Do you remember in the 70’s and 80’s being told about home taping of music was going to kill the music business? That the act of recording albums onto multiple blank tapes would destroy sales of those works? And how it didn’t really? You see, I reckon home taping actually helped the music business! I remember the first time I heard Marillion was when an older friend at school gave me a tape that had The Web and Forgotten Sons on it from their debut album Script From A Jesters Tear. And far from ruining my appetite for buying music it only made me impatient for that week’s paper round money so I could go into Haken & Bell in Abingdon and buy the album. As I remember there was also Phantom of the Opera by Iron Maiden, It’s A Long Way To The Top by AC/DC and L.A.Woman by The Doors on that tape too; all off albums I soon was determined to buy.
As I got to be one of the older kids at school I too passed on mixtapes of my favourite songs and bands onto other kids who wanted to expand their musical horizons. They may or may not have bought albums on the strength of what was shared, but I reckon that if one kid bought an album on the strength of what they heard it had to be good. And if they didn’t, well at least they were exposed to different stuff.
These days it isn’t home taping that is the perceived enemy of music sales, it is streaming services such as Spotify that are being blamed for a decline in albums being bought. But, is that strictly true? For me, personally, Spotify has proven to be a useful tool for finding both new and old music that I can try, dip into and appreciate before making an album purchase. See, I am someone who will always buy records, whether on CD or Vinyl, but increasingly I am using streaming services to point me in the right direction, or alternatively suggest perhaps something isn’t for me. Streaming services in the 21st century are to me what mixtapes were in 1983!
Recently I got to be thinking after being asked by @RubWrongway records to compile a list of 25 songs for a Spotify playlist which can be found at http://tarkablowpigmusic.com/2019/04/25-songs-for-this-week-a-playlist/ I used this as an opportunity to highlight some artistes I’ve always admired such as Fish and Richard Thompson whilst also putting on the list younger or less well known artists that I felt deserved greater exposure. I really enjoyed putting the list together, something I reckon many of you might also enjoy to do.
Therefore I’m asking for guest contributors for a new blog to be hosted here on www.tarkablowpigmusic.com. What I’d like to know is what ten albums do you think we should all listen too and which song on the album is the best song on it? And each week I’ll create a Spotify playlist of those songs and link into your blog explaining why you love those albums.
So, how do you get involved? Well, all you need do is drop an email to [email protected] with a list of ten songs and albums and a couple of sentences on each entry as to why we should buy the album!
Keep your eyes out this Friday when I’ll post my ten albums you should listen to!