Music sales starting to drop? Your opinion

[Theenternal]

"LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Global music sales fell 7.6 percent in 2003 to $32 billion, the steepest decline since the advent of the compact disc, the trade body representing the world's largest music companies said on Wednesday"

Besides the debate of the harm of mp3s, I was wondering how everyone feels about the music industry in general. I hope that its not my age, but I think the music industry is getting pretty boring, recently things changed in popularity from alternative-pop-hiphop/etc. along with the mix of other punk/indie/techno, etc. But to me the market seems really flooded with nothing really inovating, or new to any style.

Sorta like how the creative gaming industry is in the slump. We have hits every now and then, but nothing really big or innovative has come along.

Do you guys think music in general is also sorta in this slump?

[Lstorm34]

thats a good thing maybe stores like the wherehouse could lower their prices. i went in there awhile ago and their price is ridiculous. used cd priced at 11.99-14.99 and new 19.99-22.99 this is one of the reason their ass is bankrupt and people download music off the net.

[SneakyPenguin]

well, mainstream music is. ive been listening to really niche stuff for awhile, like oc remix, rammstein, and recently, ive started loving mc chris. music will get my sales when it stops sucking.

[Theenternal]

OC remix is pretty nice, I am the only one out of my friends that appreciates it. When i have something on. Someone will ask "Whats that crap? it sounds like an old videogame? " :)

[Doylerulez]

I haven't had the need or desire to buy a new mainstream CD in months(Korn was the last new release I bought). I know what artists I like, and there isn't much new that really impresses or interests me. Case in point, I haven't even downloaded any new songs in a while, with the exception of anime themes or video game music. I'm listening to MegaMan 2 & 3 themes in their 8-bit glory and the pilot themes from F-Zero GX instead of most of the recent music that's come out

Edit: MC Chris is on my list too, I can't explain how the irritating voice is so catchy.

[Wshakspear]

Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, NIN, Gorrilaz.
Pumpkins dont exist in any good form anymore (even Zwan is dead. Garbage is taking thier sweet time (which is perfectly fine). NIN...it used to make me happy that i was depressed...newer stuff makes me depressed that he's happy. Gorrilaz must come out with a completely new cd that has no remixes or jamican rifs.

Oh, and Jurrasic 5 (JGR). Talent.

Basically, there's damn near nothing available right now, and the fact that another Eminem song is the best thing on the radio (although fun) is just sad.

[gamefreak]

You sue little children and no one will buy your crappy, overpriced CDs. I don't think I need to expand on that.

[SneakyPenguin]

mc chris - ratz is personal fave right now. i need to get his cds, but it kinda sucks that his first one is sold out. gorillaz is great, need to get their firstr cd.

[godhatesjustyou]

go gorillaz!
i have all 3 of their cds, and their one dvd. just wish they'd release a 'real' album already.

[daphatty]

The music industry deserves to lose money. They've been putting out crap for decades. I still remember spending $17 on my very first Music CD, only to find that the group was a one hit wonder. None of the other songs on the CD were worth a shit. It took me forever to save that money. I had no job and no allowance to boot. Just deserts man just deserts...

[godhatesjustyou]

yeah, i remember the first cd i ever bought, it was american hi-fi. man, that whole cd sucked ass, only their single was good, "Flavor of the Week".

[MrBrando]

yeah, mainstream music is definitly in a creative slump. It really bad when the best new atrist around are just sounding like bands 30 years ago (the darkness, white stripes, strokes). Sure I love those bands but I would really lik e a new sound, and not anything that''s "innovative" yet unlistenable. sorry about bringing up MP3s but I just love when MP3s came out that the music industry hated them and said they would ruin music, not just because you could download them for free. Then jump to today and because of iTunes being a susccess they couldn't love MP3s more. So basically it was "hey we hate this format until we can make money off it" ya gotta love the music industry.

