In efforts to bring music to a new level of art (As said by RZA), the new Wu-tang album is only going to have a single pressing with no other copies in existence. Now I think this extremely interesting and could be game changing if everything falls into place correctly. Here are my thoughts, personally.

Music is the Exception

Music is great because its accessible to basically everyone. Even if you don’t like this or that genre, you at least like that song you hear occasionally on your local pop station. Music is embedded into our culture. Moreso than other forms of art/media such as movies, tv, writing, food, etc… With music, you can access and listen basically anywhere and it can cost you next to nothing (in many cases, just nothing!). This is vastly different from our consumption of other forms of art. When you go to the movies, it’s an event. You have to first have to pick a movie that interests you most, psh easy. You then have to check your local theaters and find the most convenient show time, okay no big deal. Then you have to drive out to your local theater (maybe leave a little early. Don’t want to be late for the movie!), purchase a ticket (which often can cost upwards of $10), purchase any snacks or drinks (optional, but you get the point), choose your seat (if the theater is crowded, this can be difficult and could leave you with a lousy seat.), then FINALLY you can watch the movie! Lets hope it doesn’t suck! You walk out of the movie and it was just *okay*, but that sucks for you, and you alone. The quality of the film doesn’t change the fact that you just spent upwards of $20 and give or take 3 hours of your time. Now you’re broke and the day has come to close. You gambled, and the house won. But then, there’s music. With music, you could spend around $10 (or nothing, if you’re short on cash), and listen to the album whenever you feel like it. You can even just have it on the background while you do other stuff. Even if you don’t have money, and feel a moral obligation to buy the record, you can still easily access the album through legal streaming services, exclusive websites, and occasionally radio air time. That is part of what makes music so great. It’s casual, convenient, and considerably cheaper than other forms of art/media.

The Slow Drift

As I mentioned above, if you don’t want to pay for music, you don’t have too. This had led to artists becoming more and more creative in the way they create and release music. Marketing has become an art form in and of itself, with promotional campaigns for music becoming more clever and more common. Some notable recent examples of this might be Bino with his narrative album tied screenplay, Beyonce releasing an album with absolutely no promotion (sometimes less is more), and making the album a visual experience, and last but certainly not least, Jay Z partnering with Samsung, putting out actual ads on network television (and y'know, they helped him go platinum instantly). Even in the case of singles rather than entire albums, creative yet extremely effective endeavors have been put into motion (See: Pharrell’s 24 Hours of “Happy”). These are all evidence to the gradual change that has begun to make waves in the industry. Labels and artists are getting smart. Their appealing to the consumer and making cooperative efforts to put out music that we can enjoy. They realize it can’t be an ‘Us VS Them’ scenario anymore and are making strides toward a situation where everyone benefits. The problem is that with newfound styles of art and promotion, people will exploit it. But, would that be such a bad thing?

A Welcome Change?

Lets say hypothetically, this single pressing, one-of-a-kind, Wu-tang release is bought by some museum curator (or someone of the sort). He charges $20 for you to enter, and listen to the album. To avoid loss of control, and an overflow of people, he sets scheduled listening times, similar to how a film has pre-listed show times. You go into a room full of people who also bought tickets, sit down, grab a pair of headphones and kick back and relax. While the museum curator is slowly gaining returns on his investment, some other industry people start to see a market form. Slowly, but surely, major record labels start to promote their albums heavily, and attempt to recreate what Mr. Museum guy did. To make it worth your time, labels (or artists) maybe throw in a couple visuals while you’re listening to the album. Maybe there’s also a couple bonus tracks for the audio theater release. Oh and while we’re at it, maybe they’ll throw in an exclusive poster if you pay for the full price ticket! In attempt to get you to go out and pay to listen, the label will make sure that the actual physical release doesn’t hit store shelves until about 6 months after the audio theater release. Oh and don’t count on any leaks because recording the album in the theater is a punishable felony, just like recording a movie in a theater is today. Music would become a heavily commercialized art form, which certainly has its benefits, but arguably so. Below I’ve divided the three major players within the music industry that allow for music to be a viable market. The pros and cons listed are in the scenario that audio theaters become a serious industry.

: More jobs could be created—market surrounding audio-theaters form.: Have to devote more time/money to projects that they know will succeed—stagnation of quality in the industry—lack of experimentation—looming fear that consumers will just pirate the album and the industry will tank.

Personal

Pros: Listening to an album becomes more of an experience/event—social atmosphere while listening to album—likely exclusive material/incentives.

Cons: Upcharge in prices—listening to an album becomes a less personal experience—less convenient—May be harder for consumers to find experimental music due to the surpression of said experimentation by labels—Less personal ties to the artist.

Artist

Pros: Could earn a lot more money off the novelty—artists who become successful could easily branch off into other forms of art, like film—Their art and creations become viewed in a different light (could be Pro or Con depending on the artist).

Cons: Harder for indie artists to breakthrough—Popular artists are under a sort of obligation to not experiment (if its not broken, don’t fix it)—Less personal ties directly to the consumer.

In Conclusion

Music is changing. It’s becoming more of an experience and less of a casual form of art. As labels and artists become more clever in promotion, and corporate heads learn to collaborate with the consumer, not compete, the industry’s future ceraintly looks promising. I welcome a change in the industry but I fear that if labels and corporations become to closely knit with the artists, experimentation will begin to decline, and quality will appeal solely to the lowest common denominator. I’m always interested in what an artist can create to garner not only my curiosity but also my unwavering attention. What Wu-Tang is doing could be a slippery slope, but if executed correctly, then I honestly would not mind going out for the occasional listening session. Especially for some high profile releases that I want to make an experience out of. What do you guys think? Would you pay more to go to an exclusive album listening session? How far fetched are my theories/opinions? More reviews, articles and whatnot are on the way! Thanks guys!

—Parker