Music Downloading not Entirely to Blame 538
Outlyer writes "A recent article in The Economist discusses the proximate causes for the decline in music sales. Of some note is this quote in the article:
"According to an internal study done by one of the majors, between two-thirds and three-quarters of the drop in sales in America had nothing to do with internet piracy. [...] Other explanations: rising physical CD piracy, shrinking retail space, competition from other media, and the quality of the music itself. But creativity doubtless plays an important part." The article discusses in some depth the short-term viewpoint of the majors and why that is likely to be the dominant problem, not the internet bogeyman."
Finally (Score:2, Informative)
Anyways, I buy a lot of my music off the street, literaly. A lot of bands down here in BsAs are going the way around the musicindustry and publish their own records, playing on the streets for publicity..
They tricked me, anyways..
Re:Reason why I don't buy cds (Score:3, Informative)
The world is full of people, and it doesn't seem wrong to have less than 10% of music aimed at me.
Lets separate fact and fiction (Score:3, Informative)
The fact of the matter is that unless we can relive history and remove music piracy, we will never know for sure if it was 'the cause' of the decline or not.
This is another study and should be treated just like the ones that 'say piracy is the reason for the decline' are.
Alternatives (Score:5, Informative)
Nectarine Radio [scenemusic.net] - streaming C64, Atari ST, Adlib, etc. music
OC Remix [ocremix.org] - huge repository of submitted video game remixes
Streaming radio of above [ormgas.org]
Metroid Metal [metroidmetal.com] - Surprisingly well done
Re:Physical CD Pirates? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:But... (Score:3, Informative)
"$500 million lost due to the Internet!" (they won't mention that this is in a $multi-billion industry).
Re:How come.. (Score:4, Informative)
They a good CD a couple years back with some strong tracks on it and it was one of those CDs that I could listen to all the way through and not want to change the song.
The same with their new release. Sure, that song is a bit cheesy but it's got a catchy beat to it. Have you listened to the rest of the album? It's again, very solid. Every song almost builds on another telling a story throughout the entire album.
And as for what they've done since...um, that CD just came out recently. You want them to pound another one off within 6 months? I think you expect a bit too much there.
Re:Physical CD Pirates? (Score:3, Informative)
Concert attendance is down, too. (Score:5, Informative)
The music industry has a hard time accepting that they sell an elastic good - when prices go up, sales go down. That's really happened to concert tickets. $60 tickets for second-tier bands went unsold all summer. Several major tours were cancelled. Lollapalooza was cancelled due to slow ticket sales.
The endless reissue of "oldies" is self-limiting. By now, everybody who wants any Beatles/Stones/Doors CD presumably has it.
But the fundamental problem is much simpler. The outlets that sell audio CDs don't just sell music. They also sell movie DVDs, which provide more entertainment content at a lower price. Audio CDs ought to sell for about $3.99 to $5.99. There's no excuse for audio CDs by mediocre bands costing more than DVDs of major, big-budget films.
Re:Physical CD Pirates? (Score:4, Informative)
Physical CD piracy is the selling of unlicensed duplicated CDs... like the guy selling CDs from a table on the street for $5.
Re:fp (Score:2, Informative)
Look at the bright side, the Canadian courts have rules that because you're forced to pay the starving artists, you also have the right to download music. Take advantage of it, there are a lot of neat bands out there.
Personally, as far as pay per tune goes, I've been using emusic.com. It's quite reasonable and there are some good bands I've found on it.
Re:fp (Score:5, Informative)
Geez...where do you people live?? New CD's (unless the special sacd or limited editions etc)...are in the $12-$15 range. I live in New Orleans...
I don't think I've ever seen a new single CD for as much as ya'll are talking about...
That being said...how about finding and promoting bands that can actually play their instruments well...sing without electronic tone control....can move around on stage while still really performing, and not lip synching...
And most of all...not letting physical appearance be the deciding factor. Often..people with lots of talent aren't the best looking in the world. Hell, back in the day..that's why many of those guys got into bands...they were so ugly, that if they weren't musicians...they'd have NEVER gotten laid...
That might help the sagging sales of the music industry..get some real talent out there.
The Way Music Died (Score:3, Informative)
Record labels were once small and not very profitable. However during the 80's and early 90's the music industry saw the introduction of CDs, which compelled people to purchase many of their older albums again, as well as the introduction of new genres of pop music ( HipHop, Rap, Grundge, etc). The combination of these events brought a LOT of money to record labels, and that compelled larger corporations to start investing in the music industry. Unfortunately, CDs and new genres of music became mainstream, and now we have corporate labels who are concerned about quarterly profits... not long term investments. All in all, it's a recipe for disaster... and crappy music.
But... any who... watch the Frontline piece to see what happens.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/m
Re:fp (Score:3, Informative)
Re:I vote poor quality (Score:5, Informative)
I listen to hip hop and I agree. But 90% of music I hear on the radio is garbage and that's probably where you're hearing your hip hop.
