A Much To Do About a Lot!

So what is in store for the future of the music industry? We have a mergers bidding in radio and label land; Apple and Steve Jobs publicly getting support to change restrictions on DRM; wireless and iPhones- eliminating the need for common accessories of the past; terrestrial radio losing listeners, CD sales are down- THIS makes for fresh news everyday – not a dull moment, not a stable ground—and a chaos leaving many nervous about the direction things are going. EMI and Warner haven’t cleared the water yet on pricing and regulatory concerns. It will take them probably some time to agree upon circumstances – since innately circumstances seems to be in a bit of a dance on all levels in the music industry these days. To complicate matters more, EMI Group and online music sellers including Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, and Apple refrained from talks about removing copyright protection from songs due to the fact they couldn't agree on the size of an advance payment. EMI “demanded an upfront payment to compensate for its risk in releasing the music” without DRM software. Who can blame them? In return the retailers countered EMI’s advance request with a lower offer, but EMI further rejected the offer.

It seems like a lot of negotiating for one label to handle at a time. It might surprise some they rejected the advance- but in all do respect, give the label a break! "This industry fights every change tooth-and-nail is not helping reverse the tide." Harold Vogel, an independent media analyst in New York, said in an interview. But who can blame them. They are sinking a bit – or it is safer to say – treading rougher waters. The music industry is under a lot of pressure from retailers such as Apple's iTunes and Napster to free music from DRM, and that is tremendous pressure. Their whole business model might have to change. They have to keep their own company a float, so take some time- but not too much, people will jump ship. All the complications and finances can be somewhat traced to digital progressions and newfound piracy issues. Honestly it is a bit sad. It could be the beginning to the end of the Big Four.

Set it Free and They Will See, Possibly More Money

So there has been some feedback, or rather some controversy regards to Steve Jobs’ essay “Thoughts on Music”: which translate to his speculations that Apple should open its anti-piracy technology “to its rivals” instead of implementing strict regulations for copying music sold online via DRM.

Mitch Bainwol, chairman and chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America, said the move would “eliminate technology hurdles” that basically make songs bought on iTunes impossible to play on other devices and MP3 players. Bainwol stated that RIAA “have no doubt that a technology company as sophisticated and smart as Apple could work with the music community to make that happen." The question is what does he mean by this statement? Is RIAA against the possible consequences, or are they prepared to accept the trend toward eliminating DRM.

As discussed in previous blogs, the major record labels - Universal Music Group, EMI Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group control about 70% and continue to use DRM as a means to protect copyrighted materials and piracy.
Jobs strongly believes that by eliminating DRM and such limitations the music industry would prosper – as well as iTunes due to the fact that a larger music marketplace will arise. This could be true. Perhaps if the consumer gets what they want for a cheaper, more available price; or partake in sharing music files, the industry can grab more fans. Once you taste something you like, you are most likely apt to return for more. Observe the free sample gig- Costco, Trader Joes, “taste the new cinnamon dolce latte- I bet you like it and buy one each time you come to Starbucks”. You betcha we’ve all bought samples.

The whole idea of “fairplay” isn’t really fair, they are saying –“here is a song – buy it- oh, but you can only play it on our companies ipod.” Let it be said, if one buys something, they have the right to do what they want with it. Not in the music world however- they want to control income and sales. It seems a little ridiculous that people will copy hundreds of CD to share with thousands of people- who has the time to be nice? It seems Jobs understands the “unfair play” in this situation.
Other people see the issue too. A senior analyst at Inside Digital Media Phil Leigh, recommended that removing copy restraints would also give the labels' music a greater exposure. "Digital music has entered the mainstream," Leigh said. "The restrictions (the labels) require Apple and others to carry are preventing the market from developing to its full potential - it's retarding the growth." Why can’t the industry see this? They need to become “friends” with their customers – so customers can remain “fans”.

When Record Labels Become The Enemy

The RIAA is at it again, ruining the lives of young college students who have an affinity for music. Universities across the country are being urged to target students who have been illegally downloading music over campus networks (“Music companies targeting colleges”). The main software programs monitored are AresWarez, BitTorrent, eDonke,y and other programs through Gnutella and FastTrack services. The top five schools with the most accused students are Ohio, Purdue, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Tennessee, and the University of South Carolina.

