hmm, the music business may in fact be dead.
 

So, I just came across an article about the music business and it said that music sales are indeed down by over 50% from 10 years. Of course, the internet and digital music is to blame. But what gets me is that even artists that have hits on the radio can't even go platinum. Jordin Sparks was the winner of American Idol. A few years ago, she had her last worldwide hit with a great song called Battlefield. The song hit the top 10 in the U.S. but the album only managed to sale 177,000 in the u.s. I can't believe that. I download a couple of songs from that album, including a song I really liked called No Parade and I just assumed the album was going to platinum. It never even went gold. The music business is a sad state of affairs.

Well there you go.

You "downloaded a couple of songs" instead of buying the album, which is what the majority of people do these days.

Did I ever tell you how much your threads brighten my day? ;) :rolleyes:

I don't download. At all. I buy on principle. Because I want to help the artists as much as I can, and at the same time have a solid and tangible record/cd to add to my collection.

I bought those songs on iTunes

It doesn't matter. You still did not purchase the whole album.

You can still *legally* download on iTunes, Amazon, etc. That's what I do. If there is a song that I like, I'll pay for it without paying for the whole album, unless I decide that I want to pay for and download the whole album.

I don't know, I just couldn't believe that that album never even went gold, let alone platinum. That song Battlefield, I thought, would of pushed it up there. Apparantly not. I'm wondering if even Beyonces next album is going to do that well. A lot of people don't seem to like the first single.

I'm not sure I buy into all the doomsday prophecies. I just think a very old and outdated business is (painfully) evolving, and the consumer will reap the benefits. Think of it this way: You can now preview tracks from every song on every album online, & then buy the individual songs you like based on merit. No longer can artists & record labels get away with recording a couple of catchy songs per album, and substitute the rest with filler material. If an artist does do that, they are now drastically affecting their sales, the record company's bottom line, and they're soon out of the game. The internet is forcing record companies to be fair with pricing (or lose out to free downloads), and for their product from their artists to be top notch. I think it's a GOOD thing.

Plus, it makes way for Indie artists and labels in the market place which have less overhead, and can navigate these twists and turns better. I've gotten into indie music hugely the past 5+ years because on average, it's so much higher quality than the "manufactured" content from most larger record labels. Indie artists are in the biz because they love making music, not necessarily because they want to rake in the big buck$. Folks can run around screaming "the sky is falling! The sky is falling!" But I'm loving it! :nod:

And in other shocking news, airline travel is more of a hassle since 9/11. Where have you been, dude?

I think the music business is in the shape its in because of the crappy music thats out there. There's alot I don't like really. I guess I'm picky. It'll not ever been the 70's hey days of the singer- songwriters. Its really kinda sad. Plus I do think the way people purchase there music does make a difference with the DL and all. I don't do that I'm still old fashioned as well. I like something in my hands. I guess that's personal preference though and really thats ok. I don't even like the country music now either. give me late 60's/70's/80's stuff . Not that I'm some huge country fan but I do like some artists there too. I guess technology is good for some things but I still like somethings the previous ways. Like books still books and magazines still magazines and cds and vinyls still that way. I'm sure the Ipod and the Nook make things very convient etc but well. I guess I'll be kicking and screaming before I go to those items but who knows I'll not ever say 'never' cause well thats usally a mistake. I'll wait for as long as possible though. :shrug::D

What Louie said. :thumbsup:

I remember the day of vinyl.buy the whole lp and get two to three good songs out of the lp and the rest are duds.At lease today you can cherry pick the hits out of an cd instead of plucking down $13.00 dollars for the whole thing.

A foot note at the end of Stevie's shows when she says please save the music biz.

The Music business is a new ball game for the older artists even the young artists if your not on the top of the charts your not going to sell today an artist needs to tour besides releasing a cd to make money. I don't know why either that they make reg. cd and a bonus with one or two songs on the album more than the reg. release I don't understand that. Why don't they just release one version of the album with all the bonus tracks on it and probably would sell more my guess. I am old school I do remember the days of Lp's and cassettes even having an 8-track player too but Remember waiting to get the album or cassette some times both I used to have a sony am/fm cassette walkman too so I would get the vinly and the cassette so would have it for when I use my walkman.