http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/7/34693.html

Despite launching a legal assault against its customer base, the recording industry appears to be benefitting from increasing music sales once again.

While 2003 music sales were flat overall, the record labels enjoyed a healthy spike in the fourth quarter, hinting that the industry doom and gloom so often suggested by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) may be fading. Recent data from Nielsen SoundScan shows that an improving economy is having a positive effect on the music biz.

In 2003, total music shipments slipped but 0.8 percent when compared to 2002. Sales also fell slightly by 3.6 percent year-on-year. In the fourth quarter, however, unit shipments surged 10.5 percent compared to 2002 with sales also rising 4.3 percent.

Along with the strong quarter, the music industry saw success in various areas for the entire year. Music video sales jumped 78.5 percent in 2003, and DVD music video sales rose 104.5 percent year-on-year. Since June of this year, 19.2 million songs have also been purchased in online stores.

So where does this leave us?

The recording industry will likely point to its file trader lawsuit campaign as reason for the uptick in sales at year end. While plausible, this does not seem the most likely of explanations.

The pigopolists have been fighting all year to shut down music trading services and to punish song swappers but with fairly modest success. If file trading was really at the heart of a three year slump in sales, one might expect a far more dramatic change in the data following an entire year of legal scares.

Instead, music sales seems to be following larger economic trends. Imagine that.

U.S. economic reports released in December showed that consumer spending is strong, incomes are rising and job prospects appear far better than at the start of 2003. From July to September, the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 8.2 percent, according to the Commerce Department. The government also reported that personal consumption spending rose by 0.4 percent in November, as incomes rose by 0.5 percent.

It should come as no surprise to see music sales improving hand-in-hand with the lot of consumers.

A healthy 2004 will likely leave the music labels with little to complain about, but it's doubtful that an uptick in sales would be enough to call off the swine herd now. Once you've launched a full scale attack against consumers, it's hard to pull back. Even if they pay your bills.

booooooooooooooooooooooooooooo-urns

Well I guess it means that our boycott is not working as well as we'd like. However I don't believe that boycott-riaa's job is that alone anyhow. It's all about public awareness and I believe boycott-riaa and others are more aware than ever. It is our job to keep this awareness growing and allow people to make more informed decisions about their music buying habits and musicians options when signing into any contracts. People knowing facts are what the RIAA fear most.

That was meant to read 'and I believe that boycott-riaa and others have made people more aware than ever'

Keep up the good fight!

"Instead, music sales seems to be following larger economic trends. Imagine that."

No kidding. It's amazing how that works.

The economy slumps, but their sales are down because of those damn P2P users. The economy shows signs of life, but their sales are up because all those damn P2P users are being punished.

Surprise data: The number of P2P users hasn't changed significantly. Nor has it ever, unless it has gone up.

A boycott won't truly hurt these people until 12- 20 year olds grow a pair of hairys and stop buying their

garbage!!

I'm pretty sure the combination of lawsuits and $9 deals would account for most of their gains.

However like Deadman said, our boycott isn't working as well as we'd like. If our goal is to free the music industry of the RIAA's tyrant control, we really have to get on the ball of posting our boycott-RIAA bannors as well as spreading out information via public means (like around colleges and local district areas) if we're gonna get people to take notice. We're not gonna get anywhere if we just keep this on the net, there are more people out there who still don't know about any of this and we have to somehow tell them.

Nooooooooooooooooo!!! Does anyone here still buy CD's? RIAA lawsuits killed all my interest in music.

i have not bought RIAA music since about 10th grade i am currently in 14th, and every artist that i have seen actively insult P2P and file sharing i cant seem to stomach listening to any more, go figure

Just an observation: Australian economy has been booming for the past 3 years but CD sales are still declining.

I doubt last years slump in the US was entirely due to the economy. DVD popularity, an increased awareness of the excessive cost of CDs, an increased awarenes of the record industry practices in general, abstaining protest against the sueing, and perhaps p2p had a negative effect, but it's just as likely that p2p helped sales. Evidence against p2p is non-existant still.

There are so many people still out there that don't even access the internet. And of those that do the percentage that actually have any interest in copyright politics is probably not very high. People tend to pay attention to the media more. TV and radio to be precise. But since a lot of those are controlled by the very companies we are trying to expose then there is fat chance of the word getting out via them.

That's why we have to encourage them to find the truth. They won't realize they're pawns until we tell them.

hell if a movie cost 19.95 then a music cd cost 19.95 what's up here. i wonder why it doesn't sell. Daaaaaaaaaaaa. besides the music sucks anyway to much filler.

"Recent data from Nielsen SoundScan shows that an improving economy is having a positive effect on the music biz."
Thats a lie! The music is only affected by illegal file sharing. Everyone knows that. The economy, Pifff. What drivil.

"A healthy 2004 will likely leave the music labels with little to complain about, but it's doubtful that an uptick in sales would be enough to call off the swine herd now. Once you've launched a full scale attack against consumers, it's hard to pull back. Even if they pay your bills."