Schools are advised to come up with their own disciplinary programs under federal law, or else the school risks being sued. The RIAA then can identify the accused student through numerical internet addresses and the information the school keeps about the identity of the student assigned that internet address. Michigan State meets with students caught twice and forces them to watch an eight minute anti-piracy DVD produced by the RIAA. If the student is caught a third time, the student is suspended for the semester. At the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, students risk having their internet unplugged, and receiving additional punishment from the dean. Purdue refuses to notify most students caught by the RIAA, because the task is too tedious. Purdue claims that it does not feel it is responsible for leading investigations on its students; students who are there at one of the top technology schools to learn. Purdue has the right idea. It does not seem like universities should take time to be involved in helping the RIAA. Schools are busy enough trying to teach and prepare their students for success in future careers. To go target their own students for an outside organization, seems contradictory. This also does not stop college students from going on networks outside of campus to download illegally.

Schools, however are not the only ones being monitored by the RIAA. On January 16, 2007, the record labels in a sense bit the hand that feeds them. Officers that work closely with the RIAA to stop music piracy burst into a recording studio. They confiscated recording equipment, cars, computers, and more than 25,000 music CDs. Two of the studio owners were arrested and several college interns were detained. The owners are actually two of the most famous DJs in the country, DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon. The studio was accused of bootlegging, but in actuality it was part of an alternative distribution system for major record labels. The business did violate federal copyright law, because the CDs were unlabeled, lacking the name and address of the producers. The DJs however were not stealing, but actually promoting new hip-hop artists for major labels through mixtapes. The mixtapes are then sold to independent record stores who do not have a large enough customer following to order from major distributors. The mixtapes include songs “leaked” by record labels to DJs to test the songs’ popularity before their release. The mixtapes are likened in Shapiro’s New York Times article to an A&R department. Labels test new hip-hop artists on mixtapes to determine the artists’ chances of success. The pay to DJ Drama or DJ Don Cannon is done by labels in secret, without contracts, and ranges from $10,000 to $15,000. It is the same labels that hire these DJs that also hired the investigators at the RIAA to perform arrests. Shapiro mentions the schizophrenia of the record labels today, where the marketing side wants to promote artists in mixtapes, but the business side wants to sue the producers of mixtapes to get more royalties. It seems the record labels have not learned the lesson “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” The good thing is that these DJs are only expected to gain more business due to the publicity and arrests. The press has created that tough image that hip-hop artists tend to strive for.

So does this mean the RIAA is stopping any time soon? It doesn’t look like it. Artechnica just did a report about how the RIAA is begging ISPs to cooperate with its efforts to sue illegal downloaders. So now the RIAA wants ISPs to help sue their own customers? What happened to the idea that the customer always comes first? Apparently the RIAA is hoping to bypass courts. It wants ISPs to send letters to it customers who are allegedly illegally downing. If the customer contacts the RIAA, the labels get the customer’s ID, and the customer receives a chance to avoid court if the customer pays a large enough fine. The letter sent to the customer includes a phrase that states if the customer fails to contact the RIAA and the RIAA sends a subpoena, the ISP will be legally obligated to provide the customer’s information. The worry here is that the RIAA admits that past US ISP data has led to information that wrongly accused customers of illegally downloading. So, some customers could be bullied by the RIAA when they are innocent. The customer would then have to go through the hassle of either paying the settlement or paying more money for a lawyer to go to court and prove that the customer has done nothing wrong, but that there was a mistake in the information taken from the ISP log files. To deal with such problems, the RIAA is starting a website: www.p2plawsuits.com which informs customers about opting for costly settlements rather than drawn out court hearings. So either way the RIAA makes money, off those who are rightly accused, and sometimes off those who are wrongly accused. What causes a mistake in ISP log files? Could any downloading of music be possibly accidentally recorded as illegal by an ISP log file?

Will There Finally Be A Wedding?

