Music album sales hit eight-year low in 2005

[Sounds Great]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. music album sales last year slid to their lowest level since 1996, squelching any hopes that the recording industry's long downward spiral may have bottomed out, according to sales data issued on Wednesday.

Tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan, which measures point-of-sale purchases across the United States, said total album sales -- including current and catalog titles -- fell 7.2 percent from 2004 to 618.9 million units, the lowest since 1996, when they were 616.6 million.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060105/...sure_albums_dc

[robmix]

Not surprising, look at the releases. Check out the grammy nominations and it's not too hard to figure out why people aren't buying.

[Tibbon]

You know, it's not that there aren't good albums out there. There are PLENTY of amazing musicians out there, and plenty of amazing albums and songs. Many of them are great recordings from a technical perspective too.

The problem is that most people are programmed only to like things that are simple or spoonfed to them. Didn't Roger Walters just release his massive Opera on dual SACD a few months ago? I have only listened to bits and pieces of it, but i'm sure that it belongs in everyone's record collection.

I don't know about you guys, but I can't download MP3s anymore for three reasons.

1) I don't have the time to mess around with poorly encoded/fake songs
2) I think the artists deserve the support, even if they aren't getting their 'fair share'
3) The quality is horrid. IT's only around $1/song to buy an album or song on iTMS.. the quality is worth my money. About iTms...

I can't even download from iTMS anymore, because there is such a significant difference in quality. You guys know what i'm talking about. I'm only listening on Event 20/20BAS speakers with a Digi002R and the difference is shattering between the iTMS format and CDs (and CDs aren't that great!).

Depending on quality of recording, and value of the music decided where I will buy it. A crap pop song for my girlfriend gets iTMS. Something decent but just ok recorded gets a CD purchase, and something amazingly recorded or music i love gets an SACD purchase (even though I don't have a SACD player at the moment).

[themaidsroom]

i went to the huge tower records on 4th & broadway at one point this year,
and i thought there was no one else there until i saw my friend steve rosenthal
who owns the majic shop...........each of us bought a couple records........



- jack

[themaidsroom]

to me, there are great possibilities, if trust is re-established.........
if the public knew of a label that dealt exclusively
with talent, they might start buying those records
in beautiful paper sleeves for $11.99 tops......
i think epitaph is trying to approach this........
unfortunately, i think they have a stable of great
artists who are not really in their prime.......

the grammys should just be shut down.......



be well


- jack

[Tibbon]

The thing is that there are plenty of great albums out right now, new and old, for purchase but people just aren't doing it for some reason. Even if from 2000-2006 not a single record was released, there would still be enough amazing music to fill an entire room for a record collection.

I partially blame the poor economy in the States to kicking the industry in the teeth to a degree among other factors. I know that personally my father used to buy tons of records in the 60's 70's and 80's. In the 90's he mainly listened to what i purchased, but today neither of us have had the money to buy as many recordings due to the economic slowdown (and high gas prices have killed at least one record purchase a week for us).

[Tibbon]

Originally Posted by themaidsroom

to me, there are great possibilities, if trust is re-established.........
if the public knew of a label that dealt exclusively
with talent, they might start buying those records
in beautiful paper sleeves for $11.99 tops......
i think epitaph is trying to approach this........
unfortunately, i think they have a stable of great
artists who are not really in their prime.......

the grammys should just be shut down.......



be well


- jack

truthfully, for good enough music I'd pay far more. Look how much money you spend on videogames, etc... 50-60 each! I think that Dark Side of the Moon or Kind of Blue has given me more hours of entertainment than any game ever could. I'd pay $50 for DSotM if that's what it took.

[Dopamine]

<< the lowest since 1996, when they were 616.6 million.>>

Interesting that the all-time low was in 1996. '96 was years before Napster, mass broadband, and mainstream cdr use. Anyone care to explain that?

[joelpatterson]

Sure, it was absolutely completely totally a coincidence.

