Music Industry Sales Chart - need a good laugh?

The fat lady has already belted out her tune...

So, revenue for LP sales in the mid 70's is almost double the amount being made on ALL formats now.

Sh*t

Makes me sad to see this, musical has become disposable.

and Eyesore is responsible for most of the sales currently

I think the final nail in the cd coffin is about to be hit...

One thing has changed however (goodbye albums). Sales of "singles" have shot through the roof in the digital era. Which is actually more bad news for the concept of entire albums.

TheNazgul wrote:

Makes me sad to see this, musical has become disposable.

Very sad, I hate to sound like an old man but I feel the concept of an 'album', a collection of songs tied together will die with our generation, it is sad that music industry created the means of their own demise.

I fear it...but wonder if there might always be a small market for our niche, which tends to like whole albums. The bands we like aren't going gold anyhow. They might sell 30,000 or so, tour, and then go back to teach guitar and producing in the off season (or whatever their "real" job is). I think there will always be some folks who put out entire albums.

You ladies are being overly dramatic. People will ALWAYS make music, be it rock, metal, jazz, blues, classical, tribal, whatever. Yes, the music BUSINESS is changing, but humans have been making music since they learned to bang 2 rocks together and they aren't stopping anytime soon. True musicians make music because they can. Nothing will stop that.

And as long as someone, somewhere is making music, that person will find a way to distribute it. And if they are distributing their music, someone else will find a way to make a profit from it. It's human nature.

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One thing has changed however (goodbye albums). Sales of "singles" have shot through the roof in the digital era. Which is actually more bad news for the concept of entire albums.

The WHOLE basis of the music industry was based on radio singles since the 50's, if not before. Then the Beatles, Zeppelin and others came along and said "Bollocks. Here's an album. Take it or leave it". And it will happen again. It's all cyclical. People will tire of bland singles and look for something more. Might take some time and we might be old and dead before it happens but it will happen again. Artists are out there writing the greatest concept album the world has never heard. Yet. But someday they will.

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Makes me sad to see this, musical has become disposable.

To a generation. Maybe the next one will be better. Let's look at the music business in terms we can all understand.

In the 70's, prog-rock and disco were all the rage. One was a big bloated dinosaur, the other, pre-programmed disposable crap. But it was BIG. Too big. Along came punk rock, which stripped everything back down to the bone and everyone took notice. In the early 90's it happened again.

Glam/hair/heavy metal became a big, bloated, bland joke. Along came alternative and grunge, which once again stripped everything down to the bone and started things over again from square one.

The same thing is happening with the music business as a whole. It's a big, bloated dinosaur that's slowly dying. But someone or something will come along and cut away all the fat, take it back to the beginnning and revolutionize the way things are done. Will our beloved cds go away? Perhaps. But a new, maybe better format will emerge that a whole new generation will latch onto.

It's only natural that a new bunch of kids will want to find a new (or old) way of getting music that's different from their parents. "What, I'm gonna download an mp3 like my dad? Yea right! I'm gonna plug this cable into my cerebral cortex and listen to music. Hey, what's that black disc? Vinyl? Neat-o. Let me take a listen".

I so hope your right MG. I'm waiting for some 14 year old to rave about more then just one song by some fly by night artist.

While I can only speak for the 3 young'ns I'm raising, I'll make sure they have a decent music appreciation. It's a start.

Believe me, I'm not preaching doom and gloom for "music", just the current state of the industry as MG stated eloquently as always. The only thing that's really changing right now is the delivery method of said entertainment. The old model has been broken since around 2000, the record companies started paying attention almost a decade too late.

Remember, it was the record labels that forced digital down our throats in the first place. They wanted to do away with vinyl, make everyone purchase their entire collection again...they really didn't give us a choice, they just started pulling the LPs from the stores and you either adapted or were left behind.

However, what the labels never counted on was the rise of the personal computer...and the realization that digital music is just "data", data that can be stored, copied and accessed in a myriad of ways. When the LP was king, the record labels didn't need to worry about their masters...they were safe in the vault and all people could do was make cassette copies, which were a generational loss from the master. But with digital, there is no such thing as generational loss, the 1000th copy of a file is identical to the original.

The labels essentially "gave their masters away", then they ignored the internet until way too late...now all they can do is sit around and cry about the ship that sailed a decade ago. I feel no remorse for the labels, I feel sorry for the artists. The labels opened the bottle and let the digital genie out...he ain't going back in.

detuned wrote:

One thing has changed however (goodbye albums). Sales of "singles" have shot through the roof in the digital era. Which is actually more bad news for the concept of entire albums.

that is sad! I rue the day when releasing an album is a lost art..