Warner Music Corporation has once again approached EMI in an attempt to merge. The suggestion was brought up again by Warner Music Tuesday, February 20^th, but no proposal has been delivered yet for the EMI board to start negotiations. This will be the fifth attempt to merge in the past seven years, following four failed attempts. The last merger proposal from the previous year was valued around $4.9 billion. It in unknown what the value currently would be, but the news alone of the possible merger caused EMI’s shares to increase by 13% on Tuesday, making EMI worth around $3.71 billion.

The merger comes in an effort to decrease business risks for both companies and to save costs. Labels have been hurting with all of the increased digital downloads, many of them illegal downloads. New measures are now being taken to stay afloat in the industry. EMI is even considering selling mp3s online without DRM. This way new music will be heard by more people, since customers would not be restricted to playing purchased music on specific mp3 players. More flexibility with music purchases would hopefully introduce more people to the latest music, and encourage CD sales. This is much needed, considering that both EMI and Warner Music have had decreased CD sales in the past year. Warner Music claims that its net income had a 74% decrease during the last three months last year.

Despite past failed attempts, EMI and Warner are hopeful that this merger will be cleared by the European Commission. The merger has gained the support of the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, which should help the merger to be approved (“Warner Music Makes Another Bid for EMI”).

Consolidation seems to be a trend in the record industry, as major labels try to compete with Vivendi’s Universal Media Group. Earlier this year EMI consolidated its Capitol and Virgin labels in the US to create Capitol Music Group (“What’s old is new again-record label consolidation”). Their main reasoning behind this is to prevent the releases of artists who all sound the same, and to better focus on upcoming talent. True, labels do need to focus on the content of their releases, but merging does not seem to be the answer. It seems rather the road towards further limiting content that is released. With tight budgets and layoffs caused by mergers, labels will most likely only want to put their limited funds into guaranteed successes. This means less diversity in music, and better chances that the music released by major labels will sound even more similar. Newly signed talent will be practically ignored, as the focus will have to be on established talent which provides less risks, and a lesser chance of losing the label’s money. As artists from merging labels are placed under one label, the newer artists will be even less likely to stick out in a huge roster. This means that the new artists will not be nurtured and promoted, as money is spent on promotion of larger artists. According to Kelli Richards’ article on record consolidation, the biggest act on EMI is the Beatles. This is troubling, considering the group was introduced years ago, meaning EMI has yet to focus on developing any new major artists since. Richards even suggests that with the popularity of digital downloads, labels may focus on earning money from singles rather than entire albums. This means a potential for an even further failure to develop artists. Rather than focusing on putting out multiple top selling albums by one artist, labels will just have to worry about a successful single from multiple artists.

These mergers could be part of the reason behind the lack of good releases and shrinking CD sales for major labels. As releases from major labels that are playing it safe start to sound too similar, the Indie labels are where the public turns to for new music. There are also MySpace, and other online sites to find new music that is unique. Listeners are slowly turning away from major labels to find new music, and are grasping for the latest trends from other sources online. The record labels are once again focusing on mergers, and getting more out of touch with what their listeners want.

Flip Flop, Begin the File-Swap

When push comes to shove, it looks like the record companies might move with the file- sharing flow after all. According to the Herald Tribune, there seems to be a stir within some labels, forcing them to “tread on grounds they once viewed as off limits”. Today, Monday February 19, 2007, Suretone Records, a small label distributed by Universal Music Group, will start to distribute video files of artists and bands via file-sharing networks. Networks that the record industry slammed as a playground for pirates and various illegalities. Peer-to peer- file sharing was still considered a big NO NO in the labels eyes just a few months ago, and still is a hovering fear- carried out in courts everyday. But what happened, why would they change or even shift views? Possibly because they finally identify they must accommodate the consumers, if they want to remain in their pockets.

After years of suing individuals who used file-swapping services, the recording industry is realizing that it has to undo a little control in order to attract large audiences and buyers that are found on the web. First off, we know the future of music distribution is definitely barbed in the digital realm of things, however the manner in how to protect rights and materials remains a constant battle. Ever since Steve Jobs of Apple voiced his opinion of abandoning DRM protection (digital rights management) two weeks ago, there seems to be an urgency of panic in the air. What is the next step? Where do we go from here? To agree, or disagree that is the question.