[daphatty]

yeah, mainstream music is definitly in a creative slump. It really bad when the best new atrist around are just sounding like bands 30 years ago (the darkness, white stripes, strokes). Sure I love those bands but I would really lik e a new sound, and not anything that''s "innovative" yet unlistenable. sorry about bringing up MP3s but I just love when MP3s came out that the music industry hated them and said they would ruin music, not just because you could download them for free. Then jump to today and because of iTunes being a susccess they couldn't love MP3s more. So basically it was "hey we hate this format until we can make money off it" ya gotta love the music industry.

They didn't love MP3's until DRM was invented.

[thatstoobad]

label's put out bad music because people are stupid and buy it. there were some great cds that came out last year, but none of them were very popular (with the exception of the white stripe's album) because people either want rock that sounds like nickelback or godsmack or rock that sounds like that horrible story of the year band and trapt. i don't talk about rap and techno because it all sounds the same. people only want the single, and then they think if the rest of the album doesn't sound like the single then the rest of the album is bad. this is because the single is released out of the context of the whole album and misleads people into thiking the band are something other than what they are. oh, and once there's another single released, all of a sudden that song's ok, too. but anyways, that leads people to downloading songs.

don't complain about the bad music labels put out, complain about the people that buy the bad music the labels put out.

cd prices are too high. i doubt most people can justify buying a cd for $15 when they can purchase a dvd or video game for the same price. if most cds were $10, i think things would pick back up.

american hi-fi has always sucked. especially that "flavor of the week" song.

[godhatesjustyou]

^^hey man, i was like...12 at the time, i didn't know what was good.

[XboxMaster]

Hey Lstorm, I think your sig is ABSOLUTELY hilarious. You're obviously not a liberal.

[bmulligan]

You know when a good company's sales start dropping, they usually look at improving their product to give it more value to their target market. They don't start out by blaming someone else for their own problems.

The "it's not my fault" mentality or lack of personal responsibility is the root cause of many of our society's problems.

[ElwoodCuse]

I don't even download music anymore, really. Not because I'm afraid of getting sued, but because there isn't anything I want, even for free.

Although I have to say that I bought the Rooney CD recently. They win because (a) I heard their song in Tiger Woods, not the radio (only listen to sports talk and nothing here would have played it anyway) and (b) it was $6.99 at Target, so I didn't mind taking a chance.

[defender]

I don't even download music anymore, really. Not because I'm afraid of getting sued, but because there isn't anything I want, even for free.

Although I have to say that I bought the Rooney CD recently. They win because (a) I heard their song in Tiger Woods, not the radio (only listen to sports talk and nothing here would have played it anyway) and (b) it was $6.99 at Target, so I didn't mind taking a chance.

This is why the records labels DO NOT SUPPORT CREATIVE MUSIC. Why should they find great college/alternative bands just so millions of songs can be illegally downloaded. They do not want to support the music for a demographic that sits on the web all day and downloads MP3s.

The music industry does not control creativity. The fans that support the music with MONEY control it. If you want better music start buying some.
Delete your file sharing program NOW.

[defender]

You know when a good company's sales start dropping, they usually look at improving their product to give it more value to their target market. They don't start out by blaming someone else for their own problems.

The "it's not my fault" mentality or lack of personal responsibility is the root cause of many of our society's problems.

So are you saying that if CDs were $9.99 and the albums had 20 songs then you would suddenly spend money on music? Somehow I dont think that is true. You might think it is but a thief is a thief. Justifying theft doesnt make it just. Downloading music is just too damn easy for some and dont feel like they are doing anything wrong.

IT IS YOU that blaming them for your theft of their product. You think they should have to make the product better for you. They dont blame you for their problem. It is you thats their problem. YOU are the one stealing. Its that simple.

Stop stealing.

(this post is not meant as a personal attack and when I say YOU...I mean the generic music thief)

[defender]

The music industry deserves to lose money. They've been putting out crap for decades. I still remember spending $17 on my very first Music CD, only to find that the group was a one hit wonder. None of the other songs on the CD were worth a shit. It took me forever to save that money. I had no job and no allowance to boot. Just deserts man just deserts...

