Ronnie Dunn: Take Country Back By Learning to Download

Ever since I first started this dumb thing, I knew it would take a fight on all fronts to truly “Save Country Music,” and that the most important front would be education. Educated consumers make better choices, and people educated about what to listen for in music can get so much more entertainment and fulfillment out of music than people who are not educated about music.

Last week Ronnie Dunn took to his Facepalm page to educate his fans on why it is important how they consume music. Dunn is one of these artists whose facing declining sales and support because he’s seen as an aging, more traditional country star. And though Ronnie may not be up to speed about what is happening with Billboard’s new chart rules, what he said applies very much to how older country artists are getting shut out of the chart process as well, specifically because their fans are more likely to by music in a physical format than digital.

I don’t necessarily agree with everything Ronnie Dunn said, but he said it so well, instead of butchering it into paraphrases and quotations, I’ve decided to do something I never do and cut and paste it in total below for your reading pleasure.

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Yes…baby boomers and beyond have been left behind by the music business !

It’s not that you have AGED OUT. Statistics show that you do not download. Record labels live by research and statistics.
Guess who hasn’t shown up IN MASS as a buying group on the download / digital front…….YOU.

I’ve said for years that the final straw needed to complete the final transformation to an all digital playing field for music will be the day that automobile (PICKUP TRUCK) manufacturers stop putting cd players in cars. Well, it’s happened. Ford announced, in July that it is phasing out cd players in it’s vehicles.
If you’re a baby boomer and feeling like YOUR kind (genre) of music …”country music”, etc. has been tossed by the wayside and you have been left in the dust, this is your opportunity to take your COUNTRY back. Do yourself a favor. Learn to download asap.

The music business has, most definitely placed it’s focus and energy on developing a MUCH YOUNGER than normal demographic because the market has become digital.
Baby boomers and beyond do not download music like Generation X.
The music industry, especially the “COUNTRY” music business….in, “do or die” fashion, leap frogged over your age group to get to that very young demographic.

I cannot remember the last time that I listened to an entire cd in one sitting. I have downloaded my music and made my own playlists for years. So have kids.
I can, if it’s really good….get through a 3 to 5 song EP /short cd. Google EP.

Get your hands on an iPod, Iphone, smart phone, use your laptop with external speakers. Learn to use BLUE TOOTH (wireless interfacing) technology.
Now, you can simply plug a wire that comes built into your vehicle into any of these devices and have complete control over what you choose to listen to. I just put had a complete digital unit put in my 1956 pickup 🙂
Yes…that can get expensive by most standards but there are inexpensive iPods / phones out there.

I’ve found MORE music online than I ever did at a music store. Most music stores are phasing cds out. They just won’t tell you that. The digital selections are absolutely, endless.
You push a button and the song or cd of your choice shows up on your computer in less that a 30 seconds in many cases.
If you’re REALLY a music fan and REALLY mean it when you tell me that YOU MISS REAL COUNTRY MUSIC….”you want to hear YOUR kind of country music…. simply go to iTunes / Amazon, etc. and download it to your computer for $.99 and transfer it to your phone, iPod or other listening devices. It’s not hard.

Once you unite and show up as a serious consumer block the BUSINESS will come to you 🙂

…..YOU can turn the music business around. YOU can bring
YOUR country music back. It’s the beauty of the internet.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20028837-261.html

….sorry for typos, misspellings, etc. my editor is off today 🙂
RD

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