Music Industry Worried About CD-Burning
 

Music Industry Worried About CD-Burning

By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer

Music copied onto blank recordable CDs is becoming a bigger threat to the bottom line of record stores and music labels than online file-sharing, the head of the recording industry's trade group said Friday.

"Burned" CDs accounted for 29 percent of all recorded music obtained by fans in 2004, compared to 16 percent attributed to downloads from online file-sharing networks, said Mitch Bainwol, chief executive for the Recording Industry Association of America

The data, compiled by the market research firm NPD Group, suggested that about half of all recordings obtained by music fans in 2004 were due to authorized CD sales and about 4 percent from paid music downloads.

"CD burning is a problem that is really undermining sales," Bainwol said in an interview prior to speaking before about 750 members of the National Association of Recording Merchandisers in San Diego Friday.

Copy protection technology "is an answer to the problem that clearly the marketplace is going to see more of," he added.

Album sales in the North America are down about 7 percent this year compared with a year ago, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Yet the recording industry has seen a lift from online music sales, which when factored in with album and sales of CD singles increased overall music sales through July to 21 percent over last year.

The focus on CD burning Friday was welcomed by Alayna Hill-Alderman, who said she has seen music CD sales slide in recent years while sales of blank recordable CDs have soared.

"We are feeling the decline in our store sales, especially with regard to R&B and the hip-hop world," said Hill-Alderman, co-owner of Record Archive, a two-store company operating in Rochester, N.Y. "It's all due to burning. We've lost tremendous amounts of those sales to flea markets and bodegas."

After experimenting with copy-protected CDs in Europe and Latin America in recent years, some record labels have begun releasing albums in North America with similar copy restrictions. The CDs typically allow users to burn no more than a handful of copies.

Velvet Revolver's "Contraband," released last year, was equipped with such copy-protection technology and grabbed the top sales spot in its debut week.

Some saw that as a sign music fans didn't mind CDs with copy restrictions. But other releases since, such as the latest Foo Fighters album, have sometimes spawned fan complaints that the restrictions go too far or create technology conflicts with portable audio devices.

Simon Wright, chief executive of Virgin Entertainment Group International, which oversees the Virgin chain of music stores, said he's in favor of labels releasing more albums in a copy-protected CD format, regardless of the potential for consumer backlash.

"If, particularly, the technology allows two-to-three burns, that's well within acceptable limits and I don't think why consumers should have any complaints," Wright said.

They have learned NOTHING from Vcr's. Time to get their heads out of their A#@ and figure out maybe the record sales are down because of the trash they kick out there. Who wants to buy cd after cd with only one good song on it? Give the industry back to the real music people and away from the bean counters. I could go on and on..... but I won't. Just sick of them Crybabbying. Gee, pretty soon artists wont NEED the big labels anymore for distribution and the days of ripping of the artists might be over. Won't that be a shame? (I use to work in various areas of the industry so am allowed to whine- just a little). Time for a cookie. :p

Oh no now Britney Spears can't her golden fountain and will have to settle with bronze. P Diddy will have to settle with the Regular Limo instead of the stretch.....please :rolleyes:

Oh forgot to mention.... Love the more cow bell! :nod:

It's not just that they are kicking out a lot of trash these days, but that trash is way over-priced. And cd singles are even more ridiculous. If they want to boost their sales they need to lower their prices because each of those cds with only one good song on them will run the consumer between $15 and $20 a pop. It's ridiculous and is the biggest reason why I almost never buy cds anymore unless it's from an artist whose work I already know and love.

if these fools think they can stop cd burning they are lost in space

Chris

It's not like it's a new phenomenon. 30 years ago people were copying cassette tapes. I may have been high but I don't remember the outcry at that time by the artists.

Terry

:D and P Diddy announced to the world yesterday that he is now known as just "Diddy"...pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

p diddy aka puff daddy aka puffy aka diddy is a rapper/clothing designer/joke :nod: :lol: :laugh: :lol: ~

He should just change his name to "Sucky" and get it over with.

What an idiot.

That's the same whine from them we heard 50 years ago about recording onto blank cassette tapes. Give it a rest.

I wish I didn't know who P. Diddy was....stupid P. Diddy....PICK A NAME _ STICK WITH IT!!!

