Media Research Exec Says Music Industry Is On Its Last Legs 401
Ponca City, We Love You writes "For years, the major record labels have fought a pitched battle against the MP3 format. Although major labels like EMI and the Universal Music Group have embraced MP3s in recent months, a story from the Mercury News says early returns from those moves indicate they've had little impact on the industry's fortunes — for better or for worse. 'These are ailing businesses on their last legs,' said Eric Garland, chief executive of BigChampagne, a market research company focused on digital media. The question of copy protection on song downloads 'matters a whole lot less to them than it once did.' The industry has a bigger problem. Consumers used to buy CDs for $10 or $15 a pop. Increasingly, they're buying songs at about $1 apiece instead. So, even if transactions continue to increase, the industry is seeing far less money each time consumers buy and it's having a difficult time making up the difference."
Recruit Better Talent (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm calling BS on this (Score:5, Interesting)
Bah (Score:5, Interesting)
$.75 - Label
$.20 - Apple
$.05 - Artist
If the middleman (who provides neither the content nor the bandwidth, and takes 3/4 of the money) can't make a profit here then I think perhaps they're doing something wrong.
Indie music (and albums) (Score:4, Interesting)
With micropayments and the ease of putting content online, it's hard to see what value EMI, Columbia, and their ilk bring to the table. Most of the music that I enjoy can be found on sites like emusic.com -- and no matter what sort of music you prefer, the artists would be able to record and produce it without much more effort than it takes to perform it. Let's cut out the inefficient middleman and buy directly from the musicians!
On the topic of albums, they may be declining, but there is definitely something to be said for a well-imagined and well-executed album. IMHO an excellent example is ELO's "Time" album; the songs flow into one another, creating a continuous artistic work, rather than a collection of haphazardly-assembled songs. "Down to the moon" by Andreas Vollenweider is another example.
Re:Recruit Better Talent (Score:4, Interesting)
I look at older stuff; Don Henley, The Eagles, Chicago, Billy Joel, earlier Metallica, etc, etc, when in any given decade from between the 60s and 90s where I can easily find multiple artists with multiple CDs fitting that criteria.
The problem isn't the new formats; the problem is the quality of the groups that are out now.
A good set of experiments to verify this
Survey people with 1-5 albums that have come out each year from 10 years before the person was born, until he/she turnes 50 (obviously younger people won't have as many). Say the top 5 albums, and 5 random albums
List the albums and the tracks. Have the individuals pick which songs (assuming they weren't available) the users would pay $1 to download.
Correlate data to two charts
(1) %of songs people would buy vs. year
(2) %of songs people would buy vs. year relative to birth
That would be an interesting experiment, you could use data from chart 2 to help normalize the "it was popular when I was younger and more influential" bias.
Anyone know if anything like this has been done?
Who wants a standard CD? (Score:5, Interesting)
What I miss is the *packaging* of the LP. They were big and afforded great album art, along with all kinds of neat extras (like the spinning wheel on Led Zeppelin III, or the zipper on Sticky Fingers, or the stickers and posters in Dark Side of the Moon). And even without the extras there are just so many album covers that are just great *art*. It was the cover that made me buy Joy Division's "Closer", even though at the time I'd never heard of them. Frankly, the album cover, AFAIC, is still the best part of the record.
So, hey, music industry...why don't you downplay the actual tracks and hit up on the packaging? In the Internet world everything is just a stream of bytes so your bytes aren't much more special (and certainly not worth more) than anyone else's stream of bytes. So give it up and make something tangible, keep-able, desirable. Put the disc in a wooden box with a wool interior, or wrap it in tinfoil, whatever...make the *experience* more meaningful. As much as I enjoy the convenience of buying a track in iTMS, I am missing an "experience" that I got with some of the better-packaged albums.
And the crazy thing is that this is not new to the music industry; they've put out special collectors editions of stuff for years and years; I have CDs that came in pseudo-film cannisters, wooden boxes, even bubble-wrap. Sure I paid a premium but I didn't just want the music, I wanted the creative packaging as well.
The party's over (Score:5, Interesting)
This is how OPEC will feel, if ever we get off our asses and start making commercially viable electric cars.
Re:death of the industry or of the album? (Score:3, Interesting)
As a side bonus, since they won't have recording industry execs telling them "If you're gonna have a hit, you gotta make it fit" and cutting the song down to 3:05. We might see more songs five or more minutes in length. Of course, this might lead to some really bad 5 minute songs, but it might also lead to some brilliant 8 minute songs that would otherwise have been sliced and diced into an awful 3 minute version.
