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i’ve been saying this for years…16 years to be precise. i was in my final school years back then with a focus on economics. then on a trip to my local music store to buy some cds, as i did about once a week, i was shocked when i saw that cd prices had doubled from one week to the next. until that moment i always found records that were around 10 bucks (deutschmarks that is). this was a fair deal to me so i bought – sometimes just because i liked the cover. and i was a good customer, i kind of spent my whole pocket money on cds and piled more than 800 records before the possibility of cd-burning even existed. then one day i came into the shop and everything was around 20 bucks. it took me quite some time to get over this but i still bought, only now it was maybe 1-2 cds a month instead of 2-3 each week – because i felt betrayed. i pledged never to buy a cd for more than 20 deutschmarks. that was also the moment when i first thought that those record guys did something wrong.

fighting your own customers is not only stupid business policy, it’s also a fight you cannot win.

although cd prices went up even further, last time i checked they were around 36 deutschmarks (meaning 17,99 euros today), i always kept my promise and never bought a record for more than 20 marks (or 10 euros) – well, there were some exceptions, records from bands with no label or something similar, where i needed to order them directly from the band plus shipping costs for instance. but that’s fine because that money ends up where it belongs. as for all the regular cds, i simply switched to ebay and bought them used, usually around 5 bucks including shipping. that way i could legally buy original records with booklets and everything and i never was disappointed with those deals. so now it’s been years since i saw a record store from the inside because i’m the customer and i do whatever the hell i want. you wanna fight me? bring it on!

nowadays i read articles about decisions the music-industry-guys make and i just shake my head in silence. they still don’t get it, maybe they never will. they’re making money selling ringtones to 11 year old schoolgirls alright, but that’s even more ridiculous than being an electric-blanket-salesman on some old people bustrip to lourdes. in a way they admitted their defeat: “it seems we can’t fool the adults anymore….so let’s fool the kids, that’s easy enough.” instead of making a step towards your customers you fight their offsprings. who are your next victims? semen? i pity you.

i’ve been saying this for years and i say it again: fighting your own customers is a fight that can’t be won.

Tags: Compact Disc, Entertainment, Music, music-industry, Record label, Record shop, Recording, Shopping