It's just Diddy!#%@^* :mad: -_-













:lol:

I'm so tired of the whining that it's the record companies' faults for putting out 'trash.' I work for a record company. For every single crap 311 or R. Kelly CD we put out, we also put out something like the new Rodney Crowell, or British Sea Power, or Matisyahu, or Jem. Amazing records are at your local stores, they always have and they always will be. The explosion of pop artists like Britney and all that crap DOES suck, sure it does- but don't blame the record companies who have done what any business will do- exploit a popular trend for as long as possible to make the most amount of money.

The record industry isn't going to take notice and start putting out quality music on a widespread scale until people actually show them that they want it. And they have been lately, and that's a good thing.

Seriously, I'm a walking encyclopedia. Name older artists/albums you like, and I'll give you a recommendation or two for something new or new-ish you would love. The past five years have actually been incredibly fruitful in my view for great records.

Where are you buying CDs?! That's why you go to Best Buy, Target, Circuit City, Amazon, and in many cases Borders or Tower... I wish people would stop shopping at Sam Goodys and FYEs forever- Sam Goody takes pleasure in marking up the price of a CD up a buck or two from the already high price the record company has set for it.

To the DMV & IRS it's "Sean". :laugh:

I actually liked his rendition..especially when Sting performed it with him at the VMAs

Chris

Well I would agree with that EXCEPT...As you will notice when a really good and artistic performer is ACTUALLY promoted they usually catch on (IE : Norah Jones)..The record companies think this Diddy, Britney, etc. crap is all that sells, when in fact many of us just don't actually hear the "good" stuff because it's not promoted and played on radio (because the record companies are doing the whole payola thing to get certain people played)...

The record companies are relying on a specific group of people to sell music to, when in fact there's millions of people who would buy more music if the music was more quality..Well you say the quality music is out there, you just gotta find it--well that's not how it works for the average music listener. They pick up CD's based on what they hear on the radio or on TV (and now that VH1 has become another E! channel there's no chance in many good videos getting out there)---they dont go digging through the bins finding CD's by artists who havent made it yet

Chris

Really. He needs to get over himself, already. :laugh:

Of course. It's totally obvious. I don't think the record industry would be making such a stink over CD burning if sales were up. It's because sales are down year after year that you hear all this pissing & moaning. I think the labels are reaping what they have sown, & I am highly amused by all of it. They have spent ten or fifteen years now promoting garbage from top to bottom, stuff targeting the 9- to 14-year-olds, & have not helped build careers for artists that may have longer-lived appeal. Let's face it: when that 9-year-old who loves Britney Aguilera or Christina Spears or whatever the latest flavor is gets to be 15 or so, that's it. Bye-bye, Britney. Back when the labels were a *little* smarter, they signed bands that generated a more lasting appeal -- like the band we're devoted to here on this forum.

The related aspect is that Spears/Aguilar et al. aren't the kind of music that compels fans to buy albums -- hearing that stuff on the radio or in a club is sufficient for those fans. They don't camp out at the record stores waiting for the newest release the way kids used to twenty-five or thirty-five years ago. Albums have no allure for kids any more, & that's probably because the pop stars' entire careers these days are geared so specifically to the danceable radio hit single as just a sort of droning background noise for one's clubbing or one's grind experience. You don't hear a "song" these days & think, "I'd like to hear the whole album of that artist!" You don't get excited about the lyrics, either, about reading the lyrics insert the way we used to. There's some interest in lyrics with some rap music, I guess, but the omnipresent dance music doesn't generate any interest in reading & interpreting words.

The other thing that has probably hurt sales enormously is MTV's slow & steady veering away from music (videos, concerts, etc.) to "reality" nonsense 24 hours a day.

I hope the entire industry comes crashing down or implodes from its own stupidity, but I'm a bit of an anarchist.

:] :lol: I love it...I agree with you..It would be amusing to see the money hungry bastards who have been trying to ruin music for 10 yrs to go bankrupt..

Chris

I actually completely agree with you, but for this one point- is today's explosion of teen pop crap like the Britneys and Christinas of the world really all that different from the pop of years ago like your Bay City Rollers, Partridge Family, and Osmonds of the world? To me it's the same phenomenon, but worse in the way that all of pop culture is today. It's a disgusting trend that doesn't just include pop music- it's crappy movies, tabloid media, crappy television, crappy role models- girls wearing thongs at 9 years old, etc. Pop music has just become less quality, more quantity like everything else. Is Britney the cause of the excess of our times or just a symptom?

