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If bands are denied income from CD sales (because their music is being downloaded free from the internet) do you have any suggestions for alternative ways for them to earn enough money to continue to... Show more »If bands are denied income from CD sales (because their music is being downloaded free from the internet) do you have any suggestions for alternative ways for them to earn enough money to continue to be musicians? Show less »
Submitted by: keithwhu | 41 votes for this..
0 comments | Topic: Arts and entertainment |
We’re about to find out what their options there might be. Could there ever be a band that worked entirely in a live sphere and didn’t release any studio music? Yes, I could easily see that there could be an artist who would do that. Bear in mind that Led Zeppelin never released singles, and that was considered the big money earner at the time. So some bands could certainly operate entirely in the live sphere. Studio recording, in terms of the album, is definitely breaking down. People are beginning to experiment by sending out one-off tracks, but some bands will always want to do albums. But I think the standard package of single, album and tour is definitely beginning to break down now. I think that the whole point of the new digital world is that it will deliver a number of choices. The most dangerous thing that you can ever do in this new sphere is say that something is impossible, because actually everything is possible.
How are music charts compiled these days? If they are solely based on CD sales, how accurate an idea of a bands popularity can they give?
Submitted by: keithwhu | 42 votes for this..
The charts are extremely accurate; in fact they are more accurate than they’ve ever been. They’re based on every conceivable music sale that can be recorded. So that includes CD’s, vinyl and downloads. In terms of what recorded music was sold last week they couldn’t be more accurate. However in terms of what the charts tell us these days; although they tell us about one aspect of popularity, they are no longer the perfect guide to tell you who the most popular acts at this moment are. They will tell you who are the most popular acts in terms of selling music, but there lots of other factors now that determine how popular artists are. For instance, how much they gross from touring, how many hits they have on MySpace, how many times they appear on TV and the radio. There are all sorts of measurements nowadays. It’s only by looking across different factors that you can make any kind of judgement about artist popularity. If you were to look at the music charts over the last twenty years to judge how successful the Rolling Stones have been during that period you would think that they had lost their way and must be struggling now. But if you look at their touring revenue you think wow they’re the biggest band on the planet.
The ability to share albums and songs with friends, make recommendations and debate the worth of a group or artist has long been one of the intrinsic pleasures associated with listening to popular music.... Show more »The ability to share albums and songs with friends, make recommendations and debate the worth of a group or artist has long been one of the intrinsic pleasures associated with listening to popular music. In the 80s, home taping was predicted to “kill” music, yet the music industry survived (and thrived because of) the humble cassette. Isn’t digital file sharing just the modern day equivalent of this age old practice? Show less »
Submitted by: larry1 | 38 votes for this..
That was a BPI campaign that was done 25 years ago; the BPI’s copped a lot of flak for it. We tend to look forward rather than backwards, so we don’t tend to talk about that too much. There’s a massive difference between giving a C90 (cassette) to a mate and posting a perfect digital file on the internet for literally millions to take. This does reflect how little people realise what copyright infringement and piracy is all about. People have used the ‘Home Taping’ slogan to undermine very illegitimate arguments as to why file-sharing’s bad for the music industry.
For decades record companies dictated the price for music. So why should we consumers feel sorry for record company shareholders who are now losing profits in the download age?
Submitted by: mickthemouse | 36 votes for this..
I think you get a lot of file-sharing apologists you make these arguments. You know; record companies made lots of profits in the past so they’ve had it coming to them. Businesses are in business to make profits, that what they do. That’s how the real world works. It’s just not acceptable to steal from people. It’s an alarming trend if people think that because someone is rich that it’s okay to steal from them.
Record company executives used to play god by deciding which music the public actually gets to hear. So how it is it a bad thing that anyone can now release music digitally without having to grovel to... Show more »Record company executives used to play god by deciding which music the public actually gets to hear. So how it is it a bad thing that anyone can now release music digitally without having to grovel to a ‘suit’? Doesn't a completely unregulated marketplace provide a utopia for our sophisticated and diverse tastes? Show less »
Submitted by: mickthemouse | 33 votes for this..
I don’t think that it’s bad at all; in fact it’s very democratic. It certainly has been the case up until now that, generally, the only music that people got to hear pre-internet was at the whim and the tastes of record companies. So therefore there was a lot of music out there that people might have liked but would never have come across.
Will the art of studio recording suffer as artists are marginalized by the constraints of time and money? Lest we forget The Beatles and Brian Wilson created legendary recordings while completely omitting... Show more »Will the art of studio recording suffer as artists are marginalized by the constraints of time and money? Lest we forget The Beatles and Brian Wilson created legendary recordings while completely omitting the distractions pertained to live performance. Show less »
Submitted by: JohnDuffy | 29 votes for this..
Not necessarily. Certainly now most of an artist’s income comes from live revenues. The Beatles and The Beach Boys spent hours in the recording studio, but only in their later careers. Over the past thirty years or so the recording process has slowed down, partly because there’s much better equipment now so people can indulge themselves with technology. Also the issuing of albums has slowed down; the pattern now tends to be to release an album every three years.