No doubt. Remember fokes The RIAA warriors for light and justice don't get to collect their fat paychecks if there is not a problem. Suits making $100,000-1,000,000 a year have more than enough reason to invent a problem that may or not exist and ballon it up.

I'm not going to get excited yet. one quarter isn't enough for the industry to shout triumphantly that it is on the rebound. especially since that quarter is the Christmas season and they pulled out all the stops to promote selected groups and stars (remember the sham giving Britney Spears a star on the walk of fame). Also as George points out so well that their numbers are padded and trumped up to begin with.

If they skewed their numbers to show a larger loss than reality for the sole effect of wiping out file sharing then we've got to assume this 4th quarter blip has also been fabricated for a different purpose. perhaps shareholders are getting nervous. That comes to mind right away

Sales up? We are failing. Work harder.

if we allow this to happen, we're gonna have a very dire future to look forward to.

basically, we're saying it's OK that when sales fall, the RIAA (or whatever other big company copies their tactics) should use legislation and near-extortion tactics to 'improve the bottom line'- after all it seems to have worked these past few years. while the RIAA labels have released fewer products overall, their sales are now on the increase? their QC departments aren't hiring as many people, so we get the ugliest sound yet (but pretty similar when compressed in mp3 so where's our incentive to pay other than to avoid a lawsuit!) but are still paying a premium for it. people! we have to get library cards and get together to organize who will buy the 'master CD' that we all copy, at least at a local level. we have to buy more indie stuff and less corporate crap. let's help make this their last 'spike' in their favor!!!

If you guys think a multi-billion dollar group of businesses is going to roll over and die in 6 months, I have got news for you.
The system has massive momentum, it could take 5-10 years.
What we have now thanks due to the lawsuits is a greater awareness of Indie labels, an awareness of Indie music, greater public knowledge of the treachery and deceit of the riaa, and a overall expanded knowledge of the music business in general.

What is needed is an increased awareness by the artists that to "make it" in the music business does not require a contract with the riaa.

Keep it up, neither the ideas of this site and it's people are going away any time soon. This crusade is going to be for the people who are in it for the long haul.

^ Yes... It helped me to find out what I'm gonna have to do to protect my band. We may not be the Rolling Stones but whenever I come back to the states (this year about Octoberish...) we're gonna be wary of Sony, Universal, and Clear Channel.

Grass roots all the way baby! Make sure to look us up whenever we're able to get our album together. I visit this site everyday. Just post sparingly now...

Im prepared to spend 10 years. I know the media sector is going to be completly rearranged to incorporate new technology. I also know that historicly every time there has been a major change like that in the media sector every label, studio, broadcaster and other involved company has tried to prevent it, usually with little success. Im mainly concerned with minimising the damage that could be done by excessive "anti-piracy" effots, which could leave undesireable legislation and propritary technology causing problems decades after the change itsself is complete.

Whose sales aren't up in the 4th quarter?

Nearly everyone's are because of the Christmas season.

Their rise in sales has absolutely nothing to do with the lawsuit business. Even they can't honestly believe that. The RIAA with all of its lawyers knows that it can't sue enough people to make any kind of a difference, and of the people that they have sued, I doubt that any of them went out and started buying CD's.

Would you buy from an organization that just sued you for thousands of dollars? Of course not, you couldn't afford to even if you wanted to after you're a few grand lighter in the wallet.

Even if the economy improves, I don't see their sales improving, atleast not by much.

Their sales dropped due in part to a slumping economy, but I doubt the opposite will happen in contrast because there are other reasons.

1) The rising popularity of DVD's and Video Games. People feel that they get more out of these forms of entertainment, and I agree. Stores such as FYE, Sam Goody, Best Buy, Target, etc are stocking more games and DVD's than CD's, and you see a hell of a lot more people in the DVD and game sections than you do in the CD section.

2) The price of CD's.

3) The quality of CD's. Releasing the same cookie cutter garbage has finally caught up to them. No one wants to pay $18.99 for a CD with only two or three good tracks on it. This again is why people feel that they're getting more out of a dvd or game.

4) People are more aware now of the RIAA's dirty tactics.

How do the sales of good music, (independent artist) compare with RIAA's 4th quarter, and the economy during the same time periods?

See, originally, I could care less if they were doing well or not. But now, after their behavior in the last year, I want to drive that entire industry out of business. Screw the whole, "they're people, they have jobs!" I want them unemployed and on bread lines for the crap they've pulled. To Cary and the rest of the goons, I have said it before and will say it again. I will NEVER purchase another CD for the rest of my life. And, I know at least 20 people including family and friends that have vowed to never do the same either. We are spreding the word like a virus and I hope it helps to runs you out of business for good. Bastards.

