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Music Downloading not Entirely to Blame
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."
It seems to me that $17.99 is simply too much to pay for 36 minutes of music... yes, "albums" have gotten shorter, not longer, as the price has gone up!
"Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney
It's just good music went to the underground, where it belongs. Pick a genre that you like, and look for independent, underground artists in that genre. Sure as hell, you're not gonna find any good music on mainstream TV/radio/WalMart, but we all knew that anyway. As with everything in life, you have to dig deeper to find a real answer.