The music industry is wringing its hands, suing children for Limewire downloads and generally staring into the abyss these days.
AP reports that music Album sales plunge, digital downloads up. “Year-end sales figures released Wednesday by The Nielsen Co. show total album sales, including album equivalents made up of single digital tracks, fell to 428.4 million units, down 8.5 percent from 500.5 million in 2007. Physical album sales fell 20 percent to 362.6 million from 450.5 million, while digital album sales rose 32 percent to a record 65.8 million units.” That’s hardly news but it is noteworthy.
Music sales have been going down for years. According to the record labels it’s the fault of digital downloads which is not true. Smart musicians are already making the jump to digital music with iTunes and other variants. Snooze you lose in this music biz.
The first problem is the music industry has forgotten its all about the song stupid. Give us good music and we’ll buy it. Give us repetitive, forgettable music and we don’t even listen. There was a time, in the distant past, when Billboard magazine could name 100 songs top for the year and everyone knew them. Most of the music today is totally forgettable, listen for two weeks and gone. Poof.
Hope springs eternal that new music will be great again.
Strauss and Howe track the changes to the new generation, the Millenials. If you’re just starting university you’re a Millenial. In their book Millennials and the Pop Culture, they say the change is here and will accelerate as Millenials replace both Boomers and Gen Xers as the consuming masses.
In the previous tome on their social generational analysis, Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation they theorized that “pop music will become more melodic and singable”. That alone will get the sales ringing in. Even boomers and Gen X’ers will buy good music from the new crop of musicians. Without new exciting music, that leaves Boomers buying music from the 60’s and Gen ‘ers who download more than buy.
Good luck to fat cat music executives with your $100 a day cocaine habits and bimbo chicks. Hardly something to shed a tear over. For musicians there is no turning back. It’s a brave new world but much more complicated than trying to get signed with a label. If you are creating memorable music, there is virtually no barrier to the market; however, you have to work at it yourself and work smart. Sorry can’t lean on Papa Doyle and get anywhere. That’s good for you anyway.
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