[Einstein]

I really don't think downloading is to blame here, hence the 96 all time low. The downloading only comes into play like this I think. It's the crap they put out! And now, you can hear it before you buy it, and not just the single on the radio. I remember hearing a band when I was younger that I thought was awesome, running to the store, getting the record, and only liking maybe one or two songs. Nowadays I really have no problem just burning it from someone to check out or downloading random stuff. To tell you the truth, I end up buying more independent music now because it just seems so much more redily available I guess.

Now I have a rule, and I stick to this. I'm a musician and an engineer, so I f*cking live by it. IF I "STEAL" SOMETHING AND LIKE IT, I GO BUY THE REAL THING! AND IF I DON'T LIKE IT, I TRASH IT.

I think alot of people opperate this way now. Not to mention that alot of the more independent bands don't really register with soundscan so alot of the albums I buy don't get counted on those charts.

I will not fail to recognize however that there are lots of people who do burn everything they have. It kinda makes me mad when I see it. Every CD in someone's 200 CD case in their car says Memorex on it. And I jump their case about it. But I'm sure the same kids would have had a box of cassettes back in the day that said............you guessed it......Memorex. tutt

It seems like I read somewhere though that actual concert ticket sales were at an all time high. So I guess that's better for the artist, no?

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Einstein

It seems like I read somewhere though that actual concert ticket sales were at an all time high. So I guess that's better for the artist, no?

Well, better for a few of them. Ticket sales totals are *mostly* split between a very small number of very wealthy artists. With a few scraps to lots of smaller names.

[Renie]

Originally Posted by Labs

How did the gaming industry do?

Gustav

Read in the paper today they didn't get their act together, worst year for 10 years.

Hyped new hardware so early that people stopped buying software, waiting for the new hardware. Then they didn't get enough hardware on the shelves so people waiting for new models before they buy new software..


The gambling industry is another story.

[Sounds Great]

Here is what I mean. The numbers are staggering.

Stones' world tour could gross record $400 million

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang tour exploded in 2005, and could end up as the top-grossing tour ever, pending an epic box office battle with U2's Vertigo tour

The Stones hold the record, from their 1994-1995 Voodoo Lounge tour, which grossed nearly $320 million.

[Einstein]

Yeah, I agree with the actual ticket money, but don't most bands bring in most of their income from merch sales? Which go way up mostly on tours. I think where the downloading really burns the band is in the numbers game. The lable's bottom line says they aren't selling, so they get cut, and we don't hear more albums.

Maybe this could be used in our favor to tilt the industry. Say for instance your kid wants the new Britney Spears album. Download it for her, burn it, then go buy some great rock album with the money you saved.

I'm kidding of course.............

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Einstein

I'm kidding of course.............

Of course.

[artbeat77]

I seem to remember reading (which... y'know) that tracking downloaded sales is still a long way from being a science which could affect the final numbers... which makes very little sense to me - you'd think it would be easier. I could be wrong.

Anybody else have a vague recollection of seeing this?

[DontLetMeDrown]

Originally Posted by Tibbon

I partially blame the poor economy in the States to kicking the industry in the teeth to a degree among other factors. I know that personally my father used to buy tons of records in the 60's 70's and 80's. In the 90's he mainly listened to what i purchased, but today neither of us have had the money to buy as many recordings due to the economic slowdown (and high gas prices have killed at least one record purchase a week for us).

I think this guy hit the nail on the head. When the economy is bad, everyone buys less. I can tell you that since gas prices jumped, I have not been buying nearly as many "material" items for myself. When I have to choose between filling my gas tank to get to work, buying or a new cd/game/dvd etc, the choice is obvious. I am buying less music, clothing, and gear than EVER before.

[True North]

I don't know about you guys but I used to save up everything I had to be able to buy records. I'd research imports, find all the good backwoods record stores and spent what little money I had on buying those albums.