I havent paid...
 

more than 12.99 for a cd in quite a while, I usually purchase new releases at BestBuy (Excluding a few that I order directly through a musicians website such as the discs available through Chris Caffery's website http://www.chriscaffery.com ) and I dont see no reason to pay more...And f**k Wal-Mart,!!! (They may have some reasonable priced discs, but ab-so-f**kin-lutely no selection whatsoever.)

Most, if not all of the discs I buy are on smaller labels and these discs have great inserts/lyrics panels/etc and almost always contain extra material that make the discs longer than most other types of music (ie-Chris Caffery's "Faces" cd contained a bonuc disc "God Damn War" which was 42 minutes long in length...Black Lotus, his record label based in Athens, Greece just wanted a few extra bonus tracks, Not a complete bonus album.)

Btw, I dont understand and never will understand a cd single, I guess that is aimed at the younger generation because I am a diehard/old fashioned album person, Not a 'singles' person.

I can always find a nice CD in great condition, sometimes used online for WAY cheaper..thats always the route I go

half.com is a great place
as well as amazon.com

Chris

Well, back in the day singles were great because they had b-sides and other stuff that you couldn't hear anywhere else. Nowadays, you're pretty hard pressed to even find singles in the store because they've stopped making them, and when they do, they have **** remixes on them where b-sides and outtakes used to be. If you want that stuff, you have to buy ridiculously high priced imports from Europe.

I ALSO worked for a record label. And they are all the same only worse now. And Haley, I am not picking on you, but the record companies are to blame when they won't promote those "amazing" records. I have seen many great things die on the vine for lack of attention by them. (Yes, there will be exceptions to these) They = record execs.

1. They don't give new artists a chance to grow anymore, they want product shoved out as fast as possible, no time is given to produce a cd with more than a couple of decent songs on it.

2. They don't want groups anymore, just single personalities.

3. The industry is run by Accountants now..... not people who actually into the music. How many executives collect music anymore?

4. Price gouging. The cost of making a lp was $2.12. The price of a cd is less than 7 cents. Yes, they can cook the books to add in every little thing to say it is more expensive now, but it really isn't.

5. Rather than add VALUE to cds in order to gain purchasing over burning, they would rather whine. (Remember when albumns had posters and stickers...etc. I think cd's could have things added- how about band trading cards, or autographs mixed in every so many thousand? Make the boxes bigger and add stickers, or postcards, or whatever? Make the cd itself have better graphics - 3d's, holograms. How about special decoder rings? Scratch off cards for %off when you go to the concert, win free merchandise, ...Geez maybe a free coke?. A special use only once code to get more music on the web?) They can come up with something if the MUSIC itself isn't working anymore.

6. They have to adapt to new technology and accept the fact that todays entertainment dollars are going to other things besides music. (Computer games,...etc.)

7. I also blame the monopolistic radio markets. Big corps own most of the stations in major markets so a new group will almost never get airplay. If they aren't on the playlist, they aren't easily getting on.

8. They need to accept the world is changing and change with it. The technology is out there to imbed into files a limited use. 5 plays then it would go to a 30 sec sample, unless it is purchased.

9. Sure they "ride the trend" but they also keep it going and push trends that may not have survived as long as the do. (The macarana (sp) was one trend they didn't need to push...ick) Can't a trend be GOOD music on an entire cd? Or pay the artists a decent % of albumn sales? A cd liner worth looking at? ....etc.

10. Also the popular artists are to blame. One reason I HATE...yes HATE... rap/hiphop crap is they would rather Steal..oh sample...music rather than writing their own. (Among a ton of other reasons, but hey...each their own). So easy and cheap to produce this stuff then learn to play an instrument and write your own music. And no- a drum machine is not an instrument. (I cringe whenever I hear sampling). And yes, I still can't stand the fact they stole - er used - Stevie's stuff, even if she didn't mind. -harrumph.

It is down to $$$$$$$$$. They have to accept that they can't make the same margins with the same formulas from times past.

