hat Dies First

CD sales or radio?

I'll argue that radio started to fall first, and therefore CD sales
are tanking even more than they would in a healthy exhibition
environment.

In case you're out of the loop, CD sales are in FREE FALL! Oh, the
majors don't want to broadcast the story, because they don't know
what to DO about it. They've tried suing traders, hyping the iTunes
Store, nothing seems to make up for lost business. And they're
fearful if Wall Street gets wind, they're really up shit's creek.
Warner and EMI stock will drop through the floor. But, ironically,
the business is run by Universal, which isn't directly beholden to
shareholders, being part of the Vivendi behemoth. So, Doug and Zach
will move last, for they're under the least pressure. Ain't THAT
fucked up.
There is good music out there. But how do you find it?

And despite the long tail, most people are interested in hits. Even
if that hit is a ten minute track on a rock station. Yes, people
want songs that not only affect them emotionally, but that OTHER
people are listening to. People want to be a member of the group.
Otherwise they tune out.

Just like I've tuned out the Oscars.

Who GOES to the movies? Certainly not me. There are too many, and
those that are hyped are rarely good. I've gotten out of the habit.
And, talking to musicians, who LIVE at the movies, they've stopped
going too. Movies are for oldsters who came of age before the advent
of television and teens who want to neck outside the prying eyes of
their parents. The rest of us? We're DONE! The L.A. "Times" has a
special Oscar section? I never crack it. They might as well have a
special section on CRICKET!

But nobody's freaking out, because SOMEBODY'S still going. The cancer
is not being investigated. Not so different in music. Since we're
selling SOME CDs, let's not contemplate the future, the NEAR future!
CDs can no longer sell even 70,000 copies a week.

Let me put that in perspective... In a country of 300 million, that's
less than .03%!! Even MTV, with its historically low ratings, would
have to shut down if that few people were watching. Sure, somebody
is interested, but not MANY!

And sure, Daughtry, the "Idol" exile, is number two on this week's
Hits chart, with 65,092 sales. But that's only because he has a HIT
single! In other words, WITH a hit nobody gives a shit!
But let's merge satellite radio companies. Oh, that'll be good. FOR
WALL STREET!

It's not like there are twenty five satellite outlets. But to placate
the men with money we're going to allow the two to merge, just like
we allowed Clear Channel to buy all those terrestrial stations, the
public be DAMNED!

No one gives a shit about the public. Not the FCC, not the RIAA, not
Wall Street. Hell, do you think those hedge fund managers in their
exclusive enclaves even want to come in CONTACT with the public?

You can't fuck with the means of distribution. The reason the
satellite companies are in dire straits is because they overspent
competing with EACH OTHER! That's the PUBLIC'S fault? That they
mismanaged their assets? We should change the FCC rules to benefit
them? Why don't they get their businesses in order and fight for our
ears!

Someone's got to fight for our ears. It's certainly not Top Forty
radio. That's a land of commercials, peppered with URBAN and POP
music. And last time I checked, rap sales were off twenty percent.

Fuck MySpace and its zillion bands and its shitty software. That's
not the future. The future is mainstream.
But there's nothing IN the mainstream anymore. And the mainstream is
controlled by these cunts only worried about their pocketbooks.

It's confusing.

We need real radio, that people can LISTEN to.

We not only need files without DRM, we need to be able to buy a bucket
of them for a MUCH cheaper price.
If you don't know the above, then you're living in the past. You're
Nero fiddling, you're Marie Antoinette.
Then again, we've got a President who wants to send more troops into Iraq.

Where the fuck is leadership?
By: bob

Over the last two and a half years, there have only been two bands that made newly released recordings that I've loved enough to want to collect.

IMHO, that's the problem. It's not filesharing, it's not that people don't want great songs in their life... it's that there's just nothing powerful enough happening in the scene, to compel the audience.

We should've realized this when American Idol hit the airwaves. On the surface, it looked like a great idea: Give anyone with talent a shot at a big break. But underneath the hype, the message really was that the majors simply have run so out of talent, that they were holding national auditions to see if something was out there that was worth paying attention to.

That was the same intention the The Gong Show started out with... look hard enough, and you'll find something truly genuine. Well... we all know how that turned out. They couldn't find any really good acts, but they did find a plethora of bad ones. Enough to make a hit TV show.

So, two and a half years go by, and I find two bands. I'm grateful to have found anything at all.

Mainstream, indeed. But pop is nowhere to be found in mainstream anymore. Catchy hooks, clever lyrics, clear-as-a-bell voices, and lovingly crafted arrangements have given way to experiments in texture, with no true objective other than to reflect the vapid mood of the times we live in. Elaborate costumes pass as an excuse for expression of individuality. But the audience senses the insincerity underneath the makeup, and turns away.

What's out there today reflects our environment. Not our emotions. Not our individuality. And environment, although powerful, is inanimate and indifferent.

So people are gonna go to the trouble of buying a CD that conveys deliberate, broadly defined depictions of lifelessness? Well... no wonder sales are plummeting!!!!!!

which 2 bands?

Mainstream is not the future, it's the problem. Mainstream is artificial, and it can only end up where it is now. By trying to make something everybody likes, you end up with bland crap.

The niche is king, everyone is different. Get used to the idea that the days of the millionaire artist and the double platinum album are over. Now that you can hear whatever you want, not just what is forced on you, you are free to explore your own tastes. More artists making more music and possibly even making a living doing so. It's a good thing.

I agree with brenthannah. Forget mainstream. Everyone knows it's crap. The internet allows niche artists to find their audience. It allows artists to bypass the big studios. The big studios' days are numbered. Indie is the future. All the big studios have is their back catalog, but that can sustain them for only so long.

The music output is crap. Even if the music is good, the sound quality is crap. Even on a CD. So, to recapitulate Bob Dylan, why not get it free, it ain't worth nothin' anyway?

Indie may be the future, but Indie isn't going to sell 20M copies like Norah Jones, either. Lefsetz says the future is mainstream. Well, I'm afraid not. People just won't sit and listen to stuff they don't like anymore, simply because it is the only thing on the radio. Maybe in the future, everything will be long tail. All albums will be recorded in our bedrooms. I know mine will be, when I learn to use Audacity.

A hit album will be if you sell 500 copies of the thing you recorded in your bedroom.

What's better, sellng 500 copies & making $1000 or selling a million and making nothing?

Great point brenthannah!

"The internet allows niche artists to find their audience. It allows artists to bypass the big studios. The big studios' days are numbered. Indie is the future."

Which is why the record industry is trying so desperately to stifle Internet technology when it comes to movies and music. They want to be able to keep a strong hold of their monopoly.