EMI, one of the big four has already discussed the idea of unprotected files with certain retailers (http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/18/yourmoney/music.php), but there is “little indication that the four companies that control a majority of the world’s music sales…will be willing to offer much of their catalogues without such software soon”. More importantly soon enough- they must give in. Sometimes when you stay on the outside and stray from the stampede, you get killed. You can’t escape a stampede of savvy Internet users and such a demanding generation; they will run over you if you don’t learn how to run side by side and compete for the front. They record companies will try new techniques. For example labels plan to show a minute of unfinished video clips- only to be further viewed at a priced or displayed alongside an array of advertisements on home web pages. Who knows if these techniques will be successful, but it must be said – bravo for trying!

Does The Sex Cause The Music Or The Music Cause The Sex?

According to a research by the RAND Corporation in Pittsburgh, teens that listen predominately to music with degrading sexual lyrics are twice as likely to have sex within the following two years. RAND is a leading healthcare organization in the U.S. The research involved telephone interviews with 1461 participants from ages 12 to 17. The participants were first interviewed in 2001, and then again in 2002 and 2004 to see if music choice influenced lifestyle changes. 51% of the heavy listeners of degrading lyrics started to have sex within the following two years, while only 29% of the ones who listened to music with minimal to no degrading lyrics began having sex within the following two years (“Dirty song lyrics can prompt early teen sex”). The main genre of music being blamed for this sex surge is rap. Next in line is R&B and “rap rock.”

The question is whether the music is influencing this behavior, or merely commenting on a behavior that is already prevalent in society. It seems extreme to blame lyrics for the spread of STDs and teen pregnancies. True, the youth listens to an average of 1.5 to 2.5 hours of music a day with 40 percent of the songs referring to sex, but is this content change driven purely by the artists (“Rap music blamed for teen pregnancy”)? Perhaps, the artists are commenting on what they already see in society. Teens relate to this music, because it speaks about issues that they themselves may be thinking about or experiencing. Content may not even have changed that much, when you look back to artists like Elvis. Music has always had sexual connotations, but today, the lyrics just seem more blatant. Society also displays sex more than it did during Elvis’s time, from TV content to advertisements. Music could just be following this trend. Music appears in this case to be the easy way out of an issue that is yet unsolved.

iPhone, I would. What would you do?

So the story goes Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. walked into the 3GSM World Congress February 14th and “pointed right at the pink elephant in the room: The iPhone”. Bronfman made it clear that Apple is the future if the music industry cannot step up to bat with new creative and wave making innovations. Apple is an all-powerful entity that the record companies must learn how to tango with- if not, big bummer.

Apple with its iPod and iTunes store has captured 70 % of the market in record sales and is gradually growing stronger. Since the iPod launched with the savvy cool looking white music accessory -- an enormous amount of pressure has amounted on the record labels shoulders. Digital downloads and Steve Jobs have forever changed the music industry. Why stop with the iPod? No, business is business and now Apple is in the mobile business.

Back to Bronfman “he warned [the industry]… that if it cannot improve mobile music services, it could lose the market to Apple”. He pointed out that there is a million music phones “on the global market, but only 8.8% of users of these handsets have ever downloaded a music track over the air.” This means big trouble for the labels – who rely a great deal on ringtones to make up for losses in record sales, and big success for Apple who is making consumer lives easier and musically accessible more every day. Bronfman says that “Apple has raised the bar in terms of what users expect”, and frankly he is correct. The industry must start to put their thinking caps – caps form outside the box—the coolaid kind- that will save their percentages and business revenue floating upstream. In words of the wise – “Toto I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore”. We are in a new digital world and need to walk another yellow brick road. Steve Jobs did and everyone seems to be following him out of Munchkins Land. If the Apple iPhone makes it easy and breezy and relatively cheap to add ringtones from personal music libraries, organize daily activities, phone numbers, aesthetically please, consumers will buy. Bronfman is right- get to it boys! (http://informationweek.com_warner_music.html

