For the last five years, they’ve been sitting around wringing their hands saying, “MP3s are coming, what do we do?” In the meantime, many people buy MP3s but even more do not because they know that if the place they bought them from goes bankrupt, they’ll have DRM problems and will not be able to re-download those MP3s if their hard drive crashes or a virus eats their operating system.
But now, the industry is back in fighting form:
The Universal Music Group could rewrite U.S. music pricing when it tests a new frontline pricing structure, which is designed to get single CDs in stores at $10, or below.
Beginning in the second quarter and continuing through most of the year, the company’s Velocity program will test lower CD prices. Single CDs will have the suggested list prices of $10, $9, $8, $7 and $6.
To accommodate the lower pricing, UMG labels also plan to step up deluxe versions of albums that can sell at higher prices for the more devout music fans and collectors. – Billboard
They used to blow off the internet because it’s for nerds, but that changed, and now everyone uses the intertard. Completely weird. But I digress.
The old days of the record industry were big profits. They got these fat profits by signing foolish people like Elvis Presley, Britney Spears and Michael Jackson and having them produce a slightly more quality version of really dumbed-down music. Then they got millions of people to buy it, and reaped record profits. Now, recording is easier and cheaper; you can do it at home and have it sound like a studio. CD pressing is cheaper. Even advertising is cheaper. But there’s piracy among those who want very simple things. That means mass piracy of Britney Spears that affects her record sales because her album is most valuable when new, but not much of an effect on a band like Deicide, whose album “Legion” is immortal.
The new industry will be more niche sales, cheaper CDs, and more extras. Bands will record to tour and tour to eat. It’s less of the Brave New World of the 1950-2005 record industry, and more of a dose of reality that was there all the time.
cocks
I was kind of hoping for the record companies to just completely implode and die, but I guess I’ll have to settle for them getting their act together.
Got what they deserve.
However, it’s still important whether Britney wears proper underwear, or Madonna adopts some random african child, or Gaga is a fugly transsexual or not.
Big bucks are generated in pop music not because of music itself but by the circus around the big show. Examples suggest that being a fuck-up is the big thing right now.
Hasn’t that always been the case, Xr? Everybody loves a “fall-guy”, somebody to which they can point at and snicker while they pretend to be sympathetic for their own image. Now, they can just flick open LOBOTOMY magazine, have a chuckle at the morans, and then go and buy their albums (because they’re either morans themselves or are terribly, woefully misguided).
I still don’t understand why it should cost at least six times as much to buy a CD than it costs to create and burn a CD.
“being a fuck-up is the big thing right now”
Being a fuck up is always big — low standards mean EVERYONE is accepted.
And they like that, the mob.
You people are fucking little posuers…Every time I get on here and bash the real enemies of metal you fucks talk shit about me…All I’m saying is tha nu-metal is ruining real metal and fucks talk about me with all this gay shit about me sucking cocks like cowards thinking you know metal when you don’t know shit…FUCK YOU AND FUCK YOUR POSTS…
I hope you all die and I hope this crappy ass website gets taken off the internet…
FUCK YOU AND FUCK MALLCORE!!!
And by the way, why don’t you fucks actually grow some cocks before you talk about me sucking them huh?
Stupid fucking assholes…
Are there not IP bans for some of these degenerates? Part of the posts are the comments, and it is a real shame reading some of them. Why do they come here if they are, seemingly, so easily disgruntled and bitter?
And we’ll see about the record industry, honestly I hope it fails entirely like video stores have been. Bands with a purpose do not need the ‘record industry’, and those that need it generally do not have a purpose. Better metal coming out of this is unlikely, since it’s even harder finding influences or good metal than it was 20 years ago due to the internet. At least then all you had to do was find a zine, go to a show, or go to a music shop. Now what do you have to do? Google ANUS by chance? Read some random person’s blog on Last.fm? Wade through tons of MP3s and bands on Myspace? Good metal is even more buried than it was then, if not more so due to the countless distractions of the internet. Indie labels now producing good metal might make their cds cheaper due to this, but what does it mean when you can listen to the music first to begin with, and then decide if it is worth buying? What is a few dollars then if the music is priceless, and what does any of it mean if no one notices it? Lower prices and a sane music industry doesn’t really mean anything if good metal cannot hurdle itself into and over the internet and beyond. If it can’t, it will be just another noise in the abyss, regardless of price.
“Are there not IP bans for some of these degenerates? Part of the posts are the comments, and it is a real shame reading some of them. Why do they come here if they are, seemingly, so easily disgruntled and bitter?”
For fucks sake I agree, clean this fucking dump up.
YOU CAN’T CENSOR THE COCKSUCKING
The Nigger Cumlord is right. I wish bands could be “freezed out” like in the early 90’s/ The scene is just to fucking huge and to doped out on eqaulity and “wut ever u listen 2 is gud cos dats liyke ur opinionz lol, and all opinionz onions are equaly validz lol”/ Metal is consumer culpture. It has been for the last 15 years or so. SIGH. Ignore the “scene” and the vox populi and worship the calssics + classic music.
still don’t understand why it should cost at least six times as much to buy a CD than it costs to create and burn a CD.