CD prices (Score:2, Interesting)
After a lot of the better used markets started to dry up, what I noticed is that new CD prices kept creeping back toward $20, and some of the shops that used to exclusively sell new CDs started selling used CDs as well... for $12-15.
The Harmony House chain used to be a big deal in southeastern Michigan. As the industry changed, they stopped expanding locations. Eventually, they started closing a few stores, then collapsed to one store for classical and one for everything else. Then they just went to one location. I started making a regular trip to start buying some previously expensive niche label stuff that used to be well over $20 - Mille Plateaux, Forcetracks, Mute, etc. because now they were dumping everything at half price or less.
When I read the articles covering Harmony House's woes, the company spokesmen blamed it on the internet. While there's some validity to that, it wasn't the internet that kept most people away. It was the fact that their stock was regularly overpriced. If CD priced had continued to go down from their low, they should have reached the $5 mark by now.
In retrospect, I wonder how much piracy $5 CDs would have avoided, because I know my purchasing habits started to change from the most expensive releases before reaching the less expensive. Maybe it would have gotten to the point it is today anyway, but I doubt you'd see the level of wholescale consumer rebellion the labels are dealing with now.
Dont hold your breath (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:death of the industry or of the album? (Score:1, Interesting)
My band is expecting our album to be ready sometime in early spring. During the recording session this past summer, the topic of song order came around. Now, our album overall, is intended to tell a story, or more eloquently, a plea to the masses to wake up. The intent of the album is to have it behave like that of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon'. Each song links into the next, as if your are listening to a seamless audio session, or one continuous track. That, combined with production dynamics, i.e. balance fades, echo effects, and the like, the idea is to create something of a kickback to the original IDEA of a album to be listened to. Not just heard. The lyrical content also tells of a story or plan, and is ordered like that of a doctrine or declaration.
Though it was fairly easy for us to come up with the songs and content, we didn't really realize how meticulous it all was when we put it together in this fashion. Once it is available for release, I will gladly announce it to the masses of slashdot. Till then, any recordings we have really don't do justice to music.
* No we do not think it will sell like Pink Floyd's DSOTM. We do hope that people will recognize and appreciate the creativity that lay within and support us for those efforts.
** Yes, I'm tooting my horn, but since I'm AC, that doesn't matter, does it?
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:4, Interesting)
I think not. There are a few studios here in Springfield (with a population of only 110,000), but none of the bands who record for the majors are using them. Instead it's the major labels' biggest threat who are using them - talented locals who play in bars.
MP3 is killing the RIAA labels because that's mostly the format the local guys post their songs on the internet in. And those MP3s are selling CDs. Every two indie CDs sold is an RIAA CD that isn't.
I have quite a few musician friends here, and not a single one of them would sign a contract with the majors and give up copyright to their own music, only to have "creative accounting" eat up any of the tiny royalties they would get.
The king is dead. Long live the king!
-mcgrew [kuro5hin.org]
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:5, Interesting)
- To put up the cash for recording.
- To package, promote, and distribute the end product.
With inexpensive, accessible recording software, artists can create a quality product much, much cheaper than they could in the past. Plus, with the Internet, there is really no compelling reason for physical media anymore. Music can be promoted and sold virally, with nearly 100% of the proceeds going directly into the artist's pocket. Compare this with the paltry 2-5% artists would get through the traditional sales model!The Record Labels' days are numbered. Their sales model is outdated, inefficient, generally produces an inferior product, and siphons cash away from the artists themselves. They are now nothing more than an expensive middle-man.
Re:death of the industry or of the album? (Score:3, Interesting)
And that'd be a damned shame, if you ask me.
I believe the album, as an artistic concept, marked a significant change in the way music was conceptualized. No longer did artists just release one-off hit singles meant to have decent radio play. Suddenly, artists could focus on creating larger units of work which stood on their own, representing a cohesive theme. Take classics like "Dark Side of the Moon", or "Sgt. Pepper's", or "OK Computer". The songs on those albums are great, yes. But the wholes really are far greater than the sums of their parts.
Personally, I listen to nothing but albums. I *hate* listening to songs in isolation. An album, for me, is an immersive experience. It's an opportunity to dive into a world of the artist's creation. And should the album disappear as a musical format, I believe music would lose a significant form of artistic expression.
Really, half the time albums are about 80% fluff just to pad the track numbers in order justify the price.
Then don't buy them. It's as simple as that. Why anyone would throw away valuable dollars on an album with two or three decent songs on it, I'll never know. Flipping through my collection, the worst albums have, at most, two or three average or below-average tracks. Anything more than that, and I skip the album. There are better artists putting out higher-quality material that would be just as happy receiving my money.
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:5, Interesting)
Does the industry really need billboards in every city? I'm talking about a grassroots, fundamental reformulating of the industry as a whole. It makes no sense that a shitty, commercially-architected pop group can gross $10m on a single album while truly talented artists can't even get off the ground. We need to go back to square one, focus on the music, and let the industry reinvent itself from there. The music, and the artist(s) that produce it.
Re:Who wants a standard CD? (Score:2, Interesting)
You didn't get packaging; you got an "experience." The cover art, the posters, the rolling papers, they were all part of something physical that they were attempting to convey.
In great part that has changed from the physical to the digital. iTunes and other services have done well because the physical product just doesn't matter that much. If the content is solid in the digital realm then most consumers are perfectly happy with it.
Tool's "10,000 Days" was a great looking release interesting packaging. I remember it fondly the twenty seconds it took me to wrap it, rip it, and then toss it in a box with the other CD's. It's the only CD I've bought in the last few years since the iTunes Music Store came online and was half an impulse buy ("hey....I forgot this was coming out today") and it was priced less than what I would have paid on iTunes.
The "experience" has failed to change for the most part. It's almost like Hollywood Directors lamenting about not wanting to put together DVD Extras for release and being angered when they just release the movie without anything extra for it.
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:3, Interesting)
Not necessarily. The RIAA was litigating independently long before the MPAA joined it. Remember, the MPAA's original attitude towards downloading was that it was only an issue for the music industry, since movies were too large to download, given the asynchronous nature of most users' internet connections. Then Bittorrent came along, and forced the movie industry to rethink that basic assumption. Given that the MPAA is an industry organization of similar clout and power compared to the RIAA, it could potentially continue litigation long after the RIAA was knocked out.
Just like the VCR killed Hollywood. (Score:5, Interesting)
The movie folks fought like heck to kill the VCR. And in the end, not only did home video not kill the movie biz, it likely saved it. Try to image a movie industry that only makes money from theatre showings and the occasional soundtrack. Now it's not tapes but discs, but we have the movie, the director's cut, the remaster, the collectors box set. I doubt Disney pumps out all those direct-to-video sequels because home video is killing their business model.
Likewise, when the music industry folks finally get their heads out of their butts, they'll realize direct digital distribution is not a threat, but rather the savior.
I don't know why they haven't jumped on board years ago. You mean we get to sell music without the overhead of a physical plant to produce discs/tapes/whatever, without a transportation infrastructure to deliver the product to retailers, without having to share the profit with stores? What's the catch?
Yes, making quality copies is easier for the consumer than taping off the radio or making a dub from a friend. But 1) that fact doesn't negate any of the positives of the above paragraph. And 2) playing luddite and ignoring all the positives of the above paragraph doesn't prevent any of the issues of unlicensed digital copies.
So as it is now, the RIAA folks get all the negatives (from their point of view) of the internet and digital music, while refusing to partake in any of the positives.
One day they will wake up, just like the movie folks did. When that happens, not only will the digital revolution not kill the music industry, it will save it.
To the folks who say the music industry will go away because bands don't need it, I disagree. Not everyone has the resources to build/rent a studio and make masters. And throwing up your mp3s on the band web site is trivial when you're a local hit and expecting a couple thousand downloads; it's not quite the same when you're hoping for millions of downloads. Putting together a tour of college town bars with an old VW van is not quite the same as organizing an international tour of stadiums.
Yes, the current business model is something akin to the record companies are property owners and artists are overworked dirt get combed by share croppers. Yes, I hope direct community built between bands and fans through the web will give artists move leverage. But I doubt music companies as we know them will disappear any more than the web and digital distribution has freed authors and killed off the publishing houses.
Exactly ... (Score:3, Interesting)
In fact I would say that BigMusic is anything BUT. They are only in it for the money, they don't care about art, about expression, or about individuality. Not that there's anything wrong with making money off of art, but it should most definitely not be the prime motivation. And the reason why music sucks so hard nowadays is because money has become the prime motivator for many so-called 'artists'. If anything the demise of the record industry (just the word 'industry' disgusts me) could usher a re-awakening of 'true' music - art for art's sake.
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:4, Interesting)
Oh yeah, while you're at it *KNOCK OFF THE F'ing LOUDNESS AND COMPRESSION* [wikipedia.org].
