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Times Change - Can’t The Music Industry Just Get Over It?

Posted on April 12, 2007
Filed Under Digital Music, Multimedia, Podcasting |

Arstechnica is carrying a report (not the first, and not the last) on the overall decline of music sales in the world, and the panic the major industry incumbents have because the business model from last decade isn’t quite working in this decade.

This is what happens when you allow people the ability to choose either a £15 album, or the four main tracks at £4. People are no longer buying the filling. Go on all you like about piracy, drm, evil Russian websites that have a proven digital music model, the root cause is simple. The buying public are smart. When we have the option to buy just what we want, we do.

Album Filler Tracks and What We Buy

I think that the record industry is still selling the same amount of great music. And the people buying it are still as satisfied as before. What we no longer buy is the crap that inflates the price. I’m sure the curve will come out to a flat landing, and that difference will be the difference in people only buying the portion of the album that works.

There is a solution to this, but it’s not nice, not easy, and can’t be maunfactured on an assemmbly line. Write good music, perform good music, and blow our minds with the power of music. Stop relying on cranking out a formula. You can’t make more money by licencing or finding new revenue avenues if (at the root) the problem is the majority of your product is crap.

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