H-H is horrid imo - endless, short, electronic loops of intensely annoying sounds, weak and/or stupid lyrics, bad singing (if they even sing at all), it's overly produced, etc. etc.
If the hip hop you know is "endless, short electronic loops" then - in my opinion - you're not listening to hip hop. The definitions get nit-picky, but in my mind if the MC (the guy with the microphone) doesn't have a DJ backing him up doing the music, it's not hip hop. It could be called rap, though. (Hip hop as a genre, to me, would have to embody more than one of the aspects of hip hop culture - MCing, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti.) So music with a DJ is what you're looking for. The music should be as good as the lyrics.
Now, beyond the instrumentals - if the music you know has weak and/or stupid lyrics, we have to find you new music. The reason I listen to hip hop is because of the lyrics, not in spite of. Because the lyrics are smart, because the rhymes are rhymes I've never heard, etc.
Without rambling on for days, let me list a few albums or artists you might like to check out. Jurassic 5 - any album. Blackalicious - any album, but check out the newest one Blazing Arrow. Lyrics Born - Later That Day. Maroons - Ambush. Zion I - any album. Dilated Peoples - any album. Mos Def. The Roots. Talib Kweli. All of these groups have smart, generally positive lyrics. If you find someone you like, visit www.allmusic.com [allmusic.com] and see who they've worked with on other songs, and check out those artists too.
If you're interested in turntablism (creating music with other records as the primary source) check out some of the great turntablists - The X-ecutioners, Rob Swift, Cut Chemist, DJ Z-Trip, DJ Shadow. (Rob Swift is in the X-ecutioners, but he has a few solo albums.)
It will be different music than what you're used to, probably, but it'll also be different than the overproduced "blazin' hip hop & R&B" trash they play on the radio. Give it a chance, and listen to the lyrics and pay attention to what the DJs are doing - maybe you'll find something you like.
music that doesn't suck (Score:5, Informative)
I know, I know... most of the people on Slashdot are probably thinking I've started smoking crack or something, but I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I bought a new rock album. Try bands like Cross Canadian Ragweed or Reckless Kelly, they are more southern rock than country. Pat Green is the godfather of the Texas music scene, although I think he's starting sound more and more "Nashville", check out his older albums. There are too many other names to mention here but i'll put a link on the bottom of the page.
Of all current styles of music this seems to be the only one that doesn't have completely innane lyrics, i.e. the lyrics aren't about how much their life sucks like most current rock songs, doing drugs and having sex like most current rap songs(remind you of 80's metal?, hehe), and finally the lyrics aren't some lame patriotic theme or a corny love song like "Nashville country". Not to mention that the artists actually write their own songs, which can't be said about alot of forms of music popular these days. If you still doubt me, then by all means check out some of these bands. I don't think anyone outside of Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana even knows they exist. At the universities here in Texas I don't think I know a single person who hasn't at least heard of these guys. I hope I helped you find alternatives to the RIAA's list of crap....
-Joe
Links:
http://www.texasmusicguide.com/ [texasmusicguide.com]
http://www.lonestarmusic.com/ [lonestarmusic.com]
http://www.patgreen.com/ [patgreen.com]
http://www.crosscanadianragweed.com/ [crosscanadianragweed.com]
http://www.texasmusicmovement.com/ [texasmusicmovement.com]
Re:fp (Score:5, Informative)
If someone buys a copy of a CD from a copyright holder, and then sells that CD to some third party without making a copy of it, the copyright holder has received everything he is entitled to under the law. Neither the buyer nor the third party need permission from the copyright holder in order to transact their business; this is known as the Right of First Sale.
If a copy has been made, then the buyer has committed copyright infringement, but the third party has not, whereas in your example of downloading it from Kazaa, both parties have committed copyright infringement.
Those terms are not equivalent. "Unauthorized distribution" implies (in cases where it does not expressly mean) "distribution of a copy without the legal right to do so." Since you are not creating a new copy and distributing it, but are merely distributing the same copy that was already purchased from the copyright holder, it is entirely legal.Whether it's against the will of the copyright holder is irrelevant, so long as it's not against the law.
And, as others have noted, you're also supporting a business by buying used, especially since most used music stores are independently owned. And you're also encouraging the primary market, since people are more likely to buy goods like CDs if they know that they can resell the good later once they've gotten some use out of it.
Re:Before the LP? (Score:3, Informative)
US$7 in 1983 (the year the compact disc was introduced [oneoffcd.com]) is equivalent to $12.73 in 2003 after accounting for inflation [westegg.com]. The average retail CD price in the first quarter of 2004 was $13.29 [cirpa.ca]. Seems like CDs these days are selling for about the same as your vinyl LPs back in the day, so that line of reasoning really doesn't go very far. You can't compare monetary amounts spanning two decades without accounting for inflation.