What Makes The Cut

Country music took the lead this year at the Grammys in the form of the Dixie Chicks, as hip-hop was almost entirely forgotten about. The awards for the Dixie Chicks were for record, song, and album of the year. “Not Ready to Make Nice,” won best country performance by a duo or group with vocal. The song refers to lead singer, Nathalie Maines’s comment in 2003 to a London audience, regarding her embarrassment to be from the same state (Texas) as President Bush. This comment failed to win over audiences at the Country Music Awards, and resulted in multiple destructions of Dixie Chicks’ CDs. Despite much animosity towards the Dixie Chicks in the Country music scene, the Dixie Chicks seem to have won over other more mainstream audiences. Their album “Taking the Long Way” sold over one million copies in the first couple of weeks, which is surprising considering all of their cancelled tours. Now, after the Grammys, an estimated 20.1 million viewers have seen the success of the Dixie Chicks. The day after the awards, “Not Ready to Make Nice” reached number one on iTunes, and “Taking the Long Way” hit number one on both iTunes and Amazon (“Dixie Chicks arise from ashes of boycott. Will they land in the mainstream?”). The Dixie Chicks gained a wider audience without the help of the radio. Unrestricted by the radio, they opted to convey to their audience what they truly believed, rather than staying quiet to appease someone else. This not only is a step further for free speech, but also brings the audience closer to the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks are seen as more real, rather than a formulated image to sell more records in the Country music circles. Wider audiences are now interested in the Dixie Chicks music, some purely for the political message that the Dixie Chicks now represent.

Unlike Country music, which made a huge dent at the Grammys as a result of the Dixie Chicks, hip-hop was almost entirely ignored by the Grammys. None of the hip-hop albums received any nominations in the major categories. Hip hop album sales have also been declining, despite the fact that they were one of the larger selling categories in past years (Defiant Dixie Chicks Are Big Winners at the Grammys”). Perhaps content has something to do with the sales. While the Dixie Chicks have become content-focused, hip hop has become more commercialized, and less heartfelt.

San Francisco-based indie label Outta Nowhere Entertainment is attempting to change some of the negative stereotypes portrayed by hip hop lately. It plans to release “Queendom Vol. 1,” which will be the first in a series of releases that will focus on female emcees and DJs from across the country and the world (“Compilation spotlights women hip-hop mikes, battling ‘vixen’ stereotypes”). The label intends to attract those fans that have in the past been pushed away by hip-hop’s degrading views towards women. Speculators blame some of the views on the fact that there is a gender imbalance in hip-hop music, with predominantly male performers. With the rise of females in hip- hop, content is expected to change to life experiences like domestic violence, teen pregnancy, and runaways. Whether or not this content change will cause an even further loss of hip-hop fans is questionable. The heavier topics may push away some fans, but old fans may be replaced with newer ones who are drawn to the changed content of hip-hop music. Hip-hop may once again be a form of expression, and its artists better role models to future generations.

Illegal Downloading; What to do?

According to Fox news a report in the business section discusses the financial hardship and issues that evolve around online piracy and illegally downloading. Despite the Industry’s efforts to sue those who illegally download and the small success it has gained through prosecuting the guilty. The lawsuits do not stop the growing illegalities and “ripped- off royalties” spurned from the lack of CD sales. Free “illegal” music is a major issue for an industry that is to constantly trying to increase profits from legal downloads to make up for falling sales of compact discs, “which declined 23 percent globally between 2000 to 2006”.

To give an example – or rather depict a picture of the problem it was stated in the report that Eric Garland of Web consultants Big Champagne estimated that more than 1 billion digital tracks are illegally traded for free each month. A shocking number when considering than the Apple iTunes store- presently holding 70% of legal music sales in the US, has sold a only a few more than 2 billion songs since its creation in 2003. People blame this growing problem on the younger generation, my generation; the peer- to- peer generation of networks that allow free digital exchange over the internet.

