Music sales down for 2nd year in a row..-10% still blaming the internet

[FeathersMcGraw]

Originally posted by: Pacfanweb
I think it's mostly because the music generally sucks.

I tend to agree, but 2002 brought me new albums by Aimee Mann, Peter Gabriel, and Foo Fighters, so that's three times as much music as I bought in 2001 right there.

 

[Staples]

MP3 quality is good enough for the average person and I believe that is why music sales are down. I never bought many CDs because I always thought they were too expensive but there was a time where a lot of people didn't think that.

 

[jackpot]

I sometimes believe being a music "artist" is the easiest way to get rich in America. It seems like there's always somebody I've never heard of on Cribs showing off their million dollar palace. They couldn't have sold THAT many albums, yet they're loaded. But that is the way the world is. Popular music is what drives the industry, and young kids are who buy that music. I often say that adults lose their luster around the time they stop listening to music. Adults that do listen to music usually just listen to bands that were popular when THEY were kids, thus leaving most quality non-popular bands out of the loop. This is the dynamics of our population, and the record labels know it. They're just profiting off of human behavior.

Oh and go to Best Buy, new CDs are $12 and most old are $14, most mall shops are expensive, but with cheaper alternatives, you can't blame the record labels.

For those who claim to have taste, try checking out Beck, Wilco, Flaming Lips, Jurassic 5 or White Stripes' new releases. This year hasn't been bad if you're alternative-minded.

 

[bentwookie]

Originally posted by: jackpot

For those who claim to have taste, try checking out Beck, Wilco, Flaming Lips, Jurassic 5 or White Stripes' new releases. This year hasn't been bad if you're alternative-minded.

personally I am only into deep house music...stuff...no one on this board will know of...

the bands you mention may be good to you but not to others...don't think they are good just cause you think so and MTV doesn't.

My point from the beginning is that the music industry is STALE. We need new producers to define a new era of music.

 

[edro]

I am a perfect reason why record sales have gone down over the last 2-3 years. I have bought ONE cd since I got my first burner. The only cd I have bought was System of a Down - Toxicity because it is my favorite cd ever and I thought I owed it to them

I have a CD case of older CDs (about 80) from before I got a burner. That shows that I have gone from about 15 CDs a year, down to .333 CDs per year.

Sorry record companies! I guess you better put some music videos, or other cool content on those CDs......or you will go out of business!

Oh, and copy-protection will never work on music. Music is an ANALOG art. To listen to it, it has to be converted over to sound waves. Even if they made it so CDs only work in a certain brand of CD player, you will always be able to record the sound through a microphone, then pirate it.

Record companies coming out with copy protection is a losing battle. It will only lose them money.

 

[edro]

Originally posted by: psianime
The only CD I bought this year was Eminem. All of the other CDs didn't seem worth getting.

-psianime

I ALMOST bought his new CD, but the day I was going to, I saw it on the Newsgroups

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: JimmyEatWorld
you people don't have cds to buy?
you're either not looking hard enough, or just have narrow taste...
there is good music out there, find it
how do you guys generally find out about music?
radio?
magazines?
tv?
friends?

One of the best ways to find out if a band you've "discovered" actually has more than one good song is to.......

USE THE INTERNET TO DOWNLOAD MORE!!


I have discovered at least 3 bands in the last 6 months or so that I REALLY like by this method. I have 4 albums by one, 3 by another and none by the third...yet. As soon as I have the cash I will buy more albums by them. The best way to get exposure can be the internet, and P2P programs have increased my music buying because I know I'm going to get an album with more than 1 or 2 tracks I like.


And there was a band I heard one song of on the radio a couple of years back, downloaded more, and in the end bought another 4 albums by. Without the internet I would have bought less CD's. Music I download, if I like enough, I buy on CD because the artist deserves my money.

 

[jackpot]

Originally posted by: bentwookie

Originally posted by: jackpot

For those who claim to have taste, try checking out Beck, Wilco, Flaming Lips, Jurassic 5 or White Stripes' new releases. This year hasn't been bad if you're alternative-minded.

personally I am only into deep house music...stuff...no one on this board will know of...

the bands you mention may be good to you but not to others...don't think they are good just cause you think so and MTV doesn't.

