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CNN: Worst year EVER for the music industry


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I heard a report on CNN last night that this was the "worst year ever" for the music industry. I'm not sure how they measured it, but it's an amazing statement nonetheless. Then it struck me - Isn't it ironic that this could happen in an era when there are more "manufactured" pop acts than ever before and when radio playlists are more tightly controlled (for profitability, supposedly)? Maybe the powers that be need to wake up and realize that (a) it's better to let DJ's play what they want, and (b) it's more profitable to sign and develop real songwriters who have something to say instead of "producing" contrived teen heartthrob "flavors of the month."
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Weren't there articles saying CD sales were at an all time high last year(when Napster was still around)? Seems odd that things would go from great to awful in just one year. I dunno, I'd want to read more facts before I believe it...
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[quote]Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: [b]I heard a report on CNN last night that this was the "worst year ever" for the music industry. I'm not sure how they measured it, but it's an amazing statement nonetheless. Then it struck me - Isn't it ironic that this could happen in an era when there are more "manufactured" pop acts than ever before and when radio playlists are more tightly controlled (for profitability, supposedly)? Maybe the powers that be need to wake up and realize that (a) it's better to let DJ's play what they want, and (b) it's more profitable to sign and develop real songwriters who have something to say instead of "producing" contrived teen heartthrob "flavors of the month."[/b][/quote] DanSouth For PREZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Down like a dollar comin up against a yen, doin pretty good for the shape I'm in
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Is it manufactured acts causing the slowdown, or is it young people downloading off the net or copying and swapping between friends ? It could be the higher prices they are asking for new CD's in the stores....$19 for a new CD at some stores. Could be the recession we are in is causing people to cut back spending on non-essential items like entertainment. Could be smoke and mirrors accounting by the big music companies to justify the higher prices of CD's and DVD's. Or all of the above.
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Hello everyone... I'm kinda new to this forum, so please excuse me of I step on any toes with my addition the thread here. CNN probably means that 2001 has been the worst year ever for music financially. I'm not sure that's really true, but whatever. It may have been the worst year ever, but you'll notice that not many of the majors have had too many problems paying their bills or salaries. Personally, I really wouldn't mind much if these biggies went out of business and couldn't put out any more Mariah Carey, Papa Roach, Bush, etc... Isn't it sad to think that these giants really only see the artists as the suppliers of "product (music)?" They really only see the creators of music as liabilities -- musicians are volatile, and the product they produce has only marginally projectable value. The artist is only valuable to them as long as they can produce a valuable product. Honestly, the music biz on this level is just about BIZ, not music, really. Most of the artists that I really like are on indies who put out stuff at something of a loss because they really like the music. The majors seem to only put out disc after disc of Britney clones and stuff like that. Maybe if there was a way to take the big business out of the industry... Of course, that's impossible. I think our only hope is to support the things we like and do our best to ignore the stuff we don't. Artistically, there's been a lot of neat stuff to hit the world this year -- it usually comes in under the radar, so you kinda have to be on the lookout for it. I mean... any year with a new Motorhead album is a good year. Queens Of The Stone Age had a cool new disc this year. High On Fire had a great new CD. Andre Williams had one. So did The Dwarves. Nebula kicked ass... KRS 1 had a new record. There was a lot of cool stuff. I agree that iron-clad playlists and pre-packaged popsters are kinda annoying. It certainly makes it a lot harder to find cool stuff on the air or in readily available stores. But I kinda like that I have to work a little harder to find the stuff I wanna hear. I figure the longer things are that way, the longer I will be able to buy these CDs for less than $10. and see these bands for $5. And if I don't look at N'Sync's new video, maybe it will go away....

\m/

Erik

"To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

--Sun Tzu

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I believe its true, Ive read this before. I beleive the problem is the record companies have had there bluff called. It seems years of forcing young people to like music based on peoples looks rather than good music are catching up. There's just a lotta really really bad new music out there! Plus, NO ONE I know is buying CD's anymore. My friends get all the latest stuff, but instead of going to wharehouse music, they put in weekly orders with folks who rip. It's sorta like the guy in that commercial riding around in a red convertable peddling all the phattest mixes he ripped from the web. . . We'll he's selling them to my friends!!!! And they are more than happy to slide me a digital copy or 3... I buy real CD's also, but lately that has become the exception rather than the rule.
TROLL . . . ish.
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Here's a quote: [b]Investment bank Merrill Lynch is predicting this year will be the worst ever for the music industry, with a downturn even worse than during the recession of the early 80's.[/b] And here's a link to the article, which concerns EMI specifically. [b] http://europe.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/11/19/emi/ [/b] Cheers
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[quote]Originally posted by dansouth@yahoo.com: [b]I heard a report on CNN last night that this was the "worst year ever" for the music industry."[/b][/quote] I agree. Checkout the [url=http://www.billboard.com/billboard/charts/bb200.jsp]crap[/url] making the billboard Top 200 and you'll see what I mean ;-).
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Also there's Tower Records which I heard just filed for bankruptcy protection. I guess with the internet explosion, XM radio, mp3 players, and a host of other things happening it will be interesting to see how things pan out after the dust settles. Things aint what the used to be that's for sure. To me there is so much product coming at you all the time anyway that the market has got to be a bit over-saturated. Aside from all the major acts it seems that everybody and his brother is trying to sell you a CD. I would think that things would have to peak out at some point even during better economic times.
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How Tower was unable to turn a profit is mystifying me. They have a 100% return policy with all labels and distributors, payola scams for listening stations and display racks, and charge the consumer $17 - $19 per title, while still paying the distributor about $10 a CD. They should be doing better than the labels. I also think the labels have shot themselves in the foot with regard to video, radio and promotion. They setup this system of payola to keep the small guys down and now it cost so much to break and promote and artist that it's almost impossible to breakeven. Rob

