I remember reading an interview with someone, and they were asked why so many people in music are doing television shows and movies. A simple answer was given:
"because Hollywood pays".
It's weird to see so many songs being used in commercials these days, whereas it was frowned upon by a lot of people. It's funny to think that 17 years ago, sample use was considered wrong, the evil of the industry, and in a few years those same artists were saying "please, you can sample me now, because publishing is key, I did not know this".
It's a bit scary, because music in itself will always be there. But the methods to make music, those are still there too. If you want to become a part of the machine, you have to do everything to cater to "them". Now, labels such as Stones Throw and Quannum are licensing their music to people like HBO so it can be used in their shows. HBO doesn't run 16 hours a day anymore, they're making a significant amount of money. They will pay.
It's hard to say whether it's better to struggle, or just cater and have people such the balls of the industry. Yet when everyone is struggling and trying to find a way to make money from the music industry, it forces everyone to rethink strategies. Do you tour forever? Do you license your own music to the majors? Do you have your teeth cleaned so you can smile bright like Oshea? Are we there yet? YEAH!
The industry blew it years ago, they have admitted it many times but do not want to face the guilt trips. They actually thought MP3's were going to go away, and rather than control it at the beginning, they were scratching themselves going "uh bubba duh?"
As the article says, music is doing better than ever. How to sell it and how to get it out to the people... everyone knows how to get the music. For free, that is. If someone goes into a Best Buy, it's to buy some Wii games, not head into the quickly-shrinking CD section.
Truth: CD's will continue to sell. It will not sell with the same numbers as it did in 1997, not with people making the move to digital players. CD sales may not happen at physical stores, but it continues to do well online at such places as Amazon, CD Universe, Aquarius, Dusty Groove, CDBaby, or from the artist and labels themselves. A place like CDBaby have just moved into selling MP3's, not unlike Other Music. CD's will become a niche market, if they're not already. For those who buy CD's, a small percentage of them will buy SACD's and DVD-A's if they are of interest. Vinyl continues to do very well, and more labels are pressing up records on a regular basis. If people want MP3's, they have the option to download them for free or buy them, legitimately or otherwise. If people want lossless, they know where to go to.
The industry as it is needed changes 10 years ago, 15 years ago, when all of the mergers were happening it became a bareback orgy for a bunch of fucking numbnuts who cared more about units (records and their own infantile weiners) and their daughter's trust fund than the music itself. There was a time when record labels would go out of their way to protect themselves from releasing shit, and there would be one, maybe two novelty hits during a two year period. In today's world, the industry are run by house flies., sucking on the fecal protein. They ARE laughing to the bank, and something as simple as The Wreckers or Jack Johnson is considered a relief.
I do like what someone said elsewhere, that when the current state of the industry crumbles, there will be people to fly out from the chaos and pave the way towards the future. Until then, in the words of Angelo Moore, "I see the dung heaps piled at least a mile high".
djsheep
3,620 Posts
Comments
"because Hollywood pays".
It's weird to see so many songs being used in commercials these days, whereas it was frowned upon by a lot of people. It's funny to think that 17 years ago, sample use was considered wrong, the evil of the industry, and in a few years those same artists were saying "please, you can sample me now, because publishing is key, I did not know this".
It's a bit scary, because music in itself will always be there. But the methods to make music, those are still there too. If you want to become a part of the machine, you have to do everything to cater to "them". Now, labels such as Stones Throw and Quannum are licensing their music to people like HBO so it can be used in their shows. HBO doesn't run 16 hours a day anymore, they're making a significant amount of money. They will pay.
It's hard to say whether it's better to struggle, or just cater and have people such the balls of the industry. Yet when everyone is struggling and trying to find a way to make money from the music industry, it forces everyone to rethink strategies. Do you tour forever? Do you license your own music to the majors? Do you have your teeth cleaned so you can smile bright like Oshea? Are we there yet? YEAH!
The industry blew it years ago, they have admitted it many times but do not want to face the guilt trips. They actually thought MP3's were going to go away, and rather than control it at the beginning, they were scratching themselves going "uh bubba duh?"
As the article says, music is doing better than ever. How to sell it and how to get it out to the people... everyone knows how to get the music. For free, that is. If someone goes into a Best Buy, it's to buy some Wii games, not head into the quickly-shrinking CD section.
Truth: CD's will continue to sell. It will not sell with the same numbers as it did in 1997, not with people making the move to digital players. CD sales may not happen at physical stores, but it continues to do well online at such places as Amazon, CD Universe, Aquarius, Dusty Groove, CDBaby, or from the artist and labels themselves. A place like CDBaby have just moved into selling MP3's, not unlike Other Music. CD's will become a niche market, if they're not already. For those who buy CD's, a small percentage of them will buy SACD's and DVD-A's if they are of interest. Vinyl continues to do very well, and more labels are pressing up records on a regular basis. If people want MP3's, they have the option to download them for free or buy them, legitimately or otherwise. If people want lossless, they know where to go to.
The industry as it is needed changes 10 years ago, 15 years ago, when all of the mergers were happening it became a bareback orgy for a bunch of fucking numbnuts who cared more about units (records and their own infantile weiners) and their daughter's trust fund than the music itself. There was a time when record labels would go out of their way to protect themselves from releasing shit, and there would be one, maybe two novelty hits during a two year period. In today's world, the industry are run by house flies., sucking on the fecal protein. They ARE laughing to the bank, and something as simple as The Wreckers or Jack Johnson is considered a relief.
I do like what someone said elsewhere, that when the current state of the industry crumbles, there will be people to fly out from the chaos and pave the way towards the future. Until then, in the words of Angelo Moore, "I see the dung heaps piled at least a mile high".