Have I been in a cave? Or this this right..."Warner Communications paid $28 million for the copyright to the song Happy Birthday"

everybody seems toforget that the only way the riaa is going to win this is by shutting down p2p, and we all know that will never happen.

Bad news are that RIAA will use this data to prove that more lawsuits results in more sales. And until the p2p technology evolves up to the point where it is very hard to figure out who is the publisher and who is the consumer of the information we are going to see more and more litigation.

I believe the Wall Street Journal reported that ticket sales to live concerts were up 10% from the previous year... perhaps because many people didn't have to shell out $20 for an album to find out if they liked a band enough to hear them play live.

For a recent preview of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," two security officers accompanied the movie from Los Angeles. At a preview for "Honey," guards walked through the darkened theater wearing night vision goggles to check for cameras.

This is in Ohio

Imagine that, the economy goes sour people spend less, the economy improves and people start to buy more. It seems like the RIAA needs to take a class in economics.

The RIAA states that it's the lawsuits against people who file share is the reason why there sales are increasing. So how can the RIAA maintain there strategy of gettng people to buy? Continuing the lawsuits even after more people are buying would not be in the best interest of the RIAA, in fact it might backfire.

It seems like the new strategy by the RIAA to get more people to buy music is to sue people. So the analogy that the RIAA is forcing people to buy is correct. If you don't buy music the RIAA will sue you.

The RIAA's disgusting attitude of "sales are up because we put a gun to everyone's head" is reminiscent of that of, say, a dog who keeps barking out the window as people pass by, and then rationalizing that the reason nobody came to the house to visit is because he / she barked out the window.

But it's also disgusting to think that the forces of evil and injustice appear to have prevailed yet again, with the masses being enslaved by rigid, exclusivist dictates and the RIAA's worsening mistreatment of its customer base thus "justified" (by their own opinion, anyway). I keep coming back to a recent news story in a Miami newspaper that said the Cuban dissident community was "crippled" by Castro's March-April 2003 crackdown on 75 dissidents, journalists and activists. In short, the old "fascism works, tyranny works, totalitarianism works - democracy, trusting the people and treating them fairly don't work" mantra.

Food for thought: We have approached the tenth anniversary of NAFTA, the first of many such treaties which would over the next decade result in a mass exporting of manufacturing jobs (2.6 million and counting lost in America) and also some tech-related service jobs (hundreds of thousands lost in the U.S.). Those affected who were lucky to get any jobs afterwards, were earning far less, not even enough for the bare necessities of life, let alone such "discretionary" items as CD's. How come THAT is never mentioned with respect to the sales decline in recent years?

"Sales also fell slightly by 3.6 percent year-on-year."

2000 -- Sales down 2.6%
2001 -- Sales down 2.5%
2002 -- Sales down 6.8%
2003 -- Sales down 3.6 %

"shipments" is useless information, as it does not mean a thing.

"In 2003, total music shipments slipped but 0.8 percent when compared to 2002."

2000 -- Down 7%
2001 -- Down 10.3%
2002 -- Down 11.2%
2003 -- Down 0.8%

You'll notice that
a) shipments have no effect on sales.
b) Neither one is up. This means they did worse than last year. Again.

Less is more.
Blue is red.

And look at how the industry has responded in the past.

2000 -- Sales down 2.6%
"There's no question these numbers are disappointing, but the future looks bright for the industry and consumers alike," said Hilary Rosen, president and CEO of the RIAA.

2001 -- Sales down 2.5%
“This past year was a difficult year in the recording industry, and there is no simple explanation for the decrease in sales. The economy was slow and 9/11 interrupted the fourth quarter plans, but, a large factor contributing to the decrease in overall shipments last year is online piracy and CD-burning,” said Hilary Rosen, President and CEO of the RIAA.

2003 -- Sales down 3.6%

Okay, it wasn't as bad of a decline than 2002's 6.8%, but I would hardly classify the second worst year in a decade as "increasing music sales".

why sales go down, may be becuause of crappy music , may be.

check teh vh1 top 20 everyweek. the same 10 songs were in the top 20 for 6 months. i wonder why.

they were trying badly to put some crap songs into top 20 in the last few weeks.

I don't want people to stop buying music. I just don't want the RIAA to continue to get rich from it. Music sales are up because the average joe does not feel that they have an option anymore. This will change soon. I know it. Just keep fighting the good fight and don't let numbers get you to excited or let them dissapoint you. Just keep holding on.

The industry is claiming they are winning this war. C'mon, its completely false. Everyone knows that prcatically everyone they know downloads music or has stopped buying music altogether.

The register is right though, they wont stop suing now, not until they've sued every family in America. Their greed is unstoppable, even if their sales did go up.

The BS statistic that said filesharing went down to 14% is false too. Look at any college campus, its more like 95%.

Unfortunatly I know a lot of people who still buy music, usually (c)Rap. Sisters a big fan of 50 cent, based on the banned-is-cool princible. Same applies to most people at school.