The death of the Music Industry

[Vintage_Hi-F]

True but that does not excuse all the people who used their computers to steal.

:nono:

Lets not turn this into illegal downloading debate (I hate to call it piracy cause it's really much different than piracy). It's wrong yes but you can't tell me that you've never taped a friends album cause you liked it. There are much bigger issues at play it's just that illegal downloading is an easy target.

 

[Andyman]

It's wrong yes but you can't tell me that you've never taped a friends album cause you liked it.

He might if he's under 30...

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

He might if he's under 30...

I'm under 30 and well....................

 

[mr.chen]

People tend to forget the fact that when CD arrived, it essentially forced every consumer to buy their entire collections over again. All of a sudden every recorded album in history became part of the factor and part of the revenue again. This surge in revenue started to bottom out by 2000, hence the charts drop in sales. With the transition from CD to Mp3 this wasn't possible due to CD's being easily convertible into a digital file

 

[Andyman]

I'm under 30 and well....................

Well that's a surprise. Most folks I meet under 30 aren't aware of life before CD, although there are the usual 8 track jokes..

Good for you!!

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

Well that's a surprise. Most folks I meet under 30 aren't aware of life before CD, although there are the usual 8 track jokes..

Good for you!!

I don't know everything about life before CD's (having never lived it) but seeing that Cassettes both pre-recorded and blank were still quite popular in the mid 90's I did have access to them, I believe I still have a "backup" copy of Motley Crue's Dr. Feelgood I "borrowed" from a friend in 4th grade.

 

[Dave1027]

People tend to forget the fact that when CD arrived, it essentially forced every consumer to buy their entire collections over again.

Not true. You only had to replace your records with CDs if you wanted better sounding albums. Nobody was forced you to do anything. You could still play your old records just like you always did.

I think you are trying to substantiate piracy by claiming the music industry made too much money. I was happy to buy my albums all over again just to rid of records.

 

[theophile]

Not true. You only had to replace your records with CDs if you wanted better sounding albums. Nobody was forced you to do anything. You could still play your old records just like you always did.

I think you are trying to substantiate piracy by claiming the music industry made too much money. I was happy to buy my albums all over again just to rid of records.

Absolutely correct.No-one was forced to do anything.I've never owned a CD player(or had one in my system)to this day.

I was happy to benefit from all the chumps who got rid of their record collections. :thmbsp:

 

[Dave1027]

Lets not turn this into illegal downloading debate (I hate to call it piracy cause it's really much different than piracy).

Isn't it basically what this thread is about?

It's wrong yes but you can't tell me that you've never taped a friends album cause you liked it. There are much bigger issues at play it's just that illegal downloading is an easy target.

I may have done it but that type of activity is a far cry from the file sharing that is so rampant today. The internet simply made it way too easy.

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

Isn't it basically what this thread is about?

No. It's about slumping slumping CD sales. They are two different things. While illegal downloads may play a roll in this, their are many other factors. Such as the continual rising of CD costs, the unwillingness of the record labels to leave the 20th century behind and join the current century. I mean if I can go onto the website of an independent label such as nonsuchrecords and not only order a CD or LP copy of a bands album but get a legal digital copy for cheap what's stopping capital form doing the same.

File sharing is mainly a scape goat in the same way that video games are a scape goat for school shootings. It may present a problem but it's not the cancer it has been portrayed as.

I may have done it but that type of activity is a far cry from the file sharing that is so rampant today. The internet simply made it way too easy.

So all the fliers I've found in second had records form the mid 70's to the 80's talking about how taping an album is theft was just he RIAA wasting money on an issue that didn't exist. It may not have been on the same scale but it's the exact same thing and it was considered a big problem.

Also, why it is true that no one was forced to re-purchase all there albums on CD in the 80's, what do you think the percentage that actually did was. I mean 30 year old vinyl copies of Black Sabbath Sabotage don't just appear out of nowhere. Many people sold off the LP collection and re-bought everything one CD (over an extend period of time of course) and well that trend has slowed down in recent years and CD's sales reflect that. another issue is that many talented artists are going to smaller independent labels due to the fact that the major labels screw them out of money for album sales (which has been the case for quite some time). They also want more control over the way there music is presented, almost all of my albums that are new releases from independent labels have very good (if not spectacular) mastering something that I can't say for most releases done by the major labels.

The truth is the current model the major labels are following is outdated model that un-welcome's change. If they want to continue the path of releasing digital copies of albums only through Itunes and a few other locations (in lossy only no less) than I welcome their assured demise and their subsequent replacement by the independents.

 

[Anubis]

The music industry isn't really dead from the point of view of the corporations that own it. It's all about how many units sold. The music biz could care less about talent, artistry or quality, all they want are salespeople which is why we have the Madonnas, Lady Gagas etc. No talent, but boy can they sell units and such and make the executives a ton of money. From any other point of view it is long dead.
I believe part of the reason is due to people, that is to say most people (present company exempted) are not into music anymore. Most people today are passive listeners at best and don't really pay attention to meaning behind the music if you will and can't recognize something fresh and exciting either. Most radio stations play what they are told to play (yes the whole payola thing never went away) and so we hear the same stuff over and over until it becomes nothing but noise without substance. Nearly gone are the days when music had purpose and soul and meaning that could be seen a mile away. Music itself is still that way and always will be, but I'm talking about true music, music written and created with purpose other than to sell units, music that is still in the control of the artists.
Fortunately we still see occasional signs of life with both new and old artists around such as Muse, Rush, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Neil Young to name a few and we can even give a nod to artists such as Rage Against The Machine and Silversun Pickups, both of who may not sound too different from a lot of others, but have that little special something or true artistic purpose behind it all.