Okay in all honesty I don't think it's as bad as its made out to be. CD's are only declining because now there are other options, newer options. Within their market they are still alive and well, and will be for a long time. Whole albums are still being released, and will continue to be probably forever. And hey, even if I'm wrong, digital media is still music. It's not some kind of evil entity coming to rip traditional values from everybody, it's just progress. Mediums change, and frankly there's not much of a difference if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, I like having a physical product as much as the next guy, but if the only way for me to get some new music is downloading it then so be it. No matter the medium, people are still, and always will be, buying and creating music. And frankly, CD's have lasted a long time, and hell even vinyl is still doing decently. These things have staying power.

detuned wrote:

The fat lady has already belted out her tune...

I saw this same chart...someone sent me a link to where a business website picked it apart.

The main thing is it's not accounting for inflation...$1 in 1973 is not the same as $1 today.

And, if anything, it proves that music sales peak at a format change...see how cassettes spiked past vinyl? And see how CDs spiked? That's people rebuying albums in the new format...those numbers can't last.

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Don't get me wrong, I like having a physical product as much as the next guy, but if the only way for me to get some new music is downloading it then so be it. No matter the medium, people are still, and always will be, buying and creating music. And frankly, CD's have lasted a long time, and hell even vinyl is still doing decently. These things have staying power.

But how many bands can survive on doing music only? As detuned said, i'm not sorry for the label honchos but the band members who have to still work full time in other jobs is becoming the norm.

TheNazgul wrote:

Quote :

Don't get me wrong, I like having a physical product as much as the next guy, but if the only way for me to get some new music is downloading it then so be it. No matter the medium, people are still, and always will be, buying and creating music. And frankly, CD's have lasted a long time, and hell even vinyl is still doing decently. These things have staying power.

But how many bands can survive on doing music only? As detuned said, i'm not sorry for the label honchos but the band members who have to still work full time in other jobs is becoming the norm.

It's a shame, but it's just a sign of the times. Cars pretty much made blacksmiths obsolete. But people in 2011 still learn the trade of blacksmithing because they want to, not to make money. Same with musicians. Folks will continue to make music no matter what. So what if we have to find a new way to distribue or listen to it. And maybe it will help trim the fat sotospeak from "real musicians who play from the heart" to the folks that are making music to become rock stars, if that makes sense.

Someone out there right now is taking tuba lessons because they like the tuba. Noone in the history of recorded music ever became rich playing the tuba. They do it because they like it.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Someone out there right now is taking tuba lessons because they like the tuba. Noone in the history of recorded music ever became rich playing the tuba. They do it because they like it.

*ahem* I think you're forgetting the mighty Opus Croakus of Deathtongue...


On a side note, I really wish a metal band WOULD write a song called "Let's Roll Over Lionel Richie With a Tank."

Eh, Opus was already rich and famous before he picked up the tuba. And anyone that brings up John Philip Sousa is getting a swift shot in the applebag.

Opus Croakus is the best. Despite the hairspray, spandex etc he's still manly.

I said that before the picture loaded. Really.

Love the classic teen anthem "Let's Roll Over Lionel Ritche With A Tank" - that willl keep him from dancing on the ceiling!!!!!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

It's a shame, but it's just a sign of the times. Cars pretty much made blacksmiths obsolete. But people in 2011 still learn the trade of blacksmithing because they want to, not to make money. Same with musicians. Folks will continue to make music no matter what. So what if we have to find a new way to distribue or listen to it. And maybe it will help trim the fat sotospeak from "real musicians who play from the heart" to the folks that are making music to become rock stars, if that makes sense.

Problem is in the QUALITY of recording without money. With no fancy studios, months to make a record, let alone write songs, you're going to have those talented musicians playing crappy borrowed instruments, using whatever music editing skills they have themselves to produce the "album" they recorded in their garage using a digi cam mic, every 6 or so years when they get enough time off from their dayjobs. Obviously the scene will be more 'true', yes, but the consumer does suffer eventually.

And by the way, it will be the more marginal music that suffers first. The labels will always have money to throw at the latest BIG thing that hits MTV and ends up being the flavor of the month. Not going to happen with more challenging music.

Rap and Pop music will not be as affected by the digital age as real musicians that record real instruments. It's like Metal Church's song "The Human Factor"...

Recording pre-programed samples will be the norm while real musicians struggle to be heard.

Who knew how prophetic that song would be? Need to go play that album now.