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Music Downloading not Entirely to Blame

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the well-goo-then dept.

Outlyer writes "A recent article in The Economist discusses the proximate causes for the decline in music sales. Of some note is this quote in the article: "According to an internal study done by one of the majors, between two-thirds and three-quarters of the drop in sales in America had nothing to do with internet piracy. [...] Other explanations: rising physical CD piracy, shrinking retail space, competition from other media, and the quality of the music itself. But creativity doubtless plays an important part." The article discusses in some depth the short-term viewpoint of the majors and why that is likely to be the dominant problem, not the internet bogeyman."

4 of 538 comments (clear)

  1. Well... by MP3Chuck · · Score: 5, Funny

    May I be the first to say ... "No shit!"

    --
    Who doesn't like free music?
  2. Re:Not in Korea by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 5, Funny
    When I was a boy, (back when computers lacked hard drives and we had to write our own games in BASIC) we had this music swapping system called casette tape. If that wasn't enough, rogue elements of the music industry were simply broadcasting these songs over the radio for free.

    Heck, I remember that some of the stuff was so good that I actually went to the music store to buy the album. (Which was subsequently copied and distributed to friends...)

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  3. This just in... by FlimFlamboyant · · Score: 5, Funny

    (The boardroom of a major record label)

    "Guys, we have a major problem. Sales are at an all-time low, and if you all want to be able to pay for your BMWs and 2-million dollar mansions, we need a new strategy!"

    "Now, our attorneys and marketing boys have been hard at work, attempting to pass th blame for this dilemma for months on such things as piracy of all kinds. However, these conclusions just haven't explained the numbers, and we have just recently uncovered a shocking statistic that cannot be ignored. Please consult the chart on the wall to see how the numbers break down."

    Internet piracy: 9%

    Media piracy: 7%

    Any other kind of piracy that we couldn't pull out of our asses: 2%

    We sign crummy bands and try to pass their music off on people who actually have taste, despite all of our really expensive research: 80%

    --
    But God demonstrates his love for us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us - (Romans 5:8)
  4. Home Taping is Killing Music ! by bushboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Time Warp ...

    Hey, wow, what am I doing here !

    Last thing I remembered, I was reading the inner sleeve of my Madness 7 album which said "Home Taping is Killing Music" while recording it to cassette tape for my buddy.

    Now it's 20 years later and Music isn't dead !

    Arghgh ! - what's going on !

    --
    A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !