Great article and case study on the changing music industry by Nate Anderson at Ars Technica, a technology news and reviews site. In short, CD sales are down, major label revenues are sliding, and the music industry looks to be in recession. But music isn’t dying; it’s changing…
Ok, we already knew all that, but it’s still a good read. Here are a couple of great quotes:
What’s happening is obvious; consumers are making far more purchases than ever before, but are often choosing to grab only selected tracks rather than complete albums. The album may not be dying in a general way, but it has certainly lost its importance as the primary way that buyers in the digital era get their music. Bands with a track record of putting out uneven albums won’t be able to milk that strategy for massive profits anymore, nor will any labels that nurture such acts.
It’s often said that it’s hard to compete with free, and that may be true for some segments of the population. (Are college kids ever really going to cough up much cash?) But for most adults who don’t get off on breaking the law or on stiffing artists, it’s easy enough to compete with free. Make something that’s faster, more reliable, with better metadata and album art, and a huge DRM-free selection. Throw in charts, some editorial staff, and some community features, and money is there to be made.
Throw in a solid graphic with numbers on digital and physical music sales from 2003 through 2007…
Also, make sure to check out the eMusic case study on page 2. Some impressive numbers on digital downloads and the state of indie music in general is brought forward…
Internet distribution has opened up music (like many other products) to the effects of the “long tail.” Since huge quantities of goods costs so little to store and deliver, online venues can offer products that appeal only to very small numbers of people and still make money. “The long tail does better online,” said [eMusic CEO David] Pakman, saying that eMusic is proof of that fact.
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