"big hits from Eminem, Norah Jones and Shakira," good lord...there really IS no hope, is there? please come back to us, joey, dee-dee, joe strummer...the faith is fading. how about blaming rampant promotion of $h*t???? there's more to life than david gray. much more.
Surprising? NO Hardly a surprise that the big labels are the ones most affected by this. Meanwhile the smaller, more "underground" labels are probably doing well. I really don't like most of the popular stuff that's out there - not my cup of tea. I wouldn't download it anyway, let alone touch it in a music store.
I don't think there's mcuh question that (IMHO) piracy and Napster-like programs are hurting the industry. However, I refuse to buy most of the stuff that is out there on major labels because it is so bad.
MUSIC WORTH BUYING DOWN 63% IN 2002 I agree with Footix; name the must have albums from last year. Done already? There were a few (coldplay comes to mind), but not many. Maybe it's time for the industry to realize that pirating 2 songs is an attractive alternative to buying a $ 17 CD with two good songs on it for a reason. This is not because piracy is fun, but because paying $ 17 bucks to listen to 11 crap songs surrounding 2 good ones is stupid. Take REM's Reveal for instance. Other than "imitation of life", that CD was so bad it made my hair hurt. How many shots at my wallet am I supposed to grant them?
I disagree. During the height of RIAA vs Napster controversy, the music industry enjoyed record sales. File sharing had very little effect on the major lables. They have since cracked down on file sharing (Kazaa is nowhere close to what Napster was in terms of reach and convenience) yet sales are down. I'm not saying there's any cause-and-effect, but I do find the irony highly amusing. Same here. Everything I bought in the past 6 months came from semi-indie labels and abroad. Plus, they're charging $13 to 19 for crap that cost $2 or less to make. File sharing doesn't really hurt the major labels as much as it hurts the indies, who actually depend on sales to make money.
Of course the music industry's response to lower sales will be to increase the price per CD so they can attempt to maintain similar profit levels.
Add me to the group that is severly dissapointed with the quality of music coming out these days. And that is across all boards. The record industry seems to be trying to deflect this reality by putting full blame on file sharing.
Re: Re: Re: music sales down 7.2% in 2002 (Insert sarcastic tone) Thank you, Clear Channel Communications . . . . Add me to the list of people who blame both crappy music and crappy radio.
Love ya skip but I disagree. Most people I know use file sharing and are buying more indie label stuff and less major label these days. a) They are being exposed to more music. "Hey, check out what I downloaded." Which is always indie stuff they didn't catch on the radio and goes to the top of their CD buying list. b) People somehow justify downloading an Enimem album because he doesn't need the money. (I don't know how they justify poor taste though.) While downloading an indie label there is some degree of morality kicking in: better help the little guy, support good music, etc.
Love ya too, and you're absolutely right. I don't know what I'm talking about. What I meant to say was that file sharing has hurt indie retailers, not labels, especially since indie retailers tend to be in college town where more people per capita have access to high speed internet and CD burners. I know of a few indie store that started selling movies and video games to make up for lost sales. The record industry overall hasn't been affected by file sharing since they overcharge so much for each CD and have other ways of making money, i.e. merchandising and concert tours. Thanks ross.
Re: Re: Re: Re: music sales down 7.2% in 2002 I think radio has a lot to do with it. People might be interested in buying more music if they got to hear more than the 40 songs Clear Channel has approved for each month's playlist. Personally, the only radio I ever listen to is WOXY out of Oxford, OH (www.woxy.com). They're consistently ranked as one of the top independent radio stations in the country, and were recently featured in Rolling Stone as one of the few radio stations remaining that still play good music (i.e. not owned by Clear Channel). Ever time I listen, I usually hear something new and interesting, and most times, it leads me to the CD store.
What the U.S needs is another British invasion. You know you can't produce any decent music of your own so start importing some.