this week, janet’s new album “Discipline” debuted at number one on the billboard hot 200 selling… 181,000 copies. now, this may sound like a rather large figure, but let’s take a look at her last album’s sales and charting… in 2006, janet Jackson released “2.0. Y.O.” this album peaked, and debuted, at number two. it sold 296,000 copies. the album before it, “Damita Jo,” also debuting and peaking at number two, 381,000 copies. see a trend here?
“to what can we attribute this stunning lack of album sales?” you ask. well, excellent question! this stunning lack of CD sales can be largely attributed to… piracy. music sales have been declining rapidly due to the dramatic increase of pirated music. but you may ask, “isn’t that stealing?” another excellent question, and the answer is a resounding “yes!”
people won’t just walk into a store and steal a CD. and in my ignorance, I always assumed it was because upstanding citizens were relatively decent and respectful when it came to others’ property. well, apparently I’m quite misguided. it turns out the real reason is that they know they’d get caught. this is nothing short of infuriating. i really am not concerned if one thinks that an artist makes too much money or whether or not a person believes he or she should have to pay $10-$15 dollars for a CD, stealing other people’s property is a crime. unfortunately, it isn’t often treated as such.
I am under the impression that most people know piracy is a crime, but maybe some people just don’t understand the concept of copyrighting. so, I’m curious… for anyone reading, a.) did you know that online piracy is a crime, b.) do you feel that the majority of downloaders are also informed about anti-piracy laws, and c.) are people upstanding enough to give a crap?
(album sales info from www.billboard.com)
