I said it.

The decline in recorded music has generated a considerable amount of discussion within the music industry and the major record labels, who have blamed the demise on file sharing, burning and downloading.

Music industry experts, bloggers, music critics and economists find this explanation lacking and believe the inability to adapt to a changing distribution landscape is the main source of the problem. Record companies should have responded to prevent such a dramatic fall of sales for recorded music worldwide.

File sharing, burning and downloading is proved to be an encouragement to potential buyers but is not the only reason for this downfall. File sharing slightly decreases the sales for popular artists yet increases sales for unknown artists, which does results in an even balance of recorded music sales.

The industry has almost completely forgotten about:

- The generation of the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation X (1964-1979) have been part of a CD replacement of vinyl boom for the past 15 years, which is only now slowing down.

- Economy downfall

- OVER PRICING of the cd

- competition with gaming and other entertainment

- The Music Industry becoming segregated and overwhelmed and so, more competitive

- THE COMPLETE AND UTTER LACK OF RECORD COMPANIES KNOWING THEIR CONSUMERS!

No wonder recorded music sales are on the downfall!

Record companies need to reform and modernise the thought of mass market solutions and embrace the theory of niche markets, overlapping societies, fresh revenue streams and alternative economic models.

Why not make the industry a subscription based one?

Everyone pays $10, $20 or $30 (for a high user) and gets unlimited digital music?!

A complete change of format is taking place within the industry and I strongly believe it will take the power and joint effort of all within to completely succeed in the digitalisation of music.

GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSES AND UNDERSTAND THE OLD BUSINESS MODEL OF RIPPING THE ARTIST AND THE CONSUMER OFF IS DEAD!

http://www.myspace.com/musicindustryrevolution

And for all those who continue to buy the CD, Godbless you!

When you get to be as old as me, all the CD's you like are priced under $10.00, or a box of 5 CDs for $25

That's a good point. Alot of music from my childhood is priced down below $10 also. But this is only because they need to get rid of it and out of the warehouses.

The fact that a new album is $30+ is ridiculas. And you think the percentage goes to the artist? they get CENTS. lytrially.

As for online music. Paying $1+ for a song is completely insane. There is no middle man, so they don't have to be paid, yet their still asking us to buy a song for the same price as if it was a physical album??

Imagine if online songs were 10 cents... sales would multiply tenfold.

I agree 100% with all you have said. Two CD's = $100...who can afford to buy CD's regularly, especially if its some unknown? You may have heard one track given airplay and liked it, but will you take a gamble on buying the whole CD at that price? If you're lucky you may be able to follow a couple of gigs around and buy a CD that is self-produced, but the way the music industry is currently structured is completely unfair to emerging talent.

Like a lot of people my friends and I function as a music co-op: whoever buys a new CD understands that they'll burn it for everyone else. But quality then becomes and issue and, let's face it, the whole deal about buying new music is the cover graphics, the lyrics etc...most people really prefer the whole enchillada.

Even a move to bring the price only of the local product down to an affordable level would be a huge boost for the Australian music industry and generate much more new and innovative stuff. There is some incredible talent around which easily ranks or even outranks anything coming out of Uk or USA but CD sales are not an adequate reflection of the quality of talent. Thank god for TripleJay and other local stations which at least give airplay to new talent.

Romany,

What you are doing although illegal is not new. In the old days friends would take it in turns to buy LP's and then they would tape the LP.

Where kids are now illegally downloading from the internet, in my day we taped the Top 40 from the radio.

When CDs were new in 1982-83 they were $20 each. That is like paying $80 - $90 now.

Steel Mann

"When CDs were new in 1982-83 they were $20 each. That is like paying $80 - $90 now."

That's still really over priced but production was ten fold for the creation of a cd in the 80's.

You would pay $50,000 to create an average sounding album. Today we can do it in our bedroom, hell, I DO!

With technology booming, production costs decreasing, why are cd prices still on the increase?

And for all those who download for free, has music lost value to you? Are you unaware of artist royalties?

Im not sure if the new generation of consumers (as a generalisation) will ever grasp the idea of paying for music.

Maybe we can intise them in other ways?

E.G. Offer them free music >>
in return for consumer information/demographics >>
study consumer buying patterns and usage >>
offer consumer other streams of revenue such as merch, live music, video streams etc...

maybe money isnt in the actual music anymore. Maybe the industry needs to find alternative revenue streams?

thoughts?

MIR. For artist to gain control of CD sales, one must dangle the appropriate incentive, like the chance to win free concert tickets( prizes in side the CD, and lots of them ) or visits by band members or signed musical instruments to reel back the public interest.
Could you imagine sitting down with our favorite artists once you open the CD and find the golden ticket inside.( I got that from willy wonka ) :)

I know that would bring me back to the record shop.

EVO

There's been no "decline in recorded music".

There's only been a "sales" decline from major labels.

Recorded music is in a FAR healthier state than it's ever been. This is because major companies no longer have a monopoly on studio recording equipment. ANYONE, who has just several thousands of dollars to spare, can set up a home studio and, with experience, can achieve a technical sound quality equal to the best of the best professional studios from all past eras.For just a few thousand dollars extra, you can set up a professional studio, operating as a business, and put out a product equal to anything. Computers, digital technology and MUCH improved professional microphone technology (all with massive price reductions) have enabled all this to happen on a MASSIVE world wide scale.

Artists will no longer have to rely on belonging to any major label in order to produce the best music possible. The diversity of music making today FAR exceeds what we had dished up to us in the past.

Eventually, independent artists will totally dominate the market. That will still take some time, I think probably another 20 to 30 years or so. The old concept of charts, which have always been manipulated in various ways, will eventually be a thing of the past. Artists will no longer need to rely on corporations, and will no longer need to have their music making manipulated for the benefit of the "bottom line".

Yes samsung, your right on the money! Record labels went out with the demise of the vinyl disc and home studios are with-in anyone's reach now days, and I say go for it! Artist have been ripped off long enough!

EVO

Agreed. Totally agreed.

Yeah the sales decline has been in the major labels ball park, but with these labels dominating the industry, its hard not to make a generalisation about the entire recorded music industry!

Artists have been tredded on for too long now and i definently think its the time of rise for the independants. BUT...Major record labels have caught onto this movement and are already making moves to ensure they have a slice of the pie!

A friend of mine has recently been approached by a major record label, Universal (im not allowed to say who this artist is). This artist is extremely independant and has the complete fan base and atributes of an indie artist. Th record company has said to them:

We will give you $50,000 to write, record and produce your album.
You, the artist, will release it under your own independant label and Universal will want no ties in the marketing or credits. *only in fine print*

This way, the artist is still portrayed as an independant to the public, so remains to build an indie fanbase and has access to a major labels distribution channels. BUT the major still recoups the advance and gains the same old slice of the pie from the artist.

Decieving Much?

I kind of like the idea. Why does it seem so wrong though?