Okay off my soapbox now. :mad: (Your turn Haley :xoxo: :wavey: )

Oh I almost forgot. The way they use to get around Cassettes, make the albumns longer than standard blank cassette lengths. If the blank is 60 minutes, (30 a side) then make the albumns 32 minutes each side. Also Cassettes generations got worse as you made copies. Cd's don't. :nod:

It just pisses me off that people whine about the major labels but don't try to support the independent labels and artists that are producing exactly the kind of things people are complaining about wanting. If you want a viable solution or change to this industry, then support the people who are doing it the right way. People are so passive about music- they want awesome stuff to be handed to them, and it's not going to be. It SHOULD be- the record labels do a crap job. But don't just complain about it and then not buy cds because of it, or download music, or burn cds. Support the people that are doing it the right way.

I do completely agree. I wish more people would use iTunes and buy the "good" songs off an album instead of the whole thing and send a message to the companies that crap albums won't do it anymore.

So many record labels ARE doing this- often times it's with bonus DVDs. Dual Disc is another new format that they're trying to use to give value to the customer- the album on one side, DVD content and 5.1 sound on the other. Giving consumers the option to get limited edition cds with extra songs, different packaging, etc. Just the other day I opened a copy of the Click 5 CD to play (sucks, btw.) and they had a trading card on the inside. Apparently there's one of each member that you can collect. They do exclusive web stuff. They're trying all the time to put value into the purchase of a CD. But at a certain point, it all gets so shtick-y to me. It's not a ****ing cereal box. It's an album. Buy it or don't. Gimmicks are lame.

Agreed, and I actually had wanted to address Chris's earlier point about radio and payola. What people don't understand is that if they think the record labels are shady, they should take a look at radio. Radio is driven by advertising dollars, and those advertisers want their 18-34 demographic. Really, 21-34, since a vast part of radio advertising are alcohol ads. And the radio stations play what attracts their demo. There isn't a lot of wiggle room there for breaking artists or experimentation. There's actually a decent article in the most recent issue of Blender (with Family Guy on the cover) on the death of rock radio.

One of the things that pisses me off the most is copy protection. RCA is copy protecting all their releases, which means that I, a legitimate user, cannot put the Kasabian, Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, or Kings of Leon disc on my iPod. Which means I don't listen to them like I would otherwise. Which really just screws the band and the company. There's no perfect solution for the change in technology today- a fix for one problem creates a new set of problems in another area.

There wasn't anything *wrong* with the Macarena, though. It was annoying, but it's not like people didn't LIKE it. It wouldn't have done well if a lot of people hadn't enjoyed being tools singing and dancing with it, just like Who Let the Dogs Out. Blame the idiots that keep it going instead of the ones who put it out in the first place.

There are plenty of CDs that are consistently good, and that are popular right now. I don't tend to like popular albums, but I can say 100% that I think the Anna Nalick record, and the Gavin Degraw album, and Gretchen Wilson's record, and Kelly Clarkson's album, are all GREAT. Every song on them. Those are four extremely popular records. What about a band like Coldplay, that's experiencing huge success now? They're not my cup of tea but they're undeniably good. I think that the quality of popular music has been on a bit of an upswing lately, and so it's just disheartening to get into arguments about it because right now it's better than it's been in sooo long. Not that that's saying much.

Agreed. Really, my problem with the industry has more to do with the way record labels themselves are run, instead of what's released and promoted.

:)

GOOD POINTS! I think we are basically on the same page. :xoxo: :nod:

btw which corp you with? I was with RCA. (And a radio station and did record retail ... sort of saw it all back in the day)

People are paying more than 13 bucks for a cd!?!

I refuse to pay more - unless I absolutely have to....Best Buy, Target, Circuit City - love those places just because I can get cheap cds...

I HATE Sam Goody FYE etc....I don't understand why anyone would buy anything from there :shrug:

AND - if you price match, you can get an additional 10% off. :laugh:

I can't even think of something to say to this because its so stupid.

I think he should change his name to reflect his music more. Like "Doody". :nod:

:laugh:

I didn't even know he could still sell records.

I think he still produces, but the bulk of his money is, I think, now madein real estate and the clothing line. There was a big article in the NY Times about a month ago where they talk about his finances and how he is a little stretched.

I heard that he was bitching about having to pay child support and was fighting the order to do so. :rolleyes: He can spread his diddy, but he can't take responsibility for it?

Well, the woman wanted to raise the $35,000 a month he already pays her :eek: He was fighting that.

:lol: :lol:

omg - too funny.

And I? Can't stand that mand - the child support stuff makes him even less of a man in my eyes...not like I ever thought of him as some great man....

Oh, and watches with the musician's face on them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sell everything else but the music. That still won't erase the fact that the music is crap.