The fact is – my generation – doesn’t see it as a problem for themselves; rather they view it as ideal, they receive and share music - what a deal right? Wrong- for the record industry, it is a major deal breaker and they are feeling the loss the pain financially. Even though some say since the lawsuits P2P and file sharing has decreased significantly, but will continue only to grow. In my opinion, when there is a will there is a way- and listeners will find a way to keep their free music. Russ Crupnick, an analyst at consumer research group NPD, said the number of U.S. households engaged in P2P over the last year rose 7 percent, while the number of illegal downloads were up by 24 percent. "P2P remains an unacceptable problem," said Mitch Bainwol, president of the Recoding Industry Association of America. "The folks engaged in the practice are doing more of it." I don’t see how companies will stop people seeking illegal downloads – when someone has tasted something that they like…. It is hard to keep them away from it - especially in such a growing digital world and a seemingly infinite web of listeners. Music is a touchy subject – it used to be controlled by the companies – even the companies had a say in the artist’s situate. Now the companies will have to listen to the listeners- because they seem to be forcing and imposing a newfound “demand power pull” on the labels.

The Road Map Of The Digital Download

Digital downloading has made adding to your music collection so simplistic. You hear a song you like in a movie, wait until the movie is over to see the credits, look up the artist online, and then start downloading. No more writing song titles and artists on napkins so that you can remember what to look for next time you go to Best Buy, even though you know by the time you make it to Best Buy, the napkin will be long gone. The question is, where do you get your downloads from? 10,000 lawsuits went into affect in 2006 in over 18 countries regarding illegal downloading from peer to peer networks. Supposedly this has deterred illegal downloaders, although according to the IFPI the same percentage of portable device owners purchased music downloads (14%) as received music downloads through peer-to-peer networks and free websites. Of those who purchased music, iTunes and services that allow you to pay per song seem to rank at the top for most frequently used. Other competing services work through subscription services, ad supported services, and video sites like YouTube or MySpace.

With all of the convenience of the digital download, the hype should only continue to increase. The introduction of phones like the iPhone will help to fuel downloading. IFPI Chairman and CEO John Kennedy was quoted stating that in 2010 at least one quarter of all music sales internationally will be from digital downloads.

Digital downloads do seem to be dominating the music market, but there is still the question of how to prevent illegal downloading, or whether it should be prevented. Free music downloads are a good way to promote an upcoming artist, since many customers will not want to pay for songs from an artist they are unfamiliar with. The 30-second clips of songs from iTunes do not always catch the attention of the listener. Sometimes it even takes several times listening to a song to really begin to like it. People would be willing to try more music if it was free. This would save on advertising for record labels. The record labels could then focus more on making money from merchandising and concerts. If more people are familiar with an artist through free music downloads and artist recommendations from downloading sites, then people are more likely to spread the word about an artist. They are also more likely to buy concert tickets, or products that the artist supports. It would be a shame to let money stand in the way of developing a larger fan base, especially among younger generations who may not be willing to pay per song. Because of this, it will always be difficult to prevent illegal downloading, and someone will always come up with a way to break any security measures taken to stop illegal downloading. The money used to prevent illegal downloading should be put to better, more profitable uses.

If free digital downloads are too much to ask, there should at least be a better incentive for people who legally download. The idea of fans selling music to one another would benefit the most parties involved. Peer recommendation sites and sharing services would be used to find songs to purchase. The customer would get the song he or she wants (hopefully at a price less than iTunes or other downloading stores), the fan selling music would get a percentage of the money paid for his or her song, and the record label would probably get a cut of the money. Another way would be a flat monthly rate, so although customers pay still, they can at least have an unlimited amount of downloads. This way, customers are still urged to search out new artists.

A Growing Family

Look out for a new addition to the family. Merlin will soon be added as the “fifth major” major in the music industry. So what is Merlin? It is an agency made up of international independent labels that have joined together to further promote their artists’ music through online music services. As it is, according to BBC News, independent labels make up 80% of new releases, yet only make 30% of the revenues. This is most likely due to an inability to get a large audience to take notice of these releases. With Merlin, independent labels will get their content placed on multiple online music stores, allowing for further promotion of their artists and music. Merlin will represent all of its independent labels when it goes to make deals with digital music stores. This makes negotiations much easier, since rather than dealing will multiple small labels individually, the download stores can make just one deal.

