Quote:
Originally Posted by kirkhawley  Like it or not, the value of recorded music has been destroyed. Forever. There's only one strategy left - recorded music in a supporting role for bands who play well live. If the business goes in that direction, we'll end up with a music industry consisting mainly of a lot more people making a living playing live music. If you all had any sense that's what you'd be working towards. |
Spot on 100%. Ownership of recorded music is purely an artifact of the days when people bought sheet music. It is actually unnecessary to 'own' recorded music. Ownership of it became fashionable to the point that it was seen as - and sold as - essential, and the actual merits of owning it therefore have never been questioned.
In reality, music is an emotional communication between a performer and their audience. But 99% of the time, recorded music is faked: it is sampled, harmonised, compressed, chorused, doubled, quantised, limited, edited, formularised, comped, eq'd, etc etc....It is hardly ever real.
It is due to a process of natural selection that the medium of recorded music is slowly dying. Through the creation of the internet humans have removed the physical constraints of recorded music - ie vinyl, casette, CD, tape, whatever - and now music can no longer be regulated commercially.
The vast profits of the 60's and 70's were the peak of that system: a system that has been in decline ever since. On a wider issue, the cultural downside of commercial recorded music has been the stupendous rise of acceptable mediocrity. The death of recorded music as a commercial entity will be the precursor for proper musicians to return to their rightful place - the stage.
So: ALL fake wannabees will be found out. Real live music will survive, played by real musicians for real audiences.
Flame me I don't give a f***.