Cmon Phatty...was it Vanilla Ice?

[daphatty]

The music industry deserves to lose money. They've been putting out crap for decades. I still remember spending $17 on my very first Music CD, only to find that the group was a one hit wonder. None of the other songs on the CD were worth a shit. It took me forever to save that money. I had no job and no allowance to boot. Just deserts man just deserts...

Cmon Phatty...was it Vanilla Ice?

Even worse. It was 2 In a Room. The song was called Wiggle It. Remember that one?

Wiggle it, just a little bit
I wanna see you wiggle it, just a little bit...

Guess not. :-s

[WildWop]

Whoa I rember that song from when I was in middle school... around the early Simpsons years when "Do the Bartman" actually got radio airtime...

So are you saying that if CDs were $9.99 and the albums had 20 songs then you would suddenly spend money on music?

I know I would, hell thats 1/2 off a download from iTunes! I would have no problem paying 50cents a song. $1 is pricey, and sometimes new CDs average even more than that! Madness! Cats & dogs living together, total anarchy!

As it stands, I used to download music. I don't anymore, since there isn't anything of any worth to me to download. If CD pricing was comparable to DVD pricing, (6.99-9.99) I'd buy more CDs since I like being legitimate in my purchasing. I don't really worry about getting caught, but for me it's always nice to have the tangible item in my hand, rather than solely the digital version.

Anyone else entertained by the fact that some companies went onto Kazaa and the like, spreading fake files with garbled sections of the songs? I find it hilarious.

[bvaldez]

It's pretty hard to justify spending 13,14,,15 bucks for a CD where only one or two songs have any redeeming value. I'm sorry, but spending more money at Sam Goody isn't going to change the fact that 95% of what is released is filler material. I could care less about the NUMBER of songs -- just about the number of good songs.

At this point, I don't even listen to radio period, or English music in general, for that matter.

[dtcarson]

I just bought tickets to a concert for 15 bucks each [well, before the TicketBastard fees]. It's hard to pay 18 for a cd, when seeing the band live is less than that.
I personally have bought maybe 3 CD's in a year; one used over Ebay [no local stores carried it], one from DeepDiscountCD, and another from Half.com [the latter two were actually for my wife]. There's not a lot of music out there right now that appeals to me; I don't know if that's me, or the industry, or both. I would think that the industry would LOVE what the internet offers music fans. It used to be, the main ways you'd be exposed to new music, was:
MTV.
Radio.
Your friends.

Each of those were of course limited. MTV no longer plays videos, radio is a cookie cutter playing the same crap, and there's no guarantee your friends aren't waiting for you to bring over a new cd, at the same time you're waiting for them.

But now, within five minutes, you can check out a hundred bands, listen to clips, check tourdates, chat with other fans, etc. And, yes, download music. Why the industry doesn't embrace that and take advantage of, I have no idea. I do have a lot of MP3's, but most of them are things I already have on cassette or album, and it's just a 'format switch.'

I listen to the radio, but I listen to either AM or classical. Occasssionally the college station, whenthey play punk, which is roughly 2 hours a week. I can't stand most FM radio, and even the oldies station, which I used to like in the morning, have two rambunctious idiotic rednecks as their 'morning show' and I despise waking up to that and listening to that in the morning. Plus it's the same friggin show that's syndicated to at least 2 others stations I can get.

If the industry is losing money, like someone else said, I think it's been pointed in the wrong direction for some time. 90% of the music out there is lame and derivative of everything else, and the marketing/identity/personality aspect of it is more heavily promoted than the music or sound. Which is ironic, because most of the people they promote are Barbie and Ken cookie cutter types, or pseudo-'alternative' people, and the bands/artists with *true* identity, are nowhere to be found [I'm thinking GWAR here.]
My Philips Expanium was one of the best 200 bucks I've ever spent.