Re:Just like the VCR killed Hollywood. (Score:5, Interesting)
A lot of hard work is required sure but it's not as money intensive as you think. My younger brother was in a local band for a while, he's not any more but he's still friends with the former members and during that time they got an album recorded... it cost a few hundred bucks and the quality is just as good as any major label CD you'd buy in the store (arguably better than some). Having a few hundred discs pressed and packaged complete with artwork was a few hundred more... Essentially they got an physical product they could sell at shows for less than the cost of a new gaming rig.
As for touring/getting noticed etc. while my brothers band broke up one of the guys started a new band and decided to just tour and promote their website instead of selling physical CDs, booking shows the next city over a few weeks in advance and moving around the country that way. By the end of the tour they had a record deal with an indy label and are making quite a bit from iTunes download alone, enough that they all bought BMWs and have an actual tour bus and roadies.
My brother is in school now for video production. he has another friend who writes his own music, he saved and spent a couple grand on his own recording equipment, plays local shows and sells his music online, my brother produced a music video for him using his own camera (Cannon GL2) and put it on YouTube. It became the #3 most watched video the week it was put up and now his friend is making enough from his online sales that he was able to quit his day job and concentrate on his music full time.
My Uncle is a local Jazz musician, is digitally distributed and has pressed several cds which he sells through his website, and the indy label also distributes to record stores in this region of the US. He also works part time as a music instructor.
NONE of these people are superstars... but, they're all making a living in the music industry outside of the RIAA and without the "resources" of a major label... Not everyone in the music industry wants or needs to be a multimillionaire superstar... some are quite content to do what they love and make enough money doing it to live comfortably.
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:4, Interesting)
There is always innovation to be had in music recording. I'm sure that when reel to reel recording first came about, someone like you thought that was all there was to it. Then came multitrack recording. Then came digital recording. Then came computerized recording, all done straight to a hard drive. The manufacturers of studio equipment are constantly coming up with awesome stuff and amazing new technology in every new iteration of their product. Automated faders (try to imagine what it would be like to try and mix 128 individual tracks at the same time by hand) used to be obscenely expensive, but are now industry standard, thanks to early adopters who brought the technology to a point where it could be mass produced. I don;t know what is going to be next, but I can tell you there is PLENTY of room for innovation. Better mics. New kinds of interfaces, ways around historically complex processes (analog patching is a giant pain in the ass). Plenty of stuff.
Re:One more reason (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Just like the VCR killed Hollywood. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:5, Interesting)
If a film or television director hears your song and wants it, he's going to get it. The real problem is that very few big movies are directed by people that wanna get new, edgy, or slightly-less-than-commercial music from untried acts. The call to the music supervisor is generally "Get me something that's by a hot band to put over the snowboarding scene," the actual band, performer, or subject is really secondary to the commercial aspect. Only occasionally do you hear "Get me band x's song y".
I agree, but this reform had better happen soon if people distributing on the Internet want ay protection at all.
Eh, I'm not alone. I guess we'll just have to see, but for just tracks of audio, you're right. It's left to see if the recording industry won't start offering more value for the physical media than they do now, like lyrics embedded as a standard, easier ripping, videos, promo materials... huh, you're right, it's dead.
Well, you can't make musician A disappear from the Earth by heavily promoting musician B. Again the real problem is that people don't always have strong feelings about particular songs or artists, but just wanna hear music, any music, maybe restricted to a genre but that's it.
And, well, guess what, if you want 100 million people to hear the hook to your song or even read the name of your band, that's going to cost you millions of dollars in media buys, sorry. The average music listener doesn't spend an hour a day on band home pages looking for good music. There's this whole line of work called "A&R" with professionals to do that for them. You may not like what they come up with, so you're welcome to start your own music website, too.
In flux, yes, but a big fact remains that if you create music that only exists as a recording, i.e. you don't have a live act, it's going to be very difficult for you to make a living doing your art. The thing left unstated in these debates oftentimes is that the people advocating more freedom really don't care if they only do their music as a hobby. I myself am certain quality would suffer under such a regime, but again this remains to be seen.
Re:So long Music Industry... (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd like to add, as a musician who has home studio, that there is one benefit that you get from a "pro" studio.
The Engineer.
Some of these guys are freaking geniuses. There is definitely an art to recording, as much as there is in playing an instrument or belching out that killer vocal.
I've spent enough time in "pro" studios to know that my engineering skills are tiny compared to some of the guys I've seen (or should I say heard...). My mixes are usually good enough for a demo and/or working out all of the parts for a song, but there is something about having a professional set of audiophile ears and talented mixing fingers work on your project.