"The Internet Killed the Music Industry"

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by CADreaming

Then why are record companies going under and can't afford A&R departments? Why can't television shows not afford production any more? Where is the money that used to be there? There was a time when the artists didn't have to tour as much and were making more money selling albums (using Shania Twain as an example here). Songwriters used to make more money off royalties. Something changed, because it's not the same game and it has to do with the internet. This is what I believe Stevie is referring to when she disses on the internet. The label dropped FM and they can't get the big advances they used to get to make their albums...

I'm not saying there aren't advantages, but I do think the industry as a whole took a hit.

Yes .I see that .Thats why TV is loaded with cheap reality shows.

I'm glad to see Robin Williams and Michael J Fox back on TV.

I hope its a trend that will wipe out those reality shows.


Yes I do remember Stevie mentioning about the lack A&R dept at the record companies.

She had to do the leg work to promote IYD. If the label did promote it It probably would of done better.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

The overpriced $16 bucks for a CD did not help them and made fans to freeload their music illegally from those p to p sites .

CD prices were getting outrageous. If the internet never existed, CD's today might have been $25.00 a pop.

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by vivfox

CD prices were getting outrageous. If the internet never existed, CD's today might have been $25.00 a pop.

Yes I agree and people will be recording off the radio if there was no internet to save a buck.

[KarmaContestant]

Record labels aren't going under, but they *were* doing a great job of killing themselves. I say *were* because I think there have actually been some good changes recently that have been embraced by the industry, such as the resurgance of vinyl, which is solely due to consumer demand. When the labels give consumers what we want, we will buy it.

However - I agree that the internet played a role, albeit very minor, by providing ways for people to obtain music without paying for it, in a format that is undistinguishable from legitimate purchases. In the old days, a friend might give you a cassette copy of a new album, but it had no art and sounded inferior. These days a ripped CD is identical - or even better - than what iTunes and Amazon are selling.

There are a few reasons I see for the *decline* of the industry over the previous 20 years, all of which are reversable.

*Corporate radio. Probably the single biggest nail in the coffin. Radio todays plays a handful of songs, pre-programmed on a computer. DJs have litle to no say, and certainly don't choose what they play like they used to. Radio can make a career. Artists that have sold a lot of albums recently are artists that have received a lot of airtime (Maroon 5, Adele, Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce).
*Lack of product. As 45's, LPs and CD singles disappeared from the market, so did the collectibility of many artists' catalogs, and thus, so did the reasons to go to record stores.
*The death of independent record stores, which carry wide selections. People can't buy what they can't find. Independent record stores are the single biggest promoters of music after radio.
*The consolidation of competition. Did you know there are only three 'major' record labels anymore? They keep buying each other to eliminate competition. Sony, Warner and Universal are all that is left after the recent acquisition of Parlophone by Warner Music Group. Almost every other label out there is owned by one of these big three. Even the so-called Independents need the big three for distribution of product.

Even still, there are over 75,000 albums released each year in the United States alone. This is not a dying industry - it is a grossly mismanaged industry that tried to turn art into a commodity with disasterous results.

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Record labels aren't going under, but they *were* doing a great job of killing themselves. I say *were* because I think there have actually been some good changes recently that have been embraced by the industry, such as the resurgance of vinyl, which is solely due to consumer demand. When the labels give consumers what we want, we will buy it.

However - I agree that the internet played a role, albeit very minor, by providing ways for people to obtain music without paying for it, in a format that is undistinguishable from legitimate purchases. In the old days, a friend might give you a cassette copy of a new album, but it had no art and sounded inferior. These days a ripped CD is identical - or even better - than what iTunes and Amazon are selling.

There are a few reasons I see for the *decline* of the industry over the previous 20 years, all of which are reversable.

*Corporate radio. Probably the single biggest nail in the coffin. Radio todays plays a handful of songs, pre-programmed on a computer. DJs have litle to no say, and certainly don't choose what they play like they used to. Radio can make a career. Artists that have sold a lot of albums recently are artists that have received a lot of airtime (Maroon 5, Adele, Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce).
*Lack of product. As 45's, LPs and CD singles disappeared from the market, so did the collectibility of many artists' catalogs, and thus, so did the reasons to go to record stores.
*The death of independent record stores, which carry wide selections. People can't buy what they can't find. Independent record stores are the single biggest promoters of music after radio.
*The consolidation of competition. Did you know there are only three 'major' record labels anymore? They keep buying each other to eliminate competition. Sony, Warner and Universal are all that is left after the recent acquisition of Parlophone by Warner Music Group. Almost every other label out there is owned by one of these big three. Even the so-called Independents need the big three for distribution of product.

Even still, there are over 75,000 albums released each year in the United States alone. This is not a dying industry - it is a grossly mismanaged industry that tried to turn art into a commodity with disasterous results.

Yes you hit the nail on the top about corp radio.It ruined radio.

[OutsideTheRain]

I love to pop on here once in a while. As a musician myself that is not only a fan of Stevie's but someone who has been fortunate to talk with her at length about what it's like for younger upcoming artists- she is right on the money. It's virtually impossible for us songwriters to make enough money to survive. So i end up promoting my music here and elsewhere hoping to drum up a few itunes sales to make ends meet. Not trying to be a sob story, its just the way it is. So now enter my shameless plug lol:

stream my new single
johnbrandoli.bandcamp.com

or check out my last music video (featuring some very special guests)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFAfgNPN0GQ

Love to you all !!