Rob Hoffman

http://www.robmixmusic.com

Los Angeles, CA

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hmmm...among other things, it sounds like the industry is losing control of the market. Radio, TV and print publicity can be bought (and people will buy what they're being sold to a certain degree), but I think the majority of the record buyers are getting their info from the web - which is by nature uncontrollable. Gone will be the days when whatever material MTV was playing could expect the highest sales. Personally, I love it - people can actually discover what they like rather than being told what to buy. Effectiveness of promotion will go from major commercial media to global word-of-mouth, which will result in better music having a better foothold on the global scene. Down with the monopoly! :D [ 11-20-2001: Message edited by: 'rold ]
meh
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look at emi sales chart and it SEEMS as if the 11th turned it around a bit so i couldnt imagine them using it as an excuse. the stock market was the same way.... dropped more BEFORE the 11th than it did after the 11th [which it recovered from] it was a totally shitty year for music... even some of the bands i do like who came out with albums werent quite as inspired as their previous.

alphajerk

FATcompilation

"if god is truly just, i tremble for the fate of my country" -thomas jefferson

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[quote]Originally posted by cerumen: [b]call me stupid..but i think they're hiding behind sept. 11 to claim they have a loss. Hard to believe that many businesses' profit margins disappeared with sept. 11. Maybe I like too many conspirator theories.. =)[/b][/quote] You aren't stupid. Some companies are using 9-11 as an excuse for the down turn (instead of blaming the failure of this "new" economy), but the record industry KNEW it was going to be a bad year as early as the second quarter of this year. The ONLY genre that had increased sales was Christian (gospel and contemporary) music (up 17% during the first half of the year). All the rest, if you pay attention to Billboard info, was showing slagging sales every week. These record companies need to take note of what the fans really want. All this manufactured junk is just that. The labels and radio are the folks that have segmented the market place to the point that is it unprofitable. That, as well as the Napster debacle-they thought they were killing a competitor when they in fact killed themselves in the process. [ 11-20-2001: Message edited by: MusicWorkz ]

Yamaha (Motif XS7, Motif 6, TX81Z), Korg (R3, Triton-R), Roland (XP-30, D-50, Juno 6, P-330). Novation A Station, Arturia Analog Experience Factory 32

 

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The New York Times Business section has this article about EMI's sales this year: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business/business-media-emi.html I am wondering why they didn't mention all the money they gave Mariah Carey. I don't know all the figures but I am pretty sure they didn't get a good return on their investment with Glitter.