That said, one really has to be an active listener to find these points of hope these days. Most folks now just turn on the radio and walk away and/or just allow themselves to get dumbed-down and latch on to stuff like Lady Gaga and such following the lemming in front over the cliff and invariably what happens in rather short order is "acts" such as Gaga and Cyrus etc., die a quick death and it's on to the next.

To those of us who still listen to music actively we have our many media forms of our artist we like both from yesteryear and maybe even a couple from today.

Everything said here is only my opinion, (but I also used to be in the industry on a local level and worked for radio too so of course my opinion is colored).

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

The music industry isn't really dead from the point of view of the corporations that own it. It's all about how many units sold. The music biz could care less about talent, artistry or quality, all they want are salespeople which is why we have the Madonnas, Lady Gagas etc. No talent, but boy can they sell units and such and make the executives a ton of money. From any other point of view it is long dead.
I believe part of the reason is due to people, that is to say most people (present company exempted) are not into music anymore. Most people today are passive listeners at best and don't really pay attention to meaning behind the music if you will and can't recognize something fresh and exciting either. Most radio stations play what they are told to play (yes the whole payola thing never went away) and so we hear the same stuff over and over until it becomes nothing but noise without substance. Nearly gone are the days when music had purpose and soul and meaning that could be seen a mile away. Music itself is still that way and always will be, but I'm talking about true music, music written and created with purpose other than to sell units, music that is still in the control of the artists.
Fortunately we still see occasional signs of life with both new and old artists around such as Muse, Rush, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Neil Young to name a few and we can even give a nod to artists such as Rage Against The Machine and Silversun Pickups, both of who may not sound too different from a lot of others, but have that little special something or true artistic purpose behind it all.

That said, one really has to be an active listener to find these points of hope these days. Most folks now just turn on the radio and walk away and/or just allow themselves to get dumbed-down and latch on to stuff like Lady Gaga and such following the lemming in front over the cliff and invariably what happens in rather short order is "acts" such as Gaga and Cyrus etc., die a quick death and it's on to the next.

To those of us who still listen to music actively we have our many media forms of our artist we like both from yesteryear and maybe even a couple from today.

Everything said here is only my opinion, (but I also used to be in the industry on a local level and worked for radio too so of course my opinion is colored).

While you do make a good argument. I do disagree with the "Most people just don't care about music these days" in that most people have never cared. Just look at 90% of what made the billboard top 20 in the 50's 60, 70's (which apparent was full of nothing but pink floyd and Yes to most people), 80's, and 90's. The general public has always gone bat **** over the flavor of the month. Just look at Abba and the Monkey's, there is no legitimate reason that they had the popularity and the record sales that they did.

 

[Andyman]

It's all about how many units sold. The music biz could care less about talent, artistry or quality, all they want are salespeople which is why we have the Madonnas, Lady Gagas etc. No talent, but boy can they sell units and such and make the executives a ton of money.

Actually, it's all about the dollars, which usually follow from units.

If they could sell less units and make more money, I'm pretty sure they'd be quite happy...:yes:

But it is the music business, and businesses, in the final analysis, are about making money, plain and simple.

 

[Andyman]

Just look at Abba and the Monkee's, there is no legitimate reason that they had the popularity and the record sales that they did.

It's because they had a cool car...

 

[theophile]

Did Abba have a car too?

 

[ducati_EL34]

. The general public has always gone bat **** over the flavor of the month. Just look at Abba and the Monkey's, there is no legitimate reason that they had the popularity and the record sales that they did.

Oh, you mean that people liked ABBA and the Monkees, is not a legitimate reason? Do tell.

Regardless of the origin of the Monkees, some of their songs were good. The same goes for ABBA, even in the midst of the Disco era. :yes:

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

Oh, you mean that people liked ABBA and the Monkees, is not a legitimate reason? Do tell.

Regardless of the origin of the Monkees, some of their songs were good. The same goes for ABBA, even in the midst of the Disco era. :yes:

Hey if you like them fine but you can't tell me that they really weren't just the flavor of the month at the time. I completely disagree about them having "good" songs, but good is subjective so we'll leave it at that.

 

[ducati_EL34]

Hey if you like them fine but you can't tell me that they really weren't just the flavor of the month at the time.

I think they were more than the flavor of the month, judging by their lasting popularity, especially in the case of ABBA.

 

[blackfly]

Whenever this topic is discussed there are those of the opinion that a major cause of the decline of the industry is due to lack of decent music today. I really have to say balderdash to this statement. There is as much “good” music, if not more, out there today as there ever was!! There is as much crappy music as there ever was as well.

The biggest market for music sales has always been the 15 to 30 year old demographic. Music buying declines when individuals reach age 30 or so, and many tend to think of their “generation’s” music, as being the best and all else is junk.

The music industries decline has nothing to do with the quality of the music. It has to do with a new business model, technology (file copying, online media), competing media (video games) and other factors.

I am not so sure I can agree with you on this. When I buy music most of it is from artists of my era or "established acts"; think Pink Floyd, Rush, Prince etc.. most new music today is either lacking in any artistic value, solely to market an image (think Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, all rap) or so poorly recorded as to make anything hopeful vanish in the compressed/loudness bumped sound common today. This is not to say ALL music is bad, only most of it. But for me who loves music dearly I am finding most new music completely disinteresting and completely lacking in any interest for ME.

 

[Vintage_Hi-F]

I think they were more than the flavor of the month, judging by their lasting popularity, especially in the case of ABBA.

Again if you like them fine. I will admit maybe legitimate was the wrong word to use, but I still see both of them as flavor of the month. I can name quite a few artist that were popular around the same time as the monkee's but never got the same level of recognition because they weren't marketed like they were. Same goes for ABBA.