Where is The Music Business Going?

[Kurt Foster]

My main snivel about MP3s is they sound like sh*t! Even at best they are inferior to CDs. And CD’s are bad enough! The digital revolution has turned the music industry into a big pile of caa caa! Morons with no talent on “affordable” (read; inferior) gear, can make acceptable recordings via digital manipulation and the ability to keep doing punch ins and alternate virtual takes until they make a mistake that sounds good, overuse of digital processing, like compression that sounds nowhere as good as it’s analog counterparts, pitch and time correction, producers on power trips manipulating audio until it nowhere resembles what was originally recorded, kids growing up with no reason to really learn how to play good because they know the box can “fix” it, a musical genre that is really assembly art not music, …. It’s just one big heap of sh*t. And then there’s the bean counting AR people and record execs who have no taste other than their ability to discern a fine wine at some Hollywood night spot ... Ahh sh*t! …. there goes another nights sleep …… Fats
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Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D ,Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
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[Tommy P.]

I know this is getting a little off topic, but does anyone think some mp3 codecs can actually make the music sound better? Not to sound contrary to your opinion at all FATS. Its just that I thought I heard some old music that seemed to sound better after mp3 encoding, and I tried to think why. Knowing how the software encoding routine works, there is definitley stuff that gets filtered out. Maybe the sound opens up a little. Or maybe I'm a moron. :D

[dirtydog]

Interesting thread...

I sense a decline in people going to live performances also.

This is something that has been bothering me for some time, as a musician. I must admit that it is rare that I will actually go out to checkout a band these days. It seems that it's a real crap shoot whether you are going to see a band that actually has any talent. That coupled with the fact that most rooms in my area seem to be dance clubs with acoustics like a glass cube, pumping these bands through PA's that sound pathetic, at a SPL that rivals a 747 at take-off. I'll pass, thanks.

My main snivel about MP3s is they sound like sh*t! Even at best they are inferior to CDs. And CD’s are bad enough! The digital revolution has turned the music industry into a big pile of caa caa!

This is something that amuses me, cuz it's true. I find it funny how people are pulling their hair out trying to keep up with the technology by getting the latest digital board and recorder/DAW that can do 192K. Great. We (engineers and producers) then spend all that time trying to make it sound great (or not), argue on forums about which monitors are best ;) , just so most people can hear it in the worst format possible.

Ahh hell, I love my job. :w:

[TheSoundman]

I'd like to respond directly to Chris' original post. He brings up some good points.

Sharing of music files over the Internet is going on, we all know this. The record companies are having a cow. We know this too. Right now they are primarily concerned with people downloading songs or artists they have heard on the radio and burning the compressed files to a CDR as opposed to purchasing a commercially produced CD.

This may be new technology, but it is not a new concept. In the 80's, I used to roll a huge reel at 3 3/4 IPS of the local public radio new music show. (obviously FM radio also lacked the full bandwith of professionally pressed albums) After that I'd spend a little time to edit out the amature DJ's and songs I didn't care for, or already had and end up with a great cassette of new music that wasn't being played on commercial radio. At least a couple of girls I knew commented that part of the reason they liked hanging out with me was because I always had great music playing. (I really did it for the love of music in the first place, honest)

As far as music sales being down, maybe it's just easy to blame the Internet and file sharing. Maybe something they should look at is what is being downloaded. I'm sure a lot of stuff available on commercially produced CD's comprises that but just possibly people are downloading stuff you can't get on CD or hear on the radio. A simple deal to allow file sharing to continue in exchange for tracking trends in music taste might help record companies pushing a new Britney Spears clone down people's throats every other week put them back on their feet.

The ironic thing is that while the record companies are busy squashing "piracy" of copyrighted material, the real threat of the internet is as a vehicle to give artists direct access to consumers, thereby making them obsolete in the first place. If they supported distribution of popular music on the Internet, they might stay thier inevitable demise for a few more decades. Instead, they are chosing a path that will surely accelerate their extinction.

[audiowkstation]

No truer words spoken, than what "the soundman" said..