Joe McDonough

Music Player Network

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[quote]I am wondering why they didn't mention all the money they gave Mariah Carey. I don't know all the figures but I am pretty sure they didn't get a good return on their investment with Glitter.[/quote] No they won't get a great return on her new albums...the money they gave her was [b]Really[/b] to make up for all the profit they made off her first albums. It's pretty commonplace to resign big money makers like Mariah for loads of money...not because it's a good investment but because they 'ripped her off' for so much in the beginning. It's a payback...happens all the time.
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bad year for the music business? ha ha ha! so what? let the business fail and all that will be left is the music. i'm all for that. screw tower records, screw MTV, screw EMI. let all those corporate puppetmasters die a slow and painful death and let some geeky, unpopular, hormonal teenager in a dive bar with a barely-tuned guitar, 3 chords and a lot of attitude come to rule the roost. after all, that's rock n roll. -d. gauss
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[quote]Originally posted by mcdonough@musicplayer.com: [b]I don't know all the figures but I am pretty sure they didn't get a good return on their investment with Glitter.[/b][/quote] "Glitter" Bwahahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TEHEHEHEHEHEHE! HOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH! Omigod make it STOP! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
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[quote]Originally posted by d gauss: [b]bad year for the music business? ha ha ha! so what? let the business fail and all that will be left is the music. i'm all for that. screw tower records, screw MTV, screw EMI. let all those corporate puppetmasters die a slow and painful death and let some geeky, unpopular, hormonal teenager in a dive bar with a barely-tuned guitar, 3 chords and a lot of attitude come to rule the roost. after all, that's rock n roll. -d. gauss[/b][/quote] LMAO! I second that motion... :D
meh
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"Maybe the powers that be need to wake up and realize that (a) it's better to let DJ's play what they want, and (b) it's more profitable to sign and develop real songwriters who have something to say instead of "producing" contrived teen heartthrob "flavors of the month."[/QB][/QUOTE] dansouth, If it's left up to the "powers that be" it won't happen. d gauss, You came the closest. With today's digital technology it has gotten to the point that the only thing musicians have control over is their live performance, and to get paid, they're going to have to go out and play! How's that for ironic! You used to have to play in front of people to; (1) promote yourself and, (2) sell your music, now it is the same case again! So to start the revolution, I'm going to post a question on this forum, if we all answer the post it will be the beginning of a new day for musicians everywhere! The question is: [b]"Where can I play live in your town?"[/b] We need clubs who want to book and pay. I know what you're going to say, but they do exist. Sly :cool:
Whasineva ehaiz, ehissgot ta be Funky!
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Geeky, unpopular, hormonal teenagers with a barely-tuned guitars, 3 chords and a lot of attitude - isn't this already the flavor of the month (e.g. Sum 41)? Is this what we really want? IMO, I could use a lot less Beavis and Butthead head-shaking mentality, but it works for a certain age group/uncontrollable hormone level. And btw, "real songwriters who have something to say" can still come up with some pretty bad music. Funny, the article says that EMI is pinning its hopes on new releases from Kylie Minogue, Lenny Kravitz, Garth Brooks and Pink Floyd. Its upcoming releases include Robbie Williams, Mick Jagger and Yumi Matsutoya. Except for the two pop artists with proven staying power overseas, I'd hardly categorize these offerings as manufactured acts. In fact, from my point of view, EMI deserves lower sales for pinning their hopes on a bunch of stuff that's already been done a million times before. Yawn. Since when has "good music" equalled commercial success? This train of thought has been rehashed again and again in these forums. You can bash hip-hop, pop, rap-rock, or any other popular or commercially successful genre all you want, but it doesn't make it any less legitimate. Somehow the fact that some decent bands and artists enjoy some pretty decent commercial success gets forgotten in favor of continually bashing boy bands. Really, haven't we all heard it before? Music is what comes out of the speakers, whether in your car or in a concert. If nobody liked the stuff that's selling, they wouldn't buy it. Truth is - millions of people like this stuff - whether you like it or not. And this has always been the case - it's not a recent development. When they get tired of it, they stop buying it. It's up to the labels to come up with something new that piques the buying public's interest. The record industry isn't immune from economic downturns, and it's not immune from its own cyclical nature. The Next Big Thing will happen, and people will buy again. The wild card is in digital downloads, whose effect will increasingly be felt by the majors. Every once in a while, we need to give ourselves a dose of reality. The majority of the buying public doesn't have high-speed connections or CD burners yet, and the reality of those of us who participate in this forum is far removed from the reality of the typical CD purchaser at Wal-Mart (who happens to be the nation's top-selling music retailer). Rather than wasting energy bashing what you don't like, spend the energy making music you love. The world will be a happier place. Thanks for letting me vent!
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What kind of garbage is CNN spewing now...What do they mean "EVER"? Since the Dark Ages? Since 1929? Since 1965? Since last year? It's a meaningless generalization. It's pretty common knowledge that when the economy takes a dip, non-essential or "luxury items" such as CDs, movies and expensive restaurants get hit pretty hard. If daddy is out of work, then the teenage allowance for Britney and NSYNC CDs gets cut. I have no sympathy for companies that claim a 6% success rate is a GOOD year. If the majors would put out product (yes, I did call it that) that people LIKED, then more people would buy it.
Larry W.
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This is GREAT news. Please, someone put these major labels out of their misery quick. Please file for bankruptcy. I mean anytime it's major news that an artist does a live performance (J'Lo), you've got a problem. What kind of bull is that. Oh wow, J'lo does her first ever live performance. Big Fu%^in Deal. I wonder who was manning the DAT machine that night.

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[quote]Originally posted by felix: [b]Every once in a while, we need to give ourselves a dose of reality. The majority of the buying public doesn't have high-speed connections or CD burners yet, and the reality of those of us who participate in this forum is far removed from the reality of the typical CD purchaser at Wal-Mart (who happens to be the nation's top-selling music retailer).[/b][/quote] I'd venture to say (I have no facts to back this up, but it's what I've seen) the majority of the demographic that buys the most music -- teens -- may not have high speed connections. However, I bet the majority of them have access to CD burners. Even if people aren't downloading mp3s from some file sharing service, they're definitely making mix CDs of the songs they want. You're right in that you're likely to find more techy/net-savvy music lovers on this board, but maybe it's not so much what's happening [i]now[/i] as it is where things are going. The CD selling industry does not appear to be a growing industry because the consumer demand isn't there. I mean, Tower Records is filing for bankruptcy, used CD shops appear to be hanging in there, and every time I go into a CompUSA, I see non-techie regular folks and their kids buying blank CDs or CD burners. I doubt most of these folks are "computer people" who are buying the CDs or burners to back their files and programs up... My observation is that the public feels there's no real excitement anymore with buying most prepackaged CDs... But having the ability to make your own CDs... Yeah, that's what most customers want, and they're voting with their wallets. I mean, if you had a million dollars to invest, which kind of company do you think will do better in the next 5 years: A company which sells prerecorded music CDs or a company which sells blank CDs? ;) [ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: popmusic ]
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