There is no doubt in my mind that downloading has affected revenue numbers. Have any you guys spent anytime with kids in the 14 to 20 year old range. It's not like I frequently get a chance, but man, these kids aren't buying JACK and NONE of them care. Every one around them is doing it, they are sharing illegally downloaded music on a daily basis, it is like they have been socialized into it for the past 6 or 7 years. I know that illegal downloading does not stop once you hit 20 years old but my point is that todays kids are being socialized under a very different set of rules and principles when it comes to music.

I remember the big thing when I was growing up was that I would occasssionally tape off of anothers friends collection, if I was trying to get into a new group or genre. Each guy had a reach of 2 or 3 people that they would lend albums to for taping purposes. That was 1 album to 2 or 3 dupes (max). Now all it takes is one post on the Limewire and Kazaa and KABOOM!! it all over.

The record industry has always put out crap, that is nothing new, but there have also been very good artists with released material as well. Good and bad have lived side by side for many many years and continue to do so. The key problem, at least from a revenue generating perspective, is illegal downaloading, without a doubt. If more 'good' acts were released all of a sudden it would simply equate to more illegally downloaded tunes, period!

[Lindell]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Here is what I mean. The numbers are staggering.

Stones' world tour could gross record $400 million

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang tour exploded in 2005, and could end up as the top-grossing tour ever, pending an epic box office battle with U2's Vertigo tour

The Stones hold the record, from their 1994-1995 Voodoo Lounge tour, which grossed nearly $320 million.

aaah, the rich gets richer.....does this mean that rolling stones will give away their new album for free? :-)

[AnalogBob]

Great....let the ship sink for all I care.....you reap what you sow....

[Revelation]

I blame the record company's and radio stations. They refuse to play music from artist that have new Cd's out. David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Phil Collins, Rolling Stones, Hootie and the Blowfish etc. All they play are their old hits and ignore their new music. Then they play the one hit wonders of today. If they ignore the old artist, then of course record sales will go down. We have been buying music for years with so many artist. But now they are blowing off the Baby Boomers, and the music we like so what do you expect.

[h2000]

Originally Posted by True North

I don't know about you guys but I used to save up everything I had to be able to buy records. I'd research imports, find all the good backwoods record stores and spent what little money I had on buying those albums.

There is no doubt in my mind that downloading has affected revenue numbers. Have any you guys spent anytime with kids in the 14 to 20 year old range. It's not like I frequently get a chance, but man, these kids aren't buying JACK and NONE of them care. Every one around them is doing it, they are sharing illegally downloaded music on a daily basis, it is like they have been socialized into it for the past 6 or 7 years. I know that illegal downloading does not stop once you hit 20 years old but my point is that todays kids are being socialized under a very different set of rules and principles when it comes to music.

This is true. The cat is out of the bag and there is no putting it back in.

I think you alluded to the roots of why this happened in your first sentence.

Listening to music was something which me and my friends did. Not "put on some music while playing video games" or something. But, just sit and spin records. It was great to be able to go to a record store with thousands of records and take a chance on some new stuff - maybe a musician from a favorite band who is guesting on something else, etc., etc. It could consume a whole afternoon of looking and searching, and it was fun and exciting. At that time, we could afford to grab 4-5 records and take a chance on some unheard stuff. Sometimes it was cr*p and sometimes you find a gem. But reasonable prices allowed you to do that.

A couple of things have happened since then.
1.)Prices for CDs went up and up to $15-18 per. At that price, I don't take chances on unheard stuff (I've gotten burned).
2.)Record stores are not a thing anymore as much. Many CDs are purchased at retail stores - not in a cool, fun record store environment.
3.)Radio playlists and label promotions shrink to cover only the top sliver of artists, thereby generating interest in not music overall, but stardom.
4.)People can test listen to clips before buying to see if they like it.

All these young people are doing the things that we liked to do - researching for new music and discovering new artists. The Napsters and Limewires are a replacement for the local record store where you could find some unknown gems and maybe get a recommendation. Young people are simply finding a way to enjoy music and find new music - finding a way because the labels forgot about what was exciting about music and gradually the opportunities that we had to find new music dried up. So another way was found. Unfortunately for the market, that way was to trade mp3s for free.