Opinion: What I think is killing the music industry:
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markcarras
Why does music suck now?
I think one of the most interesting questions to ask people is “What do you think is killing the music industry?” You can guess a persons answer by what category they fit into. Your standard person will almost always say that it is because music sucks now and there is only one or two good songs and a bunch of filler. But the question is why does music suck now?
Musicians have Stockholm syndrome
Why is there only one “good song” per cd anymore? The music industry falling apart is something they have been working on for a very long time. Musicians have a bad case of Stockholm syndrome and have been told that they think it’s the downloading. When I interview bands and ask this question they are unable to think beyond “you gotta stop the downloading”. Try to tell them that the cats already out of the bag and they get very flustered. Of course the music industry says the same thing since they are the ones brainwashing the artists. Internet geeks will tell you that it’s simply that video games are taking those sales. I say all of you are right, but at the same time wrong.
Greed and business vs artist development
The music industry is a business and so it is fueled by greed. You can’t blame them for this because they do this for a living and that new baby is going to need diapers. However, it is that greed that lead them to bad business decisions. Why? Because what we are talking about is art and art and business never go well together. The record companies very quickly created a formula. This was a good thing at first. This formula was to find out how to get the most sales out of the talent pool. When something was proven, they add it to the formula. This formula kept getting better and better until it was perfected. Around the 90’s this formula peaked. This formula is something I could write and entire book about so I won’t go into the details. It’s a combination of many things, but part of it is looking into the future just enough to sign an artist before that artists style becomes “the next big thing”. Soundgarden for example. They were not ready to be hit machines on that first major label cd, but the record company didn’t care. It’s called artist development. Soundgarden was given that ever important time to grow as artists.
Less artistic integrity let video games take over
Artists no longer are allowed that time to develop their craft. Even before the 360 deals started being forced on new artists, they were expected to have a hit on the first cd. This rush of the hit machine is one of the things that has cheapened the music. This has caused people to care less about music in general. This has caused music to be less of a priority for people. In about 25 years this has caused a situation where the video game industry is the bigger priority to the age group that has always been the most obsessed about music. So video games are a big part of it, but how the video games took the crown is very important to the big picture.
Artists never made a penny from cd sales
Part of what made people embrace downloading so much in the first place was the horrid percentages artists made from their work. A band can have a career of a couple decades before their first release even makes them a penny. This happens more often than not. A great majority of artists never see a penny from any of their cds. So many fans hear this and start downloading because they know their favorite band isn’t going to get any of the money anyways. Sure we can debate why this line of thinking is wrong, but the fact is that it is the perception. Their greed has lead to them losing control of the perception their customers have of them and the product they are trying to sell. That’s bad marketing and no opinion of the facts matters after that.
Your paranoia was your downfall
You also have to look at the music industries reaction to the downloading they blame for their downfall. When Napster was the hottest thing on the internet, they tried to make deals with the record companies. These deals would have been way more profitable than the ones they are currently making with iTunes, Amazon, and Wal-Mart. All they could do was freak out and shut them down. Thus training the fans to adopt it. Not because they wanted to steal, but because they obviously wanted to have their music digitally. What if your local bar only served Budwiser quality and the majority made it clear they wanted Sierra Nevada? People would find a way to get that better beer and the local bar would be screwed. People will always find a way to get what they want. Get it to them and you can take their money. Ignore their desires and your business will be dead! Now about a decade later the music industry starts making deals to sell music online. Problem is that it is full of DRM that doesn’t allow people to play the music they buy on any device they want. People are quick to notice that the illegal version is a better product. It can be played on any device. So the great majority keeps downloading illegally. This cheapens the overall image of music even more. They now have an entire generation that they have trained to dismiss music as a totally disposable thing that should just be downloaded. Even as recent as this month they have tried to shut down The Pirate Bay. Have they ever stopped to ask how this will help them? Will it stop downloading? No, it only fuels innovation to find better ways to not get caught. Instead of wasting so many resources they should be trying to find a way to use this free marketing platform to their benefit. If you work for a label, now is the time to smack yourself in the forehead and say ‘DOH’ Homer Simpson style.
It’s not your fault
Now not all the reasons for the downfall of the music industry are the fault of the music industry. Have you noticed that each generations rock stars are a little less famous. When The Beatles came out there was only rock. Pretty much every ‘young person’ listened to that one style. No metal, no punk, no industrial, just rock. Then Led Zeppelin came around and we had a couple more options. There was “hard rock” people could grab on to! The next decade gave us the beginning of metal and punk. Now we had true sub-genres. Now we have so many sub-genres of sub-genres that a band can be the undisputed kings of an entire style of music and still not be able to fill a 500 seater club. So many record sales are not even big enough to be registered by the RIAA. It’s out of vans, mail order, and tiny record companies that are too small to be members of the great overlord known as the RIAA. So when they keep releasing lower and lower numbers, the numbers that are not accurate!
Anyone can have international distro in seconds
As part of music being so spread out with sub-genres of sub-genres is the growth of technology. I can belch into a microphone on this same laptop I am typing this article out on, upload the mp3 recording of that to a service like CD BABY, buy some adds through Ad Words, and give that “CD” international distribution and marketing. I can do all this within an hour! My sales figures will not be recorded by the RIAA. So the numbers they announce are starting to look totally worthless, right? Bands with half a braincell no longer need a label at all. This is also part of what is killing the industry. Now the artists can focus on art and not have business breathing down their neck. Think this is only previously established artists like Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead? Think again! There are new artists like Jonathon Colton that give everything away without a thought but yet still make tons of cash. This kills music industry folks both figuratively and literally.
Now I could go on and on about this, but this article is already longer than 99% of my readers attention spans will tolerate. I haven’t even touched on the whole “loudness war” issue! Someday I can write a book on this and give more detail. But let me close with this. Please do your part in spreading the word. Downloading is only a tiny part of what is killing the music industry and misses the point of what the suits should be focusing on in the first place. If we do enough to get the word out maybe we can save the music industry? Or maybe we should just let them die and laugh at their ignorance?
