Interesting article about music sales

[Steve]

Swan Songs?

By CHARLES M. BLOW

 

The music industry’s deathwatch kicked off about a decade ago, but it seems the vigil could soon be over.

 

According to data from the Recording Industry Association of America, since music sales peaked in 1999, the value of those sales, after adjusting for inflation, has dropped by more than half. At that rate, the industry could be decimated before Madonna’s 60th birthday.

 

The speed at which this industry is coming undone is utterly breathtaking.

 

First, piracy punched a big hole in it. Now music streaming — music available on demand over the Internet, free and legal — is poised to seal the deal.

 

The problem is that if people can get the music they want for free, why would they ever buy it, or even steal it? They won’t. According to a March study by the NPD Group, a market research group for the entertainment industry, 13- to 17-year-olds “acquired 19 percent less music in 2008 than they did in 2007.” CD sales among these teenagers were down 26 percent and digital purchases were down 13 percent.

 

And a survey of British music fans, conducted by the Leading Question/Music Ally and released last month, found that the percentage of 14- to 18-year-olds who regularly share files dropped by nearly a third from December 2007 to January 2009. On the other hand, two-thirds of those teens now listen to streaming music “regularly” and nearly a third listen to it every day.

 

This is part of a much broader shift in media consumption by young people. They’re moving from an acquisition model to an access model.

 

Even if they choose to buy the music, the industry has handicapped its ability to capitalize on that purchase by allowing all songs to be bought individually, apart from their albums. This once seemed like a blessing. Now it looks more like a curse.

 

In previous forms, you had to take the bad with the good. You may have only wanted two or three songs, but you had to buy the whole 8-track, cassette or CD to get them. So in a sense, these bad songs help finance the good ones. The resulting revenue provided a cushion for the artists and record companies to take chances and make mistakes. Single song downloads helped to kill that.

 

A study last year conducted by members of PRS for Music, a nonprofit royalty collection agency, found that of the 13 million songs for sale online last year, 10 million never got a single buyer and 80 percent of all revenue came from about 52,000 songs. That’s less than one percent of the songs.

 

So it was no surprise that The Financial Times reported on Monday that Apple is working with the four largest labels to seduce people into buying more digital albums. It’s too little too late.

 

(Note: I wrote this column while listening to “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” the last truly great CD I ever bought. Every track is a gem. When did I buy it? 1999.)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2009/08/01/opinion/musicforweb2.gif

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/opinion/01blow.html?bl&ex=1249272000&en=86b88207a38ece95&ei=5087%0A

[MrDee]

went in hmv for the first time in yeeeears yesterday.

shit was like a ghost town with tumbleweed rollin

down the aisles.........

[Jon]

People are still going to gigs/clubs though, if you can back up your album with a good live show/dj set you'll still be making monies, at least for the time being- unless you're an unsigned band (doesn't apply so much to dance music) where you have to pay to play/sell enough tickets to play.

[Matt3r]

its all about gettin your track licensed to the latest playstation game

[Gizmo]

People will still want to buy music. It's all about how you deliver it to them and how that method can be protected to safeguard income.

[Jimmy]

i enjoy buying vinyl.

if i find an album i enjoy on mp3 then ill go buy it on vinyl anyway.

 

this is mainly me down to not trusting serato enough but also cos i like to collect music.

 

i can understand why u wouldnt pay for a mp3 tho, but again i do sometimes, along with cds.

[x2k]

I'm all for it going tits up. I generally pay for music, it's only really when I'm unsure about something or cannot find any other way to get hold of it that I don't so I'm all for supporting artist however I think the whole industry seems fucked and with the internet is easy enough to get the music accessible to the world and if your music is good enough to stand out above the rest people will take notice.

 

I know it's a bit shit for people who want to make a living from music and it's nice for artists to get something back or some support but they way the industry is and has been just isn't the right way.

[djfoly]

I read an article relating it to the fall in the purchase of big brewery ales....Most people now will seek out micro brewery ales. No one wants to drink john smiths anymore coz its shit! this is the same with whats happening with music. It means there is not one big rich group but loads of little groups with just enough to keep going each with their own audience and worth. its chaos just now but once the tide recedes it will be an amazing atmoshere revolving around live music and hand to hand sales. I'm well up for it! the large record comanies have been churning out shit for way too long!

 

Micheal Jacksons dead too so we can really move forward now!!!!

[snuff]

the sad fact is that the music industry had it so good for so long yet it still continued to exploit teh general public with massive margins to pay for all teh fuckign talentless hacks and hangers on that wanted to be part of something but didnt deservce to be...broken industry before madonnas 60? i fucking hope she doesnt live taht long

[djdiggla]

Nice. I was about to post this. ...No wonder the music industry is pissed off--they were RAPING both in price and quantity with CDs! ...they got spoiled!

[TBearOne8III]

downloading helped kill sales. but the shitty quality in music is what really did it. i stopped buying mostly becuase i just couldnt afford to live and buy music. but even when i had a few extra bucks, it was hard to find something good in the big stores. i would have to make special trips to the vinyl spots to get good music. and im not driving all the way to the north side just to get one album. but back to my point. its the quality. becuase i remember dubbing an album on tape from a friend and then later on going to buy it just becuase i had to have a real copy. i've noticed that a lot of people are just skipping the whole cd sales thing and going straight to free download. a lot of times good music gets passed up becuase of poor distribution. out here, we got mostly big box stores (best buy, circuit city, walmart, target). regular music shops are few and far between. so if your good album doesnt make it to the big stores then nobody knows about it. and i dont even remember the last time i saw a listening station.

[dextrous]

As well as the points above the music industry seemed to think making money from the sales of recorded music was an everlasting cash cow when in reality it was a flash in the pan. It's been going what... 80 years? It's like complaining that the end of the pier fun fair industry sales industry is in decline. It's only ever going to last as long as the technology fits in with the social circumstances of the time. The clever people will move with the times, the dipshits will just keep moaning.

[djfoly]

I admire labels like warp and ninja tune and stones throw to name a few who really look after the artists and give everything a good go from the packaging to excellent target marketing. Its these types of labels that I think are going to reep the rewards in the next few years. As far as I know these labels are still doing as well as they always did.