[AzureCrystal]

I keep waiting for 12" inch art to come back, would be nice to actually be able to "collect" music and the art again. Those tiny little CD covers and the crappy plastic really do not do the artists justice !! The key could be adding value to a CD purchase so the consumer feels he/she is missing out on an important part of the package if the just download the music. I really doubt the music industry will be able (and could afford) to close down the ever morphing music file sharing and downloading sites that will continue to popup as another one gets closed down.... -Steve

[Mark Burnley]

Fantastic thread...

Okay, I love music, I like writing and recording the stuff, listening to it, designing gear for recording/listening etc. and collecting records, be it in vinyl or CD format.

But above all, for me it comes down to the audio experience. Some tracks just ooze off vinyl because it's been mastered well. Some tracks just work the best on CD. I've even got stuff on 7.5ips R2R, and it sounds great.

But to a lot of people, music is just about convenience. It's about having the tune/song/track available quickly, cheaply, simply. This week they want this track, next week that's in the Recycle Bin and the new latest track is in the MP3 player. This is why MP3 file sharing takes off. People are willing to compromise audio quality and not having a "product" to hold, for this convenience and portability/disposability.

MP3 is great to let other people know what music you're doing. We can all share our tracks with eachother and we are aware of the limitations of the format.

I personally will always want a "product" to actually pick up. Okay, CDs may have dulled the excitement of going to the local record shop and coming back with a big "slab" (especially a gatefold or double album) and coming home, listening to it and looking over the artwork/packaging.

But some record companies that I know of have come up with a great plan..

1. Supporting and promoting original sounding acts. And not just for the "honeymoon period" of getting signed- all bands/artists require time to develop, but companies require "constant returns" on their investment. An original sounding band that don't fit into a particular "genre" are not doomed to failure- they just need time to find their feet, develop their sound, get a local/national following, try some recording etc.

Digital technology helps with this. The WWW enables people all over the world to find out about a band: Heard the name off a friend. Searched on a search engine. Found a homepage. Checked the biog. Saw the pics. Heard the MP3's. Like the tracks. Check out the Tour. Saw the band. Rocked :D . Right, I want their CD.....

Home recording, with semipro gear, by people who are learning (as we all are- with help from RO ;) etc !!), is better than NO recording. How many songs are worked out on 4tks/MD recorders/DAW's/HD recorders? I'd rather a band come in a studio with a recording of their songs they've done at home/rehearsal studio/gig etc. because you'll hear a better idea of where they're coming from.

2. Developing a quality product. It doesn't cost a lot to make a CD. More you make, cheaper it gets. Plastic case, one folded sheet, off to the stores... Some companies are offering a much better package. With care and experience, music can be captured to a professional standard. Hand printed/silkscreened packaging, quality paper/packaging, inserts, (one album from a well known?! Canadian band I bought a few years ago included a coin crushed by a passing train...if you're out there, thanks gsybe!!)

I could go on, but don't want to be a hog...

Mark

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"Oscillators don't, amplifiers do..."
Anon

[pponomarev]

Originally posted by Willi E.:
I think the hole internet download topic should be viewed from a more pragmatic point of view.

I can't value the mentioned statistics about the download amount, but if you compare the actual situation that the internet is still a very elitist thing in regard to the percentage of the worldwide users it is not that Dangerous to the music industry.
And did you know that there are countrys where the labels make more money by selling tapes than cd's.

As the above mentioned comparison to mp3 and tape, I think there is a difference in the proposal.

From my experience I must say it was a lot harder back in the times of tape to get what I wanted. Either I had to know somebody to get it or record from radio with a lack of quality and the jabber of that radioguy.

Nowadays you go "online" and you have a mind-blowing access to whatever you like in an acceptable quality.

But there are two main factors why it's still not that threat to the big labels, as they're trying to convince us how poor they are.

It's time and money. Not everyone is in the luck to have a very quick internet access and flatrate.
Actually there are still many users outthere with a modem and a clock ticking next to them.