[MrBrando]

if you want an example of how desprete the music industry is getting just look at that song Joss Stone. They take a young girl with looks, not really a good voice, it's the kind of singing anyone could do if they tried (like Pharrel doing a falsetto), then they have her doing a cover of a song THAT'S A YEAR OLD! Then to give her some street cred they throw in ?uestlove from the roots. It's just all so manufactured to try and be a hit and what does MTV do, they play the hell out of it. I think that's another problem, MTV seems to be working with record companys to make certain artist popular because they know if they play it 50 times a day people will buty the record because too many people are stupid like that, if they hear a song they don't like enough they like it. I don;t know how else to explain that Fefe Dobsin, she in incredibly mediocare and yet MTV played the hell out of her and she became huge.

[Mr. Anderson]

Urgh. I hate Fefe Dobson. How that chick has made any money off singing, I don't know.

[vherub]

i think file-sharing is great, ive downloaded and lost over 100gigs of music in the past 5 years, some i had owned, many i did not
and the number of albums i have bought in that span is dramatically higher than the albums i picked up before, why?
spend any longer than a day listening to the majority of radio stations or mtv-like channels and the you hear the same loop over and over again- and that is just not what i am interested
if anything, why would i buy something that i hear every time the radio is on and starts making me sick

the music industry needs to figure out a better way of harnessing the awesome advertising powers downloading music off the internet allows, because the radio is busted

[ElwoodCuse]

This is why the records labels DO NOT SUPPORT CREATIVE MUSIC. Why should they find great college/alternative bands just so millions of songs can be illegally downloaded. They do not want to support the music for a demographic that sits on the web all day and downloads MP3s.

The music industry does not control creativity. The fans that support the music with MONEY control it. If you want better music start buying some.
Delete your file sharing program NOW.

I don't understand your quoting. What does your post have to do with mine?

[Vampire Hunter D]

I think to they shold just make it so that every single song people download they can only listen to it once then they have to wait another 3 minutes to download it again.Or maybe on the sales list they should have actual sales and next to it sales if added with the downloads to see how much money the companys are loosing.

[Alpha2]

Actually if anything Only stores like Amazon that actually let ou hear some of a cd before you buy it is hurting the music industry more than MP3s.

Before the internet you'd have to go by word of mouth as to wheter or not you were going to buy a CD, or a friend with juct dub a copy to tape for you and you wouldnt need to buy it (oooh "file sharing" in the 80s!!!) if you were lucky a store would have the cd you wanted on one of those display cases with the diseased headphones to get a listen and would help you to decide if the 6 songs you wanted off the cd was worth the 16 bucks youd be spending on it.

But then came napster and it's various immitators and people could just downlaod the songs they actually LIKED off a CD usually about 2 or 3 by that point, but also there was occasional completist that just wanted the whole thing. Many of these D/Lers wouldn't have even bothered to buy the album if they saw it in the store but now they could atleast get what they liked. When the music industry started to slump they blamed the net and thousands (maybe millions) of people discovered what other people already had, that they didn't need to buy the whole overpriced CD anymore (free advertisement for file sharing... they did it to themselves). Some did it just on general principle just so they could stick it to "the industry".

Eventually, came the RIAA and raped all big name file sharing forcing it deep underground but no less aive like a virus it just mutated to survive concetrating on collage bands and underground remixes while still trading the occasional domestic CD, but it also became a bit less accessable to normal folk.

So in steps Itunes and Buymusic.com all eager to give you legal digital music that you dont need to buy form a store. A dollar a song and you dont need to buy the whole cd anymore (granted prices have dropped but still, why pay 10 bucks for a CD that only has 5 bucks worth of music you want?). Smart artists have thrown their lot int with the net and are now seeling thei music this way because "the industry" is failing them the old way.

So now people can LEGALLY buy the songs off an album that they want from the net thus spending less as a whole on "the industry". And the industry cries foul again but since they can't blame napster anymore because it's actualy working the legal way now they blame the underground guys again which if they arnt careful will make things worse for them once again.