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

Yes you hit the nail on the top about corp radio.It ruined radio.

After ignoring radio for many years I started tuning in again in 2010 and have discovered many new awesome songs I never would have known about otherwise. Even when I was a boy growing up in the 60's and 70's, the basic radio formats played the required same 10 songs every hour on the hour.

[jcfree]

OutsideTheRain, great song love the harmonies and the whole production, very well done!

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by vivfox

After ignoring radio for many years I started tuning in again in 2010 and have discovered many new awesome songs I never would have known about otherwise. Even when I was a boy growing up in the 60's and 70's, the basic radio formats played the required same 10 songs every hour on the hour.

Maybe that what I got to do and I agree on the same top 10 songs every hour and mentioned earlier Debbie Boone's "You Light up my Life" was one of those tunes.
Maybe thats why my late sister picked "You Light up my Life" for her wedding song when she got married in 1978.

Originally Posted by OutsideTheRain

I love to pop on here once in a while. As a musician myself that is not only a fan of Stevie's but someone who has been fortunate to talk with her at length about what it's like for younger upcoming artists- she is right on the money. It's virtually impossible for us songwriters to make enough money to survive. So i end up promoting my music here and elsewhere hoping to drum up a few itunes sales to make ends meet. Not trying to be a sob story, its just the way it is. So now enter my shameless plug lol:

stream my new single
johnbrandoli.bandcamp.com

or check out my last music video (featuring some very special guests)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFAfgNPN0GQ

Love to you all !!

Great video Outsidetherain.Great sound and story.

Yes I agree about artist only making pennies on their work and thats why Stevie and her counterparts in the biz got to work their rears off on the road in order to pay the bills.

Stevie worked her a$$ off to support IYD with her self promotions with her documentary and CD.She is a great sales lady too.

I was shocked when I read the news about Linda Ronstadt when she ran into hard times on top of her illness. She was the highest-paid woman in rock at one time according to her Wikipedia page. She did mostly covers of other artists or writers songs and Linda was the best doing them.

[vivfox]

Originally Posted by jcfree

OutsideTheRain, great song love the harmonies and the whole production, very well done!

This must be the song that single handidly sunk the music biz.

[OutsideTheRain]

Originally Posted by vivfox

This must be the song that single handidly sunk the music biz.

Haha! I take full responsibility!

Thanks guys for all the kind words. I'm on Facebook and all that too, if you want to say hi

[KarmaContestant]

Originally Posted by vivfox

After ignoring radio for many years I started tuning in again in 2010 and have discovered many new awesome songs I never would have known about otherwise. Even when I was a boy growing up in the 60's and 70's, the basic radio formats played the required same 10 songs every hour on the hour.

Now see, this was not my experience when I was a teen in the late 80's. I listened to WKHQ in northern Michigan, and I'd be lucky to hear the same song twice on the same day. It was so rare - and if you requested something they already played that day they'd tell you they couldn't play it again because they already played it. That's how I remember radio - full of literally hundreds of tunes from hundreds of artists.You could listen all day and never hear a repeat. Even the most popular songs of the day were not repeated - there were too many other songs to play. I would hear Madonna, Aerosmith, Pebbles, Gloria Estefan, Pat Benatar, Swing Out Sister, Anita Baker and Love And Rockets all on the same radio station which is something that would never, ever happen today because those artists are in different genres. These days, the variety is gone and people who should be all over the radio are total unknowns in the music world outside of their small, alternative fan bases. That's my experience.

[MikeInNV]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

Now see, this was not my experience when I was a teen in the late 80's. I listened to WKHQ in northern Michigan, and I'd be lucky to hear the same song twice on the same day. It was so rare - and if you requested something they already played that day they'd tell you they couldn't play it again because they already played it. That's how I remember radio - full of literally hundreds of tunes from hundreds of artists.You could listen all day and never hear a repeat. Even the most popular songs of the day were not repeated - there were too many other songs to play. I would hear Madonna, Aerosmith, Pebbles, Gloria Estefan, Pat Benatar, Swing Out Sister, Anita Baker and Love And Rockets all on the same radio station which is something that would never, ever happen today because those artists are in different genres. These days, the variety is gone and people who should be all over the radio are total unknowns in the music world outside of their small, alternative fan bases. That's my experience.

On weekends one of my local radio stations re-broadcasts American Top 40 with Casey Kasem, the eighties one day and the seventies the next. The diversity you find in those charts is amazing; every kind of music is represented. Now it seems "Top 40" is its own genre, and only a very narrow range of music fits into it.

[Macfanforever]

Originally Posted by MikeInNV

On weekends one of my local radio stations re-broadcasts American Top 40 with Casey Kasem, the eighties one day and the seventies the next. The diversity you find in those charts is amazing; every kind of music is represented. Now it seems "Top 40" is its own genre, and only a very narrow range of music fits into it.

Yes .I love Casey Kasem and his version of the top 40.I listen too it every weekend online.

Check this AT40 forum out which I'm a member of..They have everything about AT40's from Casey Kasem to Ryan Seacrest plus days and times when the show airs on the radio.



http://at40fg.proboards.com/

[MikeInNV]

Originally Posted by Macfanforever

Check this AT40 forum out which I'm a member of..They have everything about AT40's from Casey Kasem to Ryan Seacrest plus days and times when the show airs on the radio.



http://at40fg.proboards.com/

That looks like fun.....thanks!