Less Money, Mo' Music & Lots of Problems: A Look at the Music Biz

I tried reading the article, but somehow lost track because of the invasion of what appears to be facts. Can somebody kindly summarize what the article is about is short intelligent lay men terms.  I get the impression the whole article is about how the 'music industry' is losing money because of streaming music on the internet and because of easy access by the consumer to a wide variety of music instead of going out and purchasing CD's or Vinyl.  Am I right or wrong or is my understanding too simplistic? 

Agreed it is not an easy read.

Fundamentally spend on music is declining, while consumption is increasing, and the reducing revenue is being shared amongst a greater number of artists. To some extend this has been facilitated by new technology, and to flourish in this new world it is necessary to evolve.

• consumer spend on music has been in decline since 1999 - a 70% reduction in 15 years, starting before the advent of streaming and digital downloads, Annual spend per person is 25% of the 1999 value which was about the price of a Spotify annual subscription.
• meanwhile consumption of music is greater than ever, and more diverse
• downloads and streaming have impacted revenue by allowing people to buy single songs rather than bundles ( albums or singles). 
• While artists complain about streaming revenues, studies show that while the streamers pass 70% of their income to the labels , the largest of which are significant shareholders in the likes of streamers, less than 20% of this is paid out to artists.
• musicians will need to come to terms with the fact that their music could be worth less than they believed and that they’ll need to find new revenue opportunities outside the recording studio. 
• Artists must recognize that without new label agreements, their tide will never turn.

Streaming is another disruption the music industry, as has occurred in most industries, participants must adapt to the new business model. Similar things have happened across most industries broadcast media and film for example.

And perhaps come to terms with the fact that if they can't make a living at writing and playing music, they should get a real job like the rest of us.

Winky,

And imagine the effect that will have on the diversity and quality of music available to the rest of us.

This whole article highlighted what I have been worried about for a long time.  Those who illegally download are in fact reducing their own future pleasure because there will be artists who might have become great artists who will be forced to pack it all in to become an accountant and high street music stores will be history.

The problem has less impact on the Springsteen's, McCartney's and Taylor Swift's of the world but I bet it's having a huge effect on the emerging bands.

I was in HMV yesterday and left with an Alien Quadrilogy box set on blu-ray (despite already owning all the films in a huge DVD box set) as well as picking up the Band's 'Greatest Hits' and also some JJ Cale and a 3d Bluray of 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' for my Daughter (I'm a sucker for 3d movies on my home projector - especially ones I can watch with her!)  The problem is that I fear that I am in a minority of people still buying media.  I have to admit though that the shop I will miss most if it ever goes is HMV and so I am making a conscious effort despite being an Amazon Prime member to support them - because I love visiting their stores, whereas Amazon is just a logistical convenience - I feel no passion for it.  As for HMV I genuinely love spending an idle hour browsing the shelves and touching the product and hope that is a pleasure that I will always be able to savour because no amount of slick website design or streaming will ever be able to replicate the thrill of walking into a record shop and seeing, touching and hearing an oasis of music and film.

Those of you wedded to the point and click of a mouse should think carefully about whether record shops are something you want to support to guarantee them a future.  We've lost all the others, once HMV are gone that's pretty much it...  I was very surprised by the significant amount of vinyl in Chichester HMV too and the genuine enthusiasm and knowledge of some of the staff...

Jonathan

Jonathan,

Exactly. Modern music seems to be more about the immediate flavor of the day, single songs, and how good you look presenting it in a video than any kind of dedicated artistry to the craft. Today, the amount of time you spend in the gym and with your choreographer can mean more to your future than your pure musical talent or time spent honing skills on the club circuit. The modern music industry is more about entertainment than art.