For the record the last CD I bought was Jason Mraz Which I did after downloading 4 of his songs and realizing I wanted to hear more, I checked Amazon and was able to hear more samples of his music and figured I'd support the CD fully by buying it (11 bucks at Virgin megastore that week) even though I could probably have gotten all the tracks that day at work for free.

[karmapolice]

I cant believe some of you people are saying you dont listen to the radio because its crap...and then you go and say you love the Gorrilaz? Garbage IS garbage...Korn? are you kidding me...I listened to them in 5th grade...That bass is the worst bass player alive...Dont dis the radio unless the stuff you listen to has never been on the radio or if it was only on it because radio put it on there...Any one heard of Mike Patton? The person who started all of it? The guy people copy...Bands like Korn and Incubus and all that bull aint got nothing on Mike Patton...Get some musical taste and then you can talk shit about the radio.

[dtcarson]

That's true, about MP3 and Amazon test-tracks.
Listen to the radio cut, go buy the album, realize it sucks. The industry makes money.
Listen on Amazon, try 30 secs of 10 songs, realize one is good, you don't like the others, you don't buy it.
Lots of people download the 'hits', which could be taped off the radio if you just wait seven minutes for them to play it again. But most people don't download whole albums of available stuff, and even those who do, many of them buy the cd anyway because it's a pain to burn to a cd [in audio format, not mp3.] And of course they are exposed to a lot more, so there's a bigger potential audience of customers.

[Lstorm34]

Hey Lstorm, I think your sig is ABSOLUTELY hilarious. You're obviously not a liberal.
thank you

[thatstoobad]

If the industry is losing money, like someone else said, I think it's been pointed in the wrong direction for some time. 90% of the music out there is lame and derivative of everything else, and the marketing/identity/personality aspect of it is more heavily promoted than the music or sound. Which is ironic, because most of the people they promote are Barbie and Ken cookie cutter types, or pseudo-'alternative' people, and the bands/artists with *true* identity, are nowhere to be found [I'm thinking GWAR here.]

this brings me to the point that everyone whines about labels not putting out creative music, but then look at what sells and ask yourself who's to blame. people want bad music.

Any one heard of Mike Patton? The person who started all of it? The guy people copy...Bands like Korn and Incubus and all that bull aint got nothing on Mike Patton...Get some musical taste and then you can talk shit about the radio.

dude, it's nice that you know who mike patton is, and yes mike patton is been part of some very good projects (faith no more, mr. bungle, fantomas), but patton has also done some very average stuff (tomahawk) and some just plain bad stuff (maldoror, for example). he's not some infallible music god like a lot of people seem to think.

personally, i don't care if everyone downloads illegally or not, that's up to you. but just understand that as long as you aren't buying music, labels are going to put out music for people that actually do pay for theirs, and chances are that music sucks.

[karmapolice]

I dont think hes a god im just saying that is what used to be on the radio...when people knew what good music was...like the seventies: Yes,Sly and the Family Stone,Earth Wind and Fire,Marvin Gaye,and many others...thats when people knew and loved good music...

[MrBrando]

yeah, but that was before "focus groups" and DJs could actually play a b-side of a hit, something that would seem unthinkablle now "...why play something else, this is the hit that everyone else is playing" I mean some big artist got ttheir break because a DJ played the single, it didn't go over too well, he fliped it and the b-side because a smash hit i.e.rod stewart...ok...maybe I shouldn't use him as an example.

[Mr. Anderson]

yeah, but that was before "focus groups" and DJs could actually play a b-side of a hit, something that would seem unthinkablle now "...why play something else, this is the hit that everyone else is playing" I mean some big artist got ttheir break because a DJ played the single, it didn't go over too well, he fliped it and the b-side because a smash hit i.e.rod stewart...ok...maybe I shouldn't use him as an example.

That same thing happended to Vanilla Ice. Ugh.

[bignick]

Napster ruined everything! It made it too easy for idiots to download mp3s. The RIAA sucks. Today's music sucks. MTV sucks. Paying $50 for a lawn seat at a concert sucks.