ramblings on an industry in decline

The New Music Economy, as it’s come to be known, is a far different landscape than the old goes-down-smooth record business. The sales slumps are forcing labels to downsize drastically and seriously rethink the way they do business; indeed, it’s a hard pill to swallow. Before now, labels would release an album, do some promotion, maybe pay some radio guys to play it, and if the tunes were accessible, they’d move units and everybody would get payed. Granted, it wasn’t that simple, but those days are gone. It’s not as easy to be heard as it used to be. Moreover, it’s harder to compel people to buy music even if they’ve heard it. But despite the sales numbers, people are still consuming music, more than ever in fact. It’s just that with so many new ways to get that music, people are avoiding the traditional means. The internet, long blamed for the lack of records being sold, is not the be-all and end-all of the record business as we know it. Forward-thinking individuals are recognizing the power of the internet and utilizing it. Other enterprising folks are exposing artists and breaking new acts by placing songs in advertisements, television shows, movies and video games—not just on records that gather dust on a station manager’s desk or the shelves of a music store. This, among many other things, helps create buzz about a band. And buzz is big these days. Buzz is big enough to get people to buy records again, if only for a short while and in limited numbers. The trick to the music biz, as in any other business or industry, is to be able to adapt and roll with the changes. I'm not pretending to be an expert though. I'm just a casual observer trying to figure it out.

LISTEN TO THE ROLLING STONES' UNDER ASSISTANT WEST COAST PROMOTION MAN. "I'm real real sharp!"