Can the music industry survive on digital downloads alone?

[Deexter Jorgan]

Since the late 90's mp3's have become the only way to listen to music, with MP3 players leading the charge in the next wave of music pleasure.

but has this single handedly ended the music industries big sales and promotion of artists, has it effected distribution of music in general.

Mp3's have also managed to create a way for pirates to burn and upload full album content illegally sharing with their friends, neighbours and some guy that lives across the globe.

due to digital downloading allowing music lovers to pick and choose what they listen to it's taken away big album sales which IMO is the biggest source of revenue in the industry as a whole, specially with stores such as Apple's Itunes that incorperates not only music, but applications and now books.

The industry as a whole is on a decline due to the recession effecting what we buy, many other forms of illegal piracy have made it easier to listen to the next hot track so why pay?

Will this mean the downfall of the label system as a whole? or can the music industry persevier.

My take:

With the independant scene growing with more and more online labels artists don't necessarily need a big label to push an album and can live pretty well off of 100,000 copies of their own makeshift album.

It's actually easy to set up an online label which I myself have done before using a go between that i pay a small fee to distribute my material online.

with artists still making money from shows across the globe labels are looking into a share of this to enable themselves to still grow, and hopefully build an artist to the extent that they still generate income.

but will artists go for this?, if their smart they would build their own brand before attempting to move to a major, an example of this is fallout boy who went independant before signing to island.

without the machine backing artist it could become more of a level playing field in terms of air time and spins, because we know most labels dont play fair even buying copies of their artists product to create a buzz round the material to boost sales.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

To tell you the truth I don't think they can survive on Digital Downloads alone. There are countless studies that say otherwise but most studies are flawed and biased. What the music industry needs to understand that people are not willing to buy CD's that are 30 dollars because of the covers. They want CD's to be 10 or 15. They also want to listen to one song sometimes so programs like Bearshare, Rhapsody, and iTunes are a good thing. That's one of the main reasons people are flocking to File-Sharing in the first place.

 

[Alex]

I doubt it.

Digital downloads have made some people download particular songs instead of a whole album, top that off with the fact that at least 50% of the people who download these songs probably get them from file sharing websites instead of places like iTunes means the music industry is only getting 50% of the profits off singles and singles don't get nearly as much as full albums.


Twenty years ago if you liked a band you bought the album on vinyl, CD or cassete, if you only liked one song you'd go out and buy it on one of these. There were ways of getting round it (copying the song from the radio or simply stealing it from the shop) but these were few and far in between.

 

[Twiztid Rodimus]

I don't think going 100% digital for any form of entertainment should be advised or successful. Tangible,physical copies of things is something that should be held in pride and showmanship.

Take books for example, or mediums of news, and history. Kindles are hot sellers right now, and I can't say that its not at least a LITTLE tempting. But What does that do to libraries? Local book stores? It puts them out of business, and we've seen how easy digital things are easily tampered with and edited. What would happen if years and years down the road, the idiots that try and pass off that the Holocaust didnt happen, decide to re-write things when Digital books are all there is? Its an extreme example, but viable nonetheless.

But I digress.

The idea of digital downloads being the only way to gain music will NOT, and I repeat will NOT stop piracy. It will more than likely make it worse.

Yes it would cut out the middle man in a way. But it wont make it harder to get burned versions of the music. Prince tried to go all independant and give away his album NOT online, but in a newspaper, and a week later, I had a copy of it FROM the internet.

This is NOT the new wave of a selling option. Its simply an alternative. and I hope that this doesnt become the norm.

Not everyone has a computer, nor the speed to download albums the way others do. So why alienate those who would just go to the mall and pick up a few cds by going all digital.

Sorry if its a long rant/Ramble, but I hate this idea

 

[The Jabroni]

I don't believe that there will ever come a time when the music industry will have to rely solely on digital downloads. Yes, digital downloads will make up a very large part of sales, but never the entirety of them. There will always be tangible forms of music and there are a few reasons why.

1. DJs and Audiophiles - Old fashioned DJs still prefer vinyl over other forms of distribution because it allows them to do things that they can't with CDs, cassettes or downloads. You can't put an mp3 on a turntable and scratch it in rhythm, it simply doesn't work. Also, mp3s are notorious for their poor audio quality and overcompression. CDs are almost always better quality than mp3 downloads. They also don't suffer from overcompression (and the bass drum vacuum it causes) and other flaws that befall mp3s. Mp3s also have lower sample rates, causing a distorted sound (particularly in the drums). The only medium with near-perfect reproduction of recordings is vinyl, and that's only when recorded with analog equipment. Sample rates don't allow for perfect reproduction. CDs come close, but mp3s are far from perfect.

2. Artsy Bands - Many bands couple their music with a visual arts show of sorts. Of Montreal creates elaborately folded, colorful packets for their CDs. A digital download may be cheaper, but the owner would be missing out on the artistic origami that accompanies the music.

3. Avid Fans - The music industry would be nowhere without its fans. True music fans are collectors. They purchase anything that their favorite band puts out, not only to support them, but also because it represents a bond between the band and the listener. It's listener-loyalty at work. They buy deluxe editions of albums that they already own for a bonus track or two. Arcade Fire recently released an album that has 8 alternate covers. True Arcade Fire fans will have 8 copies of that CD, and maybe even 8 copies of the vinyl LP.

However, let us not forget that LP, EP, CD, cassette and download sales make up a very little part of the musicians livelyhood. Most of the money from music sales goes to the labels. Musicians make most of their money through concerts, merchandise and other assorted appearances. So instead of questioning if the music industry can survive on only downloads, go out and see a concert or two or buy a CD. Support the music. Make a difference.

 

[Aeon Mathix]

I think if you look at the big picture it could someday, but not now. I mean say someone downloads a song just one song by say rihanna (gross) and a million other people in the world download that song, thats a million dollars right there. I hate when people judge a band by how many albums they have sold, that doesnt mean anything about how good they are. If we got a hold of a genie in a bottle and wished for the beatles to come back and they released an album and say the album didnt even reach platinum, that doesnt mean they suck it just means most people digitally downloaded a track or 2 off the album. I know plenty of bands whose CD's sales are pretty laughable, i dont them personally but you know lol and i talk to people about them and they love them and say they have this song or that song.

 

[The Jabroni]

Though that is a valid point, I doubt there would be a time without tangible mediums (CDs, vinyl, etc.). People said that vinyls would completely disappear after CDs were invented, but many bands still choose to release their albums on vinyl. The switch to digital downloads will be no different. Yes, downloads will comprise most of the world's music sales, but there will still be CDs and vinyl LPs released. Each format has it's own advantages and disadvantages. Vinyl is clumsy and non-portable, but the sound quality is as close to perfect as it gets. CDs are portable and have good audio quality. Mp3s are amazingly portable, but suffer tremendously in sound quality. There will always be a preference. If albums are only released digitally then there would be no choice in formats. All music would be portable, but it would also sound overcompressed and distorted. I'd sacrifice portability for quality any day, and I'm sure that a lot of people would agree with that.