http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6897178.stmAre free CDs killing music?
By Tom Geoghegan
BBC News Magazine?
Prince has sparked an outcry by giving away his new album in the Mail on Sunday. Many weekend newspapers are now sold with a CD or film enclosed. Forget downloads, are free CDs killing music?
Freebies fill the newspaper and magazine racks in such abundance it's possible to get kitted out for the summer on this week's pickings.
As well as the usual array of DVDs and CDs, there are sunglasses, flip-flops, "designer bangles" and for those looking for a change of image, a superhero Thing face mask.
The giveaway, or covermount as it is known in the trade, is now big business, but on Sunday the market experiences a fresh twist.
Nestling under cellophane wrapped around the Mail on Sunday, Prince's Planet Earth CD will become the first new studio album to be given away.
For Prince fans not seeing him in concert at the O2, where the album will also be distributed for free, paying ?1.40 for the newspaper will be the only way to get the album.
The Mail on Sunday says the deal - which earns Prince an undisclosed fee - is all about giving music to the masses and free CDs usually increase sales for the artist. But the shops are outraged and predict that music lovers will lose out.
Although covermounts have for years been a major concern to the Entertainment Retailers Association, its director general Kim Bayley says this marks a new low.
"It devalues the music and the losers will be new artists who are trying to come through who won't have any support from recording companies because established artists are chucking out their music for free.
"Consumers only have so much listening time in the week and if they receive the new album from Prince then they don't need to buy new music and will spend their money on something else."
Profits halved
Giving away something for free gives the impression it has no value, says Ms Bayley, and along with illegal downloads, they reinforce consumer expectations that music costs next to nothing.
But the free CD has been around for decades. Smash Hits gave away flexi-discs in the 1980s and modern music magazines such as NME, Mojo and The Word have long been including CD compilations with their issues.
It was recently estimated that 10% of CDs produced in the UK are covermounts. But most of these are to plug new artists and therefore have the blessing of the industry, because fledgling acts reach new audiences.
There are fears, however, that the Prince deal marks a new phase in which established artists will cut record companies and traditional retailers out of the equation.
It comes at a time when shops like HMV are feeling the pinch. Its profits have halved in a year, in a climate where CD sales are falling and prices have come down by about 50% in recent years. But it will stock the Mail on Sunday this weekend.
If this deal works for Prince - and it wouldn't for new or successful artists - then it could mean the end for music retailers reeling from the effect of internet shopping, says John Aizlewood, a music critic and broadcaster.
"People are growing up thinking music is a cheaply available thing," he says. "Downloading is a less pleasant experience than a CD but when CDs came out they said that about vinyl, partly because of the glorious cover art.
"Maybe it's the march of history that the retailers just can't stop. We have 15 and 16-year-old kids finding music is easily available and there's no yearning for something that they've never had."
But he warned that while the giveaway can stimulate interest in an artist, it can also cheapen music because the CDs often have poor quality content on them. The promise of a "history of punk" CD, for example, may turn out to be no more than some rubbish live tracks from second-rate bands.
One of the reasons why Q Magazine last year radically reduced the frequency with which it gave away free CDs was because bosses felt it was cheapening the product.
"The last thing we want is people saying 'free magazine with CD', says Q's managing director Stuart Williams.
"That's probably what happened with Smash Hits and Top of the Pops magazine. It became more about what we stuck on the front cover rather than the front cover itself. We want these CDs to be something they put in their music collection, not throw away."
Another major factor was the cost. In 1997, Q's first free CD - a high quality, best of the year - increased sales of the magazine by 325%, and the production cost was shared by the record company. But the returns have fallen since and the cost is now ?150,000, fully absorbed by the magazine.
But Mr Williams believes the Prince deal is a one-off with no consequences for anyone else.
"Prince gave up on the industry a decade ago and was walking around with 'slavery' written on his face. He's made his millions so all he cares about now is getting his music out to as many people as possible.
"He's not trying to make money out of this. If he could drop them out of a helicopter over London, he would do."
Tour versus album
The woes of the music industry have nothing to do with covermounts and everything to do with free downloads, says Mr Williams. Albums are no longer the earner they once were, he says, as demonstrated by artists like Radiohead threatening to no longer use the format.
The broader issue of the Prince deal is how the function of albums has changed, says Mark Ellen, editor of The Word magazine.
"Five years ago people toured in order to sell records and called the name of their tour after their recording, and probably lost money in order to promote and extend the life of the album.
"That balance has shifted and now people put out albums to justify going on tour and charging more to go on tour. "
As Prince might say, a sign o' the times.
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