Download sites, such as I-tunes, are transforming the way in which we buy music by allowing consumers to purchase individual tracks rather than shelling out for the whole album. Do you think that artists... Show more »Download sites, such as I-tunes, are transforming the way in which we buy music by allowing consumers to purchase individual tracks rather than shelling out for the whole album. Do you think that artists can survive by making albums where only one or two songs show a financial return? Is this the end of the 'long-player'? Show less »
Submitted by: DonLogan | 32 votes for this..
It will change the business model. Over the last thirty years the money made by record companies has been generated by selling albums. Because ITunes, and other services, allow people to unbundle albums into individual tracks people no longer have to go out and buy an entire album. I think that the record companies, in a lot of cases, have been guilty of putting out not very good albums, that contain some tracks that people want and a lot of filler. The difficulty record companies have now is this perception that all albums aren’t that good and there are only a few good tracks on them. The seed has been planted in the public’s head that most albums aren’t very good apart from the singles. However in the early sixties most music was sold as singles, and there would only be certain acts who would successfully sell albums. While we may be going back to that there will always be room for artists to make albums.
It seems certain that the heyday of the 'millionaire-making' music business is past, and surely such egocentric careerism won’t be mourned by most. So shouldn’t musicians view doing what they love as ... Show more »It seems certain that the heyday of the 'millionaire-making' music business is past, and surely such egocentric careerism won’t be mourned by most. So shouldn’t musicians view doing what they love as being more important than whether or not they can obtain a jet-set lifestyle? Isn't rock and roll meant to be about freedom? Show less »
I don’t think it’s up to anybody to tell a musician what they should and shouldn’t do. I think that it’s entirely up to them. Some people just make music because they can’t not make music; it’s absolutely inbuilt into them. Some people make music and like other people to hear it, some people do it and don’t want anybody else to hear it, like writing a diary. There are people who write songs at home but wouldn’t want to share them with anybody. There are other people for whom making music is a means to an end. You don’t get the feeling that David lee Roth has a burning creative passion in his soul. Let’s face it Kiss, as a band, did not start out because they were desperate to communicate their view of the world and their personal angst to the rest of the planet. They wanted to get out there and be a fire-breathing rock and roll band because they wanted loads of women and loads of cash. Both of them are perfectly valid views of the world. But I don’t think it’s up to anybody to say that band’s shouldn’t be thinking about business plans because some people will and some people won’t.
The recent withdrawal of DRM (digital rights management) by the most major licensee’s allows infinite copies of a download to be made. It seems that free music is set to become the norm, is there any ... Show more »The recent withdrawal of DRM (digital rights management) by the most major licensee’s allows infinite copies of a download to be made. It seems that free music is set to become the norm, is there any point in the BPI resisting this trend? Show less »
Submitted by: DonLogan | 30 votes for this..
There are a number of different approaches that the industry has taken. The industry’s not sitting around doing nothing about illegal downloading. This industry is extremely forward looking in terms of embracing new digital models, embracing change, developing new revenue streams and working with artists to create new models. That’s what it’s done in the past; the industry has continually reinvented itself through technology, whether it’s the arrival of radio, the invention of the cassette, the CD. Now, the industry’s distribution problems are solved, because you’re one click away from hearing to buying, and that could be the most revolutionary thing that’s ever happened to music. It could bring about enormous growth for the creative industries in general, in that distribution is no longer confined to physical product. In this sense the industry has a great deal going for it. The Problem is the availability of music for free, illegally, on the internet. So what we have to do is appeal to consumer’s hearts and minds, so it’s about consumer education. It’s about making people understand what’s legal and what’s illegal. So we have a big education job on our hands. Then of course we have to control the availability of free music. If there was no store detectives shoplifting would be higher, if there were no barriers on the tube more people wouldn’t pay for their tickets. Enforcement is a very important part of what we do. The BPI has brought legal actions against illegal file-sharers in the UK, which has established a legal precedent and raised awareness. We have to exercise more enforcement in conjunction with internet service provider’s, who are effectively the gatekeepers to the internet. Times are changing; I think that ISP policy makers understand now that you can’t just let people steal music relentlessly without any checks or control. So you need a mixture of enforcement, education and new business models; this is how the industry can go forward.
Computer games appear to be encouraging solitary, silent and emotionless environments for children. Is this likely to have an impact as these children mature and is 'the way to go' consuls like the wii... Show more »Computer games appear to be encouraging solitary, silent and emotionless environments for children. Is this likely to have an impact as these children mature and is 'the way to go' consuls like the wii that encourage interaction and communication? Show less »
Submitted by: yvonnef | 33 votes for this..
Ii'm actually just writing an article about this for New Statesman. Perfect timing!Games have traditionally been perceived to be"solitary" probably by the nature of games that have come before, but increasingly, as a response to the needs of an ever-diversifying audience, game developers recognise the need to make them more social.The best example of this has been multiplayer options in front of a console but now, if you take a look at the PS3 games and Xbox360 games, all of the releases have an online component to assure that there's some opportunity to interact with - gasp - real human beings! Does this have other risks for children though? As far as risks for kids, most schools in the UK are actively promoting digital literacy as part of their curriculum learning objectives, so if kids can learn to interact with one another in an environment which they enjoy in which they're being social, then it fulfills what the UK government hopes for kids' education and development kids develop an understanding of the norms of interacting online through multiplayer games they develop an understanding for potential threats and they learn how to deal with them in situ, which is a much better way to learn - according to most of the education research - than by learning the theory behind X, Y and Z.