Having more content from indie labels on online music stores is good news for customers. This generation counts on the Internet to introduce new music, and with this deal, customers will further broaden their musical tastes. This means more promotion for upcoming artists also, who are often signed to indie labels before moving on to major labels. Could it be possible, if Merlin does take a position as the “fifth major,” that perhaps artists will not want to move on to major labels, and will want to stick with their indie label? With Merlin, promotion of artists may not be as large of a task as it was before. A customer, who is unfamiliar with an indie label’s band, will not have to buy an entire CD to determine whether he or she likes the band. It will now be possible to download one song, and if they customer likes the song, he or she can buy the CD. Many online music stores also provide suggestions for similar artists the customer might like. Artists under indie labels will now be able to pop up as recommended artists on these sites. As a result of Merlin, music from major labels may not be the only music making the top seller lists.

What Will Become Of The CD?

“Out with the old and in with the new” seems to accurately describe the way this generation wants to listen to their music. The “new” would be the endless opportunity offered through digital downloads, with the ability to have almost any song imaginable at any time of the day. The “old” would be the CD. Why would you want to wait for tomorrow until the record store opens to buy the song you just heard on this week’s episode of the O.C., when you can go to the internet and download it in several minutes? Sure, the quality may be beter on the CD, but the sound offered from digital downloads seems to be constantly improving. What will happen when the quality offered from a CD matches or surpasses that of the CD?

Jupiter Research seems to be highly optimistic. They predict that in 2011, 78 percent of the money spent on music will go to buying CDs. On the other hand, just a couple of months ago, EMI Music Chairman and Chief Executive Alain Levy was quoted by the Houston Press, telling the students at the London Business School that “…the CD as it is right now is dead.” Ged Doherty, the UK head of Sony BMG label group, was quoted making the prediction that CD sales would be 50 percent less in three years than they are now. The second two opinions seem more likely, especially with the recent closure of 89 Tower record stores, and the increase in digital downloading.

With record stores closing music fans will flock quicker to the Internet for their music cravings. Without record stores, CD retail is left to major stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. These larger retail stores focus only on the most popular music from major labels, limiting CD selections to guaranteed sellers. This also decreases the chances of impulse buying of CDs, since many artists are not found at these stores. Music selections take up a couple aisles, if that, and if an artist is not played repetitively on the radio, you probably will not find the CD at all at these larger retail stores.

The decreased selections offered by large retail stores have caused this generation to lose interest in purchasing CDs from them. According to the Houston Press, the CD audience is limited to predominately age thirty and up. This is bad news for CD sales, since people buy less music as they become older.

The CD seems to be following the image of the cassette today. It is outdated. It also scratches easily, takes up space, and is inconvenient. Think about how long it takes to download one of your CDs into your iTunes library to put it on your iPod. Rather than taking the time of downloading songs from my old CDs onto my iPod, I find myself repurchasing the songs from iTunes.

The reason I say old CDs, is because I realized that I have not purchased a CD in months. I find that I only purchase CDs for my favorite artists, and for local bands, when I attend concerts. At concerts, I feel a closer connection to the artist, like I am supporting his or her music. With my favorite artists, I buy the CDs to get the extra information offered, such as lyrics, DVD bonuses, and other added benefits. If it was just the songs I was interested in, I could easily download them. I suppose though, this is why people still value vinyl records, because the album covers are unique, and offer lots of information about the artist. The difference though, is that vinyl records, although inconvenient like CDs, offer a distinctly better quality. This has resulted in the resurgence in used album purchases.

So it comes down to this. The digital downloads are the new convenience, like CDs used to be. They allow you to pick which songs you want, and leave out the ones you do not want. This way you can have a handheld device (an iPod or other mp3 player) with an entire library of music that can be taken in the car or played on a stereo system. Gone are the days of shelves filled with music libraries, or CD cases rolling around in the back seat of cars. Some of the few characteristics the CD still has is its quality and bonus features included with the CD (artist biographies, DVC extras, or other notes from the artist). Perhaps, the CD will be like the album. When people want a good quality recording of their favorite artist, that was not released on an album, they will look to the CD. As it is albums have the added benefit of being low in cost, maybe the CD will drop in price and follow the album’s footsteps.