My point from the beginning is that the music industry is STALE. We need new producers to define a new era of music.

Sorry if their was a holier than thou tone in my words, of course everyone has different tastes. I didn't even know about this music until I went out and experimented with new types of music. Most people, sadly, don't do this, only listening to pop music and then complain about "the indsutry". But I'm not buying your last comment, just because YOU don't listen to anything sold in stores doesn't make the entire record industry stale as you say. There is a lot of good music out there, though I know the best progressive and trance and some rap is underground music.

When you define good music, you're probably talking about music that sounds good to you. Don't forget that great music, much like great art, influences a great number of people, not just outsiders. The record industry probably hasn't had that combination of popularity, influence and quality since Nirvana, but god knows we've had plently of bad popular music, and plently of quality music lingering on the side.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

I've simply moved my entertainment budget from movies and CDs to anime and video games. I get more enjoyment for the money. Hell, some games virtually come w/ entire albums of good music. $20 for a CD?! That better come as a 2 disk set. I bought about 40 CDs in 2001, 2 in 2002. 2003 is looking to be a goose egg.

 

[jackpot]

Originally posted by: Lonyo

Originally posted by: JimmyEatWorld
you people don't have cds to buy?
you're either not looking hard enough, or just have narrow taste...
there is good music out there, find it
how do you guys generally find out about music?
radio?
magazines?
tv?
friends?

One of the best ways to find out if a band you've "discovered" actually has more than one good song is to.......

USE THE INTERNET TO DOWNLOAD MORE!!


I have discovered at least 3 bands in the last 6 months or so that I REALLY like by this method. I have 4 albums by one, 3 by another and none by the third...yet. As soon as I have the cash I will buy more albums by them. The best way to get exposure can be the internet, and P2P programs have increased my music buying because I know I'm going to get an album with more than 1 or 2 tracks I like.


And there was a band I heard one song of on the radio a couple of years back, downloaded more, and in the end bought another 4 albums by. Without the internet I would have bought less CD's. Music I download, if I like enough, I buy on CD because the artist deserves my money.

I totally agree, if the whole Cd is worth it. Let's not forget that the majority of popular music puts out one or two good singles surrounded by crap. That means I download those one or two songs, and never buy the album. Unfortunate but true.

 

[royaldank]

I totally agree, if the whole Cd is worth it. Let's not forget that the majority of popular music puts out one or two good singles surrounded by crap. That means I download those one or two songs, and never buy the album. Unfortunate but true.

This seems more like the band isn't very good. They can only write one or two good songs. The record label isn't sending them sheet music (well, unless it's Britney, etc) If you think that music today is stale or uninspired, then you have just become bored of your own tastes. There are plenty of new, innovative, and creative artists out there. All genres of music. However, you can't depend on MTV or major record labels to spoon feed everything. Find music in other places. Pick up magazines and read reviews. Listen to different stuff. It may be hard to find a lot of stuff you like on CD to buy, but I'll bet you can find some. Jazz and funk is exploding. European tech music has been bleeding into America more and more every year. Jambands from all different backgrounds (techno, trance, bluegrass, jazz) are creating a big scene. Heck, the largest concert in North America (bonnaroo) last year was in Manchester TN with over 25 bands, 90% of which you'll never see on MTV. Bonnaroo sold out 75,000 tix in 11 days with very little advertisement outside of internet message boards. The music is out there, trust me.

 

[Apathetic]

Gee, it couldn't possibly be any of these reasons:

The economy is bad
The music sucks
The price for a cd can be outrageous

Dave

 

[Lvis]

I've been spending much more on dvd's. They just seem a better value. Quite a few good ones out there for only 10 bucks. How can a cd cost more than a dvd, when movies cost millions to make?

If they could lower the price, I'd go back to buying them. Meanwhile I'll just listen to the radio, and my old led zeppelin cd's.

 

[db]

In case nobody noticed, the whole economy has gone into the tank. Some companies blame 9/11; personally, I found it hard to spend $ on a CD that might have one good song. A DVD is a better investment of $12.00 -- 20.00 spent.