HardOCP News
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The New York Times has a very interesting op-ed piece written by a former music store owner that chronicles the decline of the record store thanks to the recording industry itself.
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Recording Industry Killing Record Stores?
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Nemesis999
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Record stores are the last thing the recording industry wants. They get a far larger cut of the profit if they get rid of them.
I found this article to be fairly asinine. Digital distribution equally kills brick and mortar retailers that sell only music. They also begin with a faulty premise: That a business that was lucrative at one time somehow must stay lucrative forever. Blacksmiths called, they're mad that the automobile killed off their business model.
If in ten years nobody buys physical media for video gaming, and we move on to all digital distribution with no hard copy resale, what do you think will happen to small game stores, not to mention the gamestops of the world?
Record stores were well on their way out before RIAA "started pushing N'sync". And speaking of that, record companies have been pushing manufactured teeny bopper tripe since the 50's. What's changed about that?
This was just a whiny screed by some people who are mad that the times have passed them by, and then blame it on the big bad corporations.
ps: I hate the RIAA more than papercuts, but this article was full of faulty economic premises.
If in ten years nobody buys physical media for video gaming, and we move on to all digital distribution with no hard copy resale, what do you think will happen to small game stores, not to mention the gamestops of the world?
Record stores were well on their way out before RIAA "started pushing N'sync". And speaking of that, record companies have been pushing manufactured teeny bopper tripe since the 50's. What's changed about that?
This was just a whiny screed by some people who are mad that the times have passed them by, and then blame it on the big bad corporations.
ps: I hate the RIAA more than papercuts, but this article was full of faulty economic premises.
Yep the storymaker was so far off it's no wonder he writes like he does. Singles? COME ON.
I mean Who the f.. would want the inconvenience of singles? Nothing could be more irritating than having to spin and change a cd-single for that 1 measly song. Maybe DJ's like them, but it's their job to swap records - not ours.
The only way the business can continue is by enabling consumers to create their own compilations whichever way desirable. Some may want to burn their own dvd record collections, some may want to play them through a harddrive or flash memory.
Nobody, I repeat nobody, really wants a fragile and clumsy CD format anymore.
I mean Who the f.. would want the inconvenience of singles? Nothing could be more irritating than having to spin and change a cd-single for that 1 measly song. Maybe DJ's like them, but it's their job to swap records - not ours.
The only way the business can continue is by enabling consumers to create their own compilations whichever way desirable. Some may want to burn their own dvd record collections, some may want to play them through a harddrive or flash memory.
Nobody, I repeat nobody, really wants a fragile and clumsy CD format anymore.
Singles are about the only thing that I will buy these days. When was the last time you heard a CD that you liked more than 1 song on it? $4 and I get 3-4 tracks on it, usually 2 different songs atleast. Full and radio edited versions, so If I want to play it at a company or family event. Singles are genious.
But I do agree with the rest, Id still rather play music from a flash card or HDD. Ill deal with the lower (slightly if that in some cases) quality as opposed to worrying if someone steps on the CD case or handles the CD wrong.
I also dont feel like dedicating a section of my room or living room to holding a few hundred or thousand CD's and digging for the one I want to hear.
I thought this was going to be an informative piece on price fixing or something, not warping facts to fill a space in the paper.
Personally, I think RIAA is bad for the recording industry, period. They make it an object of unrelenting hatred through their underhanded actions and apparently limitless greed. They also need to learn how to say "No, you don't have enough talent to be successful. We will not back you. Get some lessons and try again later" instead of, "Ya know, with enough pre- and post-processing and digital effects and big booty mamas shakin' it in the video, you might be able to drop one hit. Here's your check! (Minus our exceedingly ludicrous fees of course)."
Personally, I think RIAA is bad for the recording industry, period. They make it an object of unrelenting hatred through their underhanded actions and apparently limitless greed. They also need to learn how to say "No, you don't have enough talent to be successful. We will not back you. Get some lessons and try again later" instead of, "Ya know, with enough pre- and post-processing and digital effects and big booty mamas shakin' it in the video, you might be able to drop one hit. Here's your check! (Minus our exceedingly ludicrous fees of course)."
Smoken Joe
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The article was right on the money. Right now people are buying songs one by one instead of an album at a time. That is a huge loss in profit. Once bought 1-2 albums a week then the record store closed I could not get anything but pop and not much of a selection of that. I rember trying to get the first Nine Inch Nail CD going to best buy trying to get it. The music manager nerer heard of it and he could not order it or get in stock unless it was already planned only corperate could make that kind of decision. I often whent to the small store and had the guys there recomend 2-3 other albums and spent a ton of money that never ever happens at the big stores.
If the music comapanys would have suppored the local guys the local guys could have supported them. Going for the quick buck is not the way to keep a buisness alive long. W@llmart has run plenty of buisness into the ground going after the last cent of profit and squezed the manufacturers to death trying to make the cheapest product. Right now everything is throw away including the music why get a second album when the second sounds exatly like the first and no one can let you know about something new.
If the music comapanys would have suppored the local guys the local guys could have supported them. Going for the quick buck is not the way to keep a buisness alive long. W@llmart has run plenty of buisness into the ground going after the last cent of profit and squezed the manufacturers to death trying to make the cheapest product. Right now everything is throw away including the music why get a second album when the second sounds exatly like the first and no one can let you know about something new.
That's silly. Tower records and other big box stores carried everything in the known universe, as well as local music. Record stores of any kind, big or small, were inevitably going to die, not because of nsync or the backstreet boys, but because of NEW TECHNOLOGY.
The ipod and MP3 player killed physical media. Period, not the big bad RIAA.
The ipod and MP3 player killed physical media. Period, not the big bad RIAA.
I still frequent a small record shop about once a month to pick up on things I may have missed. It very much specializes in much more specific genres though, and doesn't have much of anything that would be popular on a wide scale. Translation: Most of what I like are artists that are not on major labels. They've generally embraced the internet for distribution.
The only reason I generally go to the store is to find out about things I may have otherwise missed.
The internet has radically changed the whole purchasing process for me though. I used to go to the brick and mortar place once a week. I now find out about a lot of things from checking band sites, forums, and independent label sites.
I do still buy CDs. There is something kinda cool about being able to get one's hands on a rare release, and I do genuinely enjoy listening to an album as it was put together by the artist, but I can usually obtain them from online sources. I also like being able to rip at much higher quality than can usually be purchased. Plus, if the band is the one selling the CD, I'd wager they still get a whole lot more cash from the deal than if I purchased it at a brick and mortar store for the same price. I much prefer funneling additional cash into an artist's hands for something they created.
Actually, a few weeks back, I ended up emailing a band to find out about replacing a limited release (1000 copies, and the only album that had a couple of particular remixes of a song) that I'd lost in an apartment fire a while back. They pointed me over to a German website that still actually had it available. The internet has just changed so much of what you can do in procuring music. It's not just digital distribution, it's all the information and sources you have available.
The only reason I generally go to the store is to find out about things I may have otherwise missed.
The internet has radically changed the whole purchasing process for me though. I used to go to the brick and mortar place once a week. I now find out about a lot of things from checking band sites, forums, and independent label sites.
I do still buy CDs. There is something kinda cool about being able to get one's hands on a rare release, and I do genuinely enjoy listening to an album as it was put together by the artist, but I can usually obtain them from online sources. I also like being able to rip at much higher quality than can usually be purchased. Plus, if the band is the one selling the CD, I'd wager they still get a whole lot more cash from the deal than if I purchased it at a brick and mortar store for the same price. I much prefer funneling additional cash into an artist's hands for something they created.
Actually, a few weeks back, I ended up emailing a band to find out about replacing a limited release (1000 copies, and the only album that had a couple of particular remixes of a song) that I'd lost in an apartment fire a while back. They pointed me over to a German website that still actually had it available. The internet has just changed so much of what you can do in procuring music. It's not just digital distribution, it's all the information and sources you have available.
Nemesis999
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The day I can walk into a record store and choose each and every song I want on my CD is the day I actually buy from them.
Of course, I can legally do that now, faster, for the price of a blank disk. Hell, for under a buck I can burn 100 CD quality songs to a DVD. Why would I ever go to a record store?
Just because a marketplace is profitable one day doesn't guarantee profit the next. The record stores made their money entirely on distribution of another business' product. It's their job to adapt, not the music industries.
Of course, I can legally do that now, faster, for the price of a blank disk. Hell, for under a buck I can burn 100 CD quality songs to a DVD. Why would I ever go to a record store?
Just because a marketplace is profitable one day doesn't guarantee profit the next. The record stores made their money entirely on distribution of another business' product. It's their job to adapt, not the music industries.
Manny Calavera
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Alll the time,it depends on what you listen to,I have been hearing tons of great music as of late !
Literally dozens of great albums,I can listen to all the way through... about 99% of all of it though are independant groups,or artists that have little to no support from any label, very small or large,or are self published,etc...
Allot of it I have found on MySpace...