So assembling an whole CD from the internet is still just a hobby-thing for the internet freaks and kiddies. It is not cost effective. I have an flatrate and dsl of my own, and guess what if I like an artist or album i'll go out and buy it, just because it's quicker and cheaper and you get the better quality. Time is money.

But the problem which should be considered by the big labels are that in order of the technical progress it is and in future will be far more an easy way of sneak peeking new albums.
And a lot of mainstream albums aren't albums indeed they are two singles attached with a bit more crap (a la britney).

And the fans are recognizing it. Because of that the sales are decreasing. Why to buy the whole album when I can get the "cool single" from internet or radio.

Exactly. If people feel there's only one worthwhile song, or that pretty much every song sounds the same, they'll just get it from the net. If, however, a band releases an ALBUM of merit, only true masochists would attempt to find every song on the album in acceptable MP3 quality. This doesn't prevent people from copying the album, but that's nothing new (reel-to-reel, cassettes)

That's why nowadays the only thing the executives interested in, is the financial profit in order of the stock quotation.
Because it's minimum growth every of let's say about 10%. If you had followed that Logic from your first album you've bought until now, how many albums are you buying every year, 10, 100, 1000 ???

May opinion is that there are good times and there are bad times, and that you can't increase record sales every year by ten percent.
How tall would you be if you followed that "rule" every year.
We're having the same problem here in germany with the mobile phone sales. After years of big sellings now they're suffering from an overstocked market. I'm sorry but I don't need 4 mobile phones, I'm comfortable with one.

The same problem applies to the music biz. They're so into the selling statistics that they're overstocking the market with alot of day flies. But in the end the market will regulate himself as always. It's just a matter of supply and demand. If nobody's buyin' it, they won't sell it. I work for a very large european company as an sales represantive, so I know what I'm talking about.

Great point. I was an honors student in Economics, and I always thought it was absurd that a company's or a nation's well-being was primarily determined by infinite growth, as opposed to other factors (productivity, efficiency, employment, market share, quality of life, etc.)

Here in the US, personal savings are at an all-time low after the spending and investment binges of the mid-90's, yet every stupid Wall Street analyst seems to think we'll soon pick up where we left off in 2000. How can people buy more and more things indefinitely if they have no money? ... or these days, no job?

But, I digress ...

I agree with those who think Bands should focus on selling online for a reasonable price. There's no reason a CD should cost $18 when an album cost $6 10 years ago. CD's are far cheaper to produce, and people know it. Heck, you can sometimes buy a DVD movie for less than the price of the CD soundtrack. Go figure!

Beyond that, I think bands should focus on making albums, with memorable packaging, strong unified concepts, and enough interdependent-yet-differentiated songs such that consumers will want the whole thing ... and at a price point that they won't want to waste 3-10 hrs finding the songs themselves.

[Kurt Foster]

I don’t like downloading. IMO artist should get paid for what they do and I think when a person downloads a song at no charge they are stealing. That being said I also have a problem with the war that the record labels and the RIAA are currently waging and the way they are doing it. Record companies and the RIAA bringing actions and lobbying congress are simply following the lead of the insurance companies in the 80’s by attempting to legislate profits. Get a law passed that guarantees increased profit. Example; Insurance company has to pay out “x” amount for auto accident injuries. Answer, get mandatory seat belt laws passed. Instant profit! Kids getting hurt in a bicycle accident? Mandatory helmet law. Motorcycles? Mandatory helmet laws …. Legislated profits. Well the record labels and the RIAA have taken this lead and decided that this is a way to squeeze extra profit without having to actually do anything. Grease a few palms and there you are. Mo’ Money!
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Tannoy, Dynaudio, Blue Sky, JBL, Earthworks, Westlake, NS 10's :D , Genelec, Hafler, KRK, and PMC
Those are good. …………………….. Pick one.
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[jimab]

what about a good booking agent? i just saw cheap trick @ house of blues in new orleans ... they were great, unsigned band from new york ... the damnwells... they were working with the same booking co. anyone know of a good booking agent ?