase a CD, rip it for the iPod and Apple TV, then shelve it. I own CDs that I’ve never touched after that initial process. I’ve always argued that the artwork and liner notes were important to me, but that was a lie. The artwork looks great on my television screen, but again the books tend to never be touched. If I wanted the lyrics, I’d just hit Google. It became apparent that there was no sound economic reason for me to continue to buy CDs, particularly at Canadian chain stores where the prices often top 20 dollars a disc, when I could get the same end result from iTunes for $9.99 or eMusic for considerably far less than that. Mail order’s nice, but it’s better suited to vinyl (where the art and packaging truly does matter) and decent indie stores don’t really exist in small towns like Niagara any more. Digital it is.

If the industry wants me, the dying breed of non-file sharing consumer, back in the stores shifting through the racks, they need to beat or match the digital prices. There’s absolutely no other incentive. It’s not particularly enjoyable to be in an HMV, so they can’t rely on consumer loyalty like some indie stores. I liked hanging out at Orange Monkey in Waterloo digging through obscure discs, despite the price. HMV can’t beat that. So what’s my incentive? It’s price. It has nothing to do with piracy and it’s sad that the CRIA’s spinning it that way.

The CBC’s no better for listening to these dinosaurs. This price cut was badly needed, and probably doesn’t go far enough. Any consumer could have told them that. There was no need allow the CRIA rep to hijack the coverage and spin it into another dire piracy plea.