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Is It The End?

tybrad

tybrad

Lunatic Member
Banned
Hi all,
I just heard a story on NPR as I came into work this morning about our first loves (not car, not girl.... but music). It seems that 2010 was the worst year for music sales in ANY category; record, cd, or file since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking it in `93. And it is more than just a shift from one format to the other; the loss in physical object sales is not even close to being offset by the intangible sales of computer files.

The story is here: :tears:..http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/01/06/132694660/2010-was-a-very-bad-year-for-trying-to-sell-music..:tears:.

WARNING: This is not for those who have a heart condition, may be pregnant, or those who have Fri morning anxiety.:D
DISCLAIMER: Your mileage may vary.
SPOILER ALERT: Oops, sorry! That was in the second sentence.:D

This is really disheartening news. It is cited that the economy has had a bit to do with it, and though they don't say it, I'd bet that the rise of streaming sites has a place there too. People just don't want to own anything anymore in a digital/internet society. Those, coupled with illegal downloads are killing music sales and music as a tangible entertainment business could be ending. Concerts sell out, but cds get ignored. YouTube gets a million hits (thinking of Perry and Bieber... as much as I dislike both) but sales languish.

Is it just a cyclical trough, or something more?
 
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It is probably something more, lack of quality music, lack of any interesting radio, hi price of a easily copyable CD, loudness issues, really the list is endless.
 
I own original CDs for everything I rip. Granted some of these I bought used. Artist should sell their work directly on the internet without middle men mark up, packaging, and distribution costs. I think at that price, and knowing the artist is getting compensated directly (and not just middle men), there may be more people willing to contribute $.

Of course, music stores would get hurt...
 
olson_jr said:
It is probably something more, lack of quality music, lack of any interesting radio, hi price of a easily copyable CD, loudness issues, really the list is endless.
Click to expand...

I don't think that it is a lack of quality music for "them"- you see teens and 20 yo's gobbling up the looped, synth-voiced, flash&dash, ADD-infused crapola that comes out of the industry now... but they aren't purchasing very much of it. When its free online, and when music vids are free on YouTube and other sites, what is the incentive to purchase something physical? This gen doesn't seem to have much of a discriminating set of eyes and ears and will accept </=128Kb music along with low-rez online videos. My own mid-teen kids do it, I am a teacher and see hundreds of teens every year doing it. We have lost something... something about finesse, subtlety, and discrimination.

I agree that there are myriad of things going on, and I really do believe that it is a shift that won't be reversed. Personally, I need to have physical stuff... the look, weight, and the visceral experience of the process. It's a new generation and I ain't buying what they are doing with music.(:thumbsdn:) which is why I listen to university radio and NPR now almost exclusively to find new artists and music. I do purchase records and cd's, but not files any more unless that's the only way to get the music- it's just not my style.

I am a proud 49 yo fossil (apparently) with physical stuff, big speakers, giant electronics, and some wrinkles:D
 
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stoutblock said:
I own original CDs for everything I rip. Granted some of these I bought used. Artist should sell their work directly on the internet without middle men mark up, packaging, and distribution costs. I think at that price, and knowing the artist is getting compensated directly (and not just middle men), there may be more people willing to contribute $.

Of course, music stores would get hurt...
Click to expand...

Yeah, agreed but I think that labels set the need, not the other way around (as it ought to be). But I suppose that it never has been ideal- labels place something on the market and then the market will make the decision. But we are in a different time now... one where people want (or need) to be told what to think and what to like based on what other people or ads tell you to like. MUCH more prevalent today than in the past, as I recall. Perhaps this is all due to information overload nowadays. And with all of that information comes the ability to no care about owning the thing- just look it up, stream it, download the 1's and 0's...! I think that it will be an irreversible slide the wrong direction due to societal forces and manner. But then again, every generation has said the same...
 
Think of the downside. The copyright on much of the music sold today won't run out until all the kids are dead and gone. They will have no collections to sell like we do. Ownership is the key.
 
princeoftides said:
Think of the downside. The copyright on much of the music sold today won't run out until all the kids are dead and gone. They will have no collections to sell like we do. Ownership is the key.
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True, that... well said! Where in Central PA are you? I grew up in Bellefonte and still have mom and brother there.
 
I did my share to help support the music industry, I probably bought 50 cds lat year and have never downloaded a tune unless it was free. (Provided by the artist).
 
Everyone's jumping on the iPod wagon and online streaming of lo-fi techno beats. I do my part and try to still buy real music.
 
I buy used, or direct from the artist.. screw the RIAA... They have brought this on their selves..
 
IMHO, the reason is illegal downloads, used vinyl, cassettes, CD's that can be bought almost anywhere for cheap, the boring, uninspired stuff that is on the radio today and the Internet itself with Your Tube. There are so many ways today to be entertained.
 
It's the crappy music. There is very little worth buying. Why waste money on the whole cd when you can download the one good song?
I still buy music. My last purchase was the Blu Ray version of Tom Petty's "Damn The Torpedoes". Not exactly "new" music, but still good music. I also bought the blu ray version of "Mojo" which is new music. And good music.
 
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Clear Channel Communications. is the Devil that has ruined the popular music industry. The last time I checked they owned 95% of the radio stations in the states. These stations are heavily formatted. If CCC doesn't want to play your song, your song isn't played.

Local bands suffer. Variety suffers. Quality of music suffers. Heck after 911 they actually put out a 'Do not play' list because they were afraid that 'revolutionary' music may cause troubles. hundreds of songs were on that list, including 'All songs by Rage Against The Machine' It was in effect for a few months.

Without independently owned local stations we would have never seen bands like The Talking Heads, Devo, They Might Be Giants, Black Sabbath, Rush, Primus or any band that strayed from formulaic songs in 4/4 time.

Now they control ticket sales through Ticket Master and many of the major venues.

The 1996 Telecommunications Act, thanks to Pres Clinton and the Republican Congress of 96'

here is a good article from 2002, The numbers stated are different than the 95% ownership I beleive(d) but the result is the same. So I may be wrong or CCC may have bought out the other 3 majors talked about in the study. Either way, the result is the same. The 96' Telecommunications act is killing new music and causing extreme/narrow biases in the news industry.

http://futureofmusic.org/article/research/radio-deregulation-has-it-served-musicians-and-citizens
 
I have WAY MORE than enough music to last me 2 lifetimes, and whatever is going on out there in the music industry with record, CD or media sales, it affects me very little as I am well-set with my media. I have over 1000 hours in excellent podcasts alone, and the internet sky's the limit with radio and subscription services such as Pandora, Jango and Grooveshark. Those three alone could satisfy most of us...
 
Estring said:
It's the crappy music. There is very little worth buying. Why waste money on the whole cd when you can download the one good song?
I still buy music. My last purchase was the Blu Ray version of Tom Petty's "Damn The Torpedoes". Not exactly "new" music, but still good music. I also bought the blu ray version of "Mojo" which is new music. And good music.
Click to expand...

I just heard "Mojo" in it's entirety on KSHE 2 HD last night. Damn crackin' good LP, the way they used to be, good all the way through. At last, a new release worth buying.
 
sxty8goats said:
Without independently owned local stations we would have never seen bands like The Talking Heads, Devo, They Might Be Giants, Black Sabbath, Rush, Primus or any band that strayed from formulaic songs in 4/4 time.
Click to expand...

It's not 1975 anymore though. We can find more interesting music faster than ever today so I no longer need an over-the-air radio station to do the work for me.

The industry is evolving and the old RIAA sales metrics are just telling us what we already know. Many folks who buy music don't want or need the old corporate based system and they're finding their new music through other channels. Some legal, some not.
 
Since no one has said it, here goes:

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I'll never look into your eyes...again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand
In a...desperate land
Lost in a Roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the King's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby
Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest
The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken' us
The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...I want to...WAAAAAA
C'mon baby,--------- No "take a chance with us"
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
C'mon, yeah